Sr. Full Stack Developer

Core Need (What They Actually Want)

• Full stack developers with a strong backend focus
• Tech stack flexibility:
  • Java + Spring Boot OR
  • Python (FastAPI/Django, etc.)
• Frontend: Angular (or similar)
• Database: PostgreSQL or similar
• LLM/AI is NOT required, but:
  • It’s a plus

Translation:

We should prioritize strong backend/full stack engineers first, not filter heavily for AI.

What They Care About Most (This is the real filter)

This is NOT about stack matching alone.

They are looking for engineers who:

• Understand end-to-end system flow
• Can explain:
  • How UI ? API ? backend ? DB connects
• Think about:
  • Authentication / authorization
  • Data validation
  • Data correctness (not blindly trusting inputs)

Major gap so far:

• Candidates can describe projects at a high level
• But cannot clearly explain how the system actually works end-to-end

Biggest Reason Candidates Are Getting Rejected

1. Weak understanding of “validation”

   This came up repeatedly.

   They want candidates who can answer:

   • How do you validate your solution works?
   • How do you test data correctness?
   • What happens at each handoff point (UI ? API, API ? API, etc.)?

   Manager specifically said:

   • Candidates are not explaining how they test or validate anything
   • This is the #1 reason they are getting rejected

2. Lack of true “end-to-end ownership”

   • Candidates talk about pieces of systems
   • But struggle to explain:
     • Full design
     • Why things are built a certain way
     • How components interact

   They want builders / thinkers, not just task executors.

3. LLM knowledge is weak across the board

   • 100% of candidates screened so far:
     • Did not meet LLM expectations
   • But important:
     • They are still open to hiring non-LLM candidates if strong overall

How They Are Interviewing

Round 1 (Manager Screen)

• 15–20 min
• Focus:
  • Understanding of past projects
  • End-to-end architecture
  • Validation thinking

Technical Round

• NOT focused on coding/syntax anymore
• Focus is:
  • Thought process
  • System design
  • “How would you solve this?” approach

Less LeetCode, more real-world engineering thinking

Frontend Expectations (Important Clarification)

• NOT expecting strong UI specialists
• Candidates should:
  • Understand UI basics
  • Be able to work within existing Angular apps
  • Know how to:
    • Make API calls
    • Handle auth/authentication from UI

No need for:

• Building UIs from scratch
• Deep UI/UX expertise

Backend is the Priority (70–80%)

• Strong backend is critical because:
  • Data is central (especially for future AI work)
  • UI is secondary

Ideal profile:

• Backend-heavy engineer
• Can work across the stack, not necessarily expert in all layers