Linear interview, the work trial is the interview.

Linear publishes its process in a 2026 post linked from every job ad, and explains the work trial in detail in a 2023 post. Most roles have three or four conversations before the trial, and most processes take four to six weeks from first conversation to offer.

Linear's work trial is the final stage for every role, from engineers to executives. It is paid, lasts two to five days, and puts you inside a small project team with access to Linear's internal tools. Linear says it is not designed to weed people out, but the bar at the end is high: the team votes blind, and anything less than a strong yes is a no.

• Plan the time: Senior roles usually take the full five days. If you are employed, ask about the weekend option before you agree dates; Linear has used weekends for candidates who need to limit time off.
• Lead your own check-ins: Linear makes check-ins candidate-led to see your ownership. Arrive at each one with progress, a decision you made and a question.
• Use the team: There is a Slack channel and ad-hoc calls for help. Asking a good question on day one is a better signal than guessing for two days.
• Finish something real: Scope down to a slice you can complete and polish. The final presentation is a discussion, so be ready to defend what you cut.
• Paperwork and pay: You sign an NDA and are paid a daily rate agreed in advance. One candidate found invoicing foreign income stressful, so check how payment works where you live.

One candidate described their trial week as the most stressful of their career and was told at the end that they were not fast enough. Go in rested, and treat it as a real week of work.

Linear's 2026 hiring post names five things it assesses, and its method shapes how the trial is judged.

• Craft: work that is finished to a high standard
• Judgment: choosing what to build and what to leave out
• Ownership: driving the work yourself, which is why trial check-ins are candidate-led
• Clarity: explaining decisions simply, in writing and out loud
• Fit with how Linear works: small teams, no OKRs and no A/B tests, in Linear's words

Few candidates have described Linear's interviews in detail. These questions are built on what Linear says it assesses and on the work trial it documents, so practising them prepares you for the conversations and the trial.

Linear doesn't publish salary ranges, and its job ads show none. It discusses compensation on the first recruiter call, so neither side is surprised later. The work trial is paid at a daily rate agreed in advance.

1. Ask the recruiter how long your trial will be and whether weekends are possible.
2. Prepare two projects you owned end to end, with the decisions you made and the ones you would change.
3. Use Linear for a week before the interviews and form a view on what you would improve.
4. Practise scoping: given three days, what would you finish and what would you drop?
5. Plan short, candidate-led check-ins: progress, a decision, a question.
6. Check the tax side of being paid a daily rate where you live before the trial starts.

This guide covers Linear's process for engineers, designers, product managers and go-to-market roles, which all end in the same paid work trial. 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.

• 01Linear, How we hire at Linear (April 2026)the five stages, three or four conversations, four to six weeks, the paid trial for all roles, the blind vote, what Linear assesses and the feedback promise.
• 02Linear, Why and how we do work trials at Linear (December 2023)trial length, the daily rate, weekends, the team, tools, example projects, candidate-led check-ins, the strong-yes bar and panel scoring.
• 03Linear, Sharing growth with the people building Linear (August 2026)the $2.5 billion tender offer, profitability and $100 million in annual recurring revenue.
• 04Linear, Designing remote work at Linear (October 2025)99 people in more than 15 countries and the coworking hubs.
• 05Linear open roles30 roles on 4 October 2026 by family and region.
• 06Hacker News, a candidate's trial week at Linear (March 2025)the stress of the week, invoicing as a contractor, and a rejection for speed.

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.