Interview Template — Backend Developer

Stage 1 — Screening (15–20 min)

Conducted by Project Manager (Mikkel Nygaard) or hiring manager. Video call, no panel.

Goal. Confirm interest in this role specifically, availability, work authorisation, salary expectation in our range, no honesty red flags.

Template.

1. (2 min) Welcome. Brief intro to Media Tech and SPYN. Frame: short, mutual screening.
2. (3 min) Candidate's two-minute version of why this role specifically.
3. (5 min) Two structured questions: see Screening questions below.
4. (3 min) Practicalities: location, availability, salary, notice period.
5. (3 min) Candidate's questions.
6. (close) What happens next; expected timeline.

Screening questions for Backend Developer.

• The AI Diary generation queue is backing up at peak.
• We're adding a new sub-processor for AI translation.

Scoring categories. Communication clarity (key risk), motivation fit, basic role fit.

Stage 2 — Main interview (45–75 min)

Conducted by hiring manager plus one team member from an adjacent role.

Template.

1. (5 min) Welcome. Set expectation: depth, not breadth.
2. (20–30 min) Two scenario-based questions:
   • Scenario A. The AI Diary generation queue is backing up at peak. p95 latency for the user-visible 'generate' call has gone from 4s to 14s. Walk us through your investigation, in order.
   • Scenario B. We're adding a new sub-processor for AI translation. From a backend perspective, what changes — code, config, tests, deploy?
3. (10–15 min) Past-work conversation. Candidate picks one project they're proud of; we ask: what was the goal, what trade-offs, what would you do differently, what did you learn, who else was involved.
4. (5–10 min) Working-style: deadlines, feedback, disagreement.
5. (10 min) Candidate's questions.

Scoring categories. Role-specific technical depth (key risk), problem decomposition, working-style fit, communication of judgement, candidate's questions.

Stage 3 — Practical test interview (optional, 30–45 min)

Runs when the candidate has submitted a Candidate Test.

Template.

1. (10 min) Candidate presents their submission — three slides max or just talk through it.
2. (15–25 min) Structured probing on design decisions. Goal: see judgement when challenged.
3. (5–10 min) One curveball: a constraint not in the test prompt.

Scoring categories. Justifies decisions clearly (key risk), adapts to new constraints (key risk), produced the work themselves, depth beyond the surface.

Decision

The two interviewers debrief immediately, score independently, then reconcile. If scores diverge by more than 1 point on any category, walk through reasoning together before settling. Hiring manager makes the call; second interviewer has a veto on cultural-fit concerns.

Pass criteria

Same rubric and pass criteria as the Candidate Test: average ≥ 4.0, no category < 3.0, all key risk areas ≥ 4.0.

Generated 2026-05-13 from hr/interview-templates and hr/resource-profiles.