DuckDuckGo interview, two paid projects and no whiteboard.
Updated · Sources at the end
DuckDuckGo hires engineers through paid test projects rather than live coding. After a short talent chat on Zoom, the first project (5 to 10 hours over a week) includes writing about a significant project you led; if it goes well you meet future colleagues, then do a second, larger project (5 to 20 hours), then final interviews. Each project has a flat fee stated in its brief; candidates in October 2025 reported $150 for the first and $750 per part for the second. Expect several weeks to a couple of months, a lot of writing, and a decision rather than feedback.
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The questions for your exact DuckDuckGo role and level.
Interviewing at DuckDuckGo? Below are the questions candidates report. For the ones your exact role and level will get, paste the posting. Your first mock is free.
Who DuckDuckGo hires
DuckDuckGo makes a private search engine and browser, with more than 335 people across 15 countries, fully remote. On 28 October 2026 it had five engineering roles open, all senior: C++, backend, privacy, web security for the browser platform and web compatibility. It pays one fixed salary per level on a regional scale, shared with candidates before the first chat.
Wondering whether your resume reads like someone DuckDuckGo hires? Get a free resume review.
DuckDuckGo publishes its process. There is no live coding: you do paid test projects and talk about them with the team.
Track · Engineers
Senior engineers
Six stages: application review, a talent chat, a first paid project, an interview with future colleagues, a second paid project, and final interviews. Higher-level roles can have a third project.
Track · What it weighs
Writing and owning projects
Every engineering candidate's first project includes writing about a significant project they led, because DuckDuckGo treats autonomous project management as a hard requirement, however strong the engineering.
What is the DuckDuckGo interview process?
These six stages are DuckDuckGo's own, from its how-we-hire page. It says it does not skip stages, and decisions usually come four to seven business days after each one.
DuckDuckGo aims to review within seven days. A June 2025 Android candidate's application form had open-ended written questions.
DuckDuckGo shares the role's pay before this call.
Includes writing about a significant project you led. Candidates in 2025 and 2026 describe a written report on a past project (problem, solution, delivery, lessons), with questions supplied.
May 2026: a 90-minute interview with two iOS engineers, mainly about the first report.
Reported as a design document, then an implementation. A July 2026 London candidate was told to expect RFC documents of at least ten pages; a May 2026 iOS candidate had two weeks to build what they had designed.
A July 2026 backend candidate had a two-hour call with engineers.
DuckDuckGo paid test projects: how to prepare
DuckDuckGo's page and 2025–26 reportsDuckDuckGo's projects replace live coding. The first is 5 to 10 hours over a week and includes writing about a project you led; the second is 5 to 20 hours over one to two weeks. Each has a flat fee stated in its brief, paid by PayPal within 30 days of an on-time submission. Here is how to prepare.
- The project you led: Pick one you ran end to end. Cover the problem, the technical solution, how you delivered it and what you learned; this is the first thing reviewed.
- Write a lot, clearly: A July 2026 candidate was told to expect at least ten pages of RFC documents and found the time estimate tight. Outline first, and say what you left out.
- Mind the clock: Each project has a deadline (a June 2025 candidate had three days for the first). Ask early if you need more time.
- Say how you used AI: DuckDuckGo allows AI tools and expects candidates to disclose how they used them.
DuckDuckGo scores projects against a rubric, with a group of reviewers, and says all decisions are made by people.
The rest of the loop depends on your role. Pick it, or paste the posting, and Calibrd predicts the rounds and questions you are likely to get at DuckDuckGo.
Predict my DuckDuckGo questions →What DuckDuckGo screens for
What DuckDuckGo says it looks for, from its how-we-hire page:
- Autonomous project management. A hard requirement for every engineer, tested in the first project.
- Clear writing. The application and both projects are written.
- Honest use of AI. Candidates may use AI tools and are expected to say how.
DuckDuckGo interview questions
Candidate-reported themesThe written prompts below follow what candidates report from the first project. The technical rows follow the second project and the interviews.
Behavioural & motivation
- Why DuckDuckGo, and why this team?Listening for: Specificity · Connection · Research
- Describe a significant project you led: the problem, the technical solution, how you delivered it, and what you learned.Listening for: The problem · Their leadership · Lessons
- Practice: tell me about a time you managed a project with no one telling you what to do next.Listening for: Scoping · Keeping it moving · Finishing
- Tell me about yourself.Listening for: Frame · Evidence · Length
Technical
- Practice: write the outline of a design document for blocking trackers in a mobile browser: goals, approach, performance, privacy and testing.Design document: The second project is reported as a design, then an implementation. A July 2026 candidate was told to expect at least ten pages; a May 2026 iOS candidate wrote about a browser tracker-blocking feature. A practice questionListening for: Goals and scope · Approach · Risks and testing
- Practice: you have two weeks and about 15 hours to build what you designed. What do you build first, and what do you cut?Implementation: After the design, candidates implement it: a May 2026 iOS candidate had two weeks. No live coding is reported. A practice questionListening for: First slice · What they cut · Quality
- Practice: two engineers have read your report on a project you led. What will they push on, and how do you answer?Interview on your report: May 2026: a 90-minute interview with two engineers, mainly about the first report. A practice questionListening for: Depth · Honesty · Evidence
These are the reported themes, and your loop is role-specific. Paste the actual posting and Calibrd predicts the questions for that exact role and level. How the questions are predicted →
Predict my DuckDuckGo questions →Pay
One fixed salary per level on a regional scale, identical in the Senior Backend posting (published 21 October 2026) and the Senior Web Security posting (published 20 December 2025), read 28 October 2026. A January 2025 posting used the older model: one global salary per level, US$176,000.
