Glean forward deployed engineer interview

Process

1. AI-focused exercise or discussion

   Brief exercise or conversation (format not specified). Assesses: How the candidate thinks about, designs and uses AI to drive impact in the role. [1]

2. Level assessment

   Across the loop. Assesses: Level is set during interviews; the posted pay range spans several levels. [1]

3. Application questions

   Written answers on the Greenhouse form. Assesses: Agent-building experience and current AI tool use. [2]

4. Recruiter and hiring manager (Solutions Architect, adjacent)

   Calls. Assesses: Customer handling, e.g. objection handling. [3]

5. Technical assessment and review (Solutions Architect, India, adjacent)

   Build task on Glean's Indexing API, then technical review. Assesses: Working code against Glean APIs; reviewer expected it deployed on AWS. [4]

6. Software Engineer loop (adjacent)

   1h coding screen, HM behavioral, virtual onsite: 45m algorithmic, 1h coding, 1h system design, 2h coding assignment. Assesses: Algorithms, practical coding, system design. [5]

AI tools in interviews: Glean's posting says every candidate completes a brief AI-focused exercise or discussion and may reference any AI tools, platforms or workflows they use. It does not address AI assistance during other rounds. [1]

Questions

Coding 2

• Implement the game Connect 4.

  CodingCandidate reportSoftware Engineer (not FDE)2025[5]

  1-hour virtual screen

• Complete an open-ended practical coding task largely on your own; interviewer checks in at the end.

  CodingCandidate reportSoftware Engineer (not FDE)2026[6]

  Curated by PracHub

Take-home 1

• Index 50 documents using Glean's Indexing API; an optional bonus extension follows.

  Take-homeCandidate reportSolutions Architect (adjacent, India)2024[4]

  Candidate says the bonus was treated as the main task and a deployed AWS solution was expected

AI build 2

• Have you built AI agents? If so, describe them.

  AI buildEmployer-publishedFounding FDE2026[2]

• Which AI tools do you use today, and how do you use them?

  AI buildEmployer-publishedFounding FDE2026[2]

Behavioral 1

• Describe a time you handled an objection.

  BehavioralCandidate reportSolutions Architect (adjacent)2024[3]

Tips from the sources

• Glean says prior Glean experience is not required for the AI exercise; bring the tools, platforms and workflows you already use. [1]
• Prepare written answers on agents you have built and the AI tools you use; both are required on the FDE application form. [2]
• Confirm scope before a take-home: one Solutions Architect candidate was told coding was light, then judged on an optional bonus and on deploying to AWS. [4]
• A 2026 engineering candidate said one onsite round was open-ended practical coding with little interviewer input; practice building independently against a timer. [6]

Not found in public sources: Still no candidate report for the Founding FDE loop itself. Added evidence is from the FDE application form (employer) plus Solutions Architect and Software Engineer reports (adjacent roles, small samples). A LeetCode Discuss new-grad post returned HTTP 403 and was not used. Refresh.cv stats not used.

Sources

1. Founding Forward Deployed Engineer. Glean (Greenhouse), 2026-10. Employer-published
2. Founding Forward Deployed Engineer - application form. Glean (Greenhouse job board API), 2026-11. Employer-published
3. Glean Solutions Architect interview, San Francisco, Sep 2024. Taro (candidate submission), 2024-09. Candidate report
4. Glean Solutions Architect interview, India, Nov 2024. Taro (candidate submission), 2024-11. Candidate report
5. Glean Software Engineer interview, San Francisco, Jul 2025. Taro (candidate submission), 2025-07. Candidate report
6. Glean (CA) Software Engineer: practical coding and system design onsite. PracHub (curated candidate report), 2026-03. Candidate report