Software Engineer applicants have rated the interview process at Xero with 3 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 82% positive. To compare, the company-average is 57.5% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Software Engineer roles take an average of 17 days to get hired, when considering 11 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at Xero overall takes an average of 23 days.
Common stages of the interview process at Xero as a Software Engineer according to 11 Glassdoor interviews include:
Phone interview: 24%
Group panel interview: 20%
Skills test: 16%
Presentation: 12%
One on one interview: 12%
Drug test: 4%
Personality test: 4%
IQ intelligence test: 4%
Background check: 4%
Here are the most commonly searched roles for interview reports -
The technical interview is the best I've ever had. It does a great job of showing real world skills rather than language trivia or algorithms you can google. All other steps and calls were pretty standard.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
How could this code be restructured? Where would you want unit test coverage? etc
I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Xero (Melbourne) in Mar 2026
Interview
It takes too long. The questions are difficult. Also there is a behavior test, not sure whether this test is useful. The technical questions are good:
Lead technical design and implementation of complex features and systems
Write high-quality, maintainable code and automated tests
Make pragmatic architectural and technical decisions that balance short-term delivery with long-term sustainability
Coding assessments: Can be live or take-home. pair programming with a given codebase.
Behavioral + teamwork: Interview with non-engineers (e.g., PMs) to probe how you work in teams, handle conflict, and resolve issues.
I applied online. I interviewed at Xero (Sydney) in Jun 2025
Interview
There were 4 rounds.
1) Chat with internal recruiter to check your values, experience and aspirations.
2) Coding challenge: Test conducted on HackerRank. Not overly hard but wouldn't say its simple. The engineer overseeing the test (Cath) was a legend and made me feel at ease.
3) Execution & Cross-Functional Collaboration Discussion: Chat with someone from a non-engineering team. Expect questions around your way of working, challenges you've faced and how you resolve conflicts.
4) Culture Fit & Team Interview: 2 senior/lead engineers check if you fit their teams. Expect questions about your technical background, your exposure to the technologies these teams use and challenges you've face.
Even though I didn't get the job I walked away having learned a lot and the feedback provided by the internal recruiter (Raisa) was very detailed and will help me in my future endeavours.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Write a function that takes in 2 string. Return true or false if a condition is met.