Applying to DuckDuckGo? Paste the posting and see whether they’d shortlist you →
How to prepare for a DuckDuckGo interview
- Write a two-page account of a project you led: problem, solution, delivery, lessons.
- Practise writing a design document in an outline before the prose.
- Plan each project inside its stated hours, and write down what you cut.
- Keep notes on how you used AI, to disclose with your submission.
- Prepare to defend your report for 90 minutes with two engineers.
- Ask the talent team for the timeline and decision dates up front.
This guide covers DuckDuckGo's engineering hiring. The stages, timings, project pay handling and AI rule are DuckDuckGo's own; what the projects contained comes from dated candidate reports. For management and leadership roles the loop is similar but the bar shifts to people, delivery and strategy, so pair it with the leadership interview prep hub. The bar for your exact role comes from the role-by-role guides, and the prep that actually transfers is spoken, so run a mock interview before the real one.
Also interviewing at Shopify, PostHog or GitLab? Their guides follow the same format, from the first screen to the offer.
Knowing the questions isn’t the same as answering them out loud. Run a DuckDuckGo mock: spoken answers, coached on the spot. Your first mock is free.
Run a DuckDuckGo mock →FAQ & sources
What is DuckDuckGo's interview process?
These six stages are DuckDuckGo's own, from its how-we-hire page. The stages, in order: Application review; Talent chat; First paid project; Interview with future colleagues; Second paid project; Final interviews.
What does DuckDuckGo look for in candidates?
What DuckDuckGo says it looks for, from its how-we-hire page: Autonomous project management; Clear writing; Honest use of AI.
What questions does DuckDuckGo ask in interviews?
The written prompts below follow what candidates report from the first project. Technical themes: Design document; Implementation; Interview on your report.
What are DuckDuckGo's paid test projects?
DuckDuckGo's projects replace live coding. The first is 5 to 10 hours over a week and includes writing about a project you led; the second is 5 to 20 hours over one to two weeks. Covered on this page: The project you led; Write a lot, clearly; Mind the clock; Say how you used AI.
Does DuckDuckGo pay for its test projects?
Yes. DuckDuckGo states a flat fee in each project brief and pays by PayPal within 30 days of an on-time submission. Candidates in October 2025 reported $150 for the first project and $750 for each part of the second.
Does DuckDuckGo give feedback after rejection?
DuckDuckGo's page promises a decision, not feedback, and candidates in June 2025 and July 2026 reported being rejected without technical feedback.
How much does DuckDuckGo pay?
Senior engineer, US: US$190,500 a year, plus stock options; Senior engineer, UK: £134,600 a year, plus stock options; Senior engineer, Canada: C$253,500 a year, plus stock options; Senior engineer, Europe and elsewhere: €157,350 a year, plus stock options. One fixed salary per level on a regional scale, identical in the Senior Backend posting (published 21 October 2026) and the Senior Web Security posting (published 20 December 2025), read 28 October 2026.
How do I get a job at DuckDuckGo?
DuckDuckGo makes a private search engine and browser, with more than 335 people across 15 countries, fully remote. On 28 October 2026 it had five engineering roles open, all senior: C++, backend, privacy, web security for the browser platform and web compatibility. Hiring runs in 6 stages, starting with Application review.
How do I prepare for a DuckDuckGo interview?
Write a two-page account of a project you led: problem, solution, delivery, lessons. Practise writing a design document in an outline before the prose.
- 01DuckDuckGo, how we hiresix stages; two paid projects, up to three for higher-level roles; 5-10 then 5-20 hours; flat fees paid by PayPal within 30 days; rubric and reviewer group; AI allowed with disclosure; decisions 4-7 business days after each stage; read 28 October 2026
- 02DuckDuckGo, hiring335+ people in 15+ countries; same pay within a level and region; 11 roles open, 5 in engineering, all senior; read 28 October 2026
- 03Glassdoor, DuckDuckGo Senior Backend Engineer interviewsJuly 2026: paid test projects, async work, no live coding, a two-hour video call with engineers, rejected without feedback, three months; 5 October 2025, offer declined: first project on an initiative you led paid $150, second project a design then an implementation paid $750 for each part; read 28 October 2026
- 04Glassdoor, DuckDuckGo Senior Software Engineer interviewsJuly 2026, London: RFC documents, at least ten pages expected, two months; 7 October 2025, Dublin: an essay-format first project paid $150; read 28 October 2026
- 05Glassdoor, DuckDuckGo Senior Android Developer interviewsJune 2025: written application questions, a first project with a three-day deadline of up to three hours on a previous project, rejected without explanation; March 2025: two reports, the process exactly as described and paid, a document then a design and project then a team interview, and the six stages as published; read 28 October 2026
- 06DuckDuckGo posting, Senior Backend Engineer (21 October 2026)US$190,500, £134,600, C$253,500, €157,350 plus stock options; the same pay within a level and region; read 28 October 2026
- 07DuckDuckGo posting, Senior Web Security Engineer, Browser Platform (20 December 2025)the same senior scale, verbatim; read 28 October 2026
- 08Glassdoor, DuckDuckGo Senior iOS Engineer interview, London (May 2026)a written report on a project led, a 10-page report on a tracker-blocking project, a 90-minute interview with two iOS engineers, then two weeks to implement; paid at each stage
Interview processes change. This reflects widely-reported and sourced conditions as of 2026 — confirm specifics with your recruiter, and treat it as a map rather than a guarantee.
Prep for a real DuckDuckGo role
Practise your DuckDuckGo interview, out loud.
Paste a real DuckDuckGo posting and Calibrd predicts the questions for that role and level, benchmarks the pay, and flags the gaps an interviewer will probe in your resume — then listens to your spoken answers and coaches them. Your first mock is free.
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