finished my Google onsite three weeks ago. got an offer (L4, Bay Area). writing this up while it's fresh because most debrief posts are vague or from years ago when the format was different.
current format (2026): all virtual, via Google Meet + Google Docs. no whiteboard, no in-person. I had five rounds back to back over one day with breaks. my loop: 2x coding 1x system design 1x behavioral (they call it 'Googleyness + leadership') 1x role-specific (for me, a front-end focused round on web fundamentals and component architecture)
how it actually felt:
the coding rounds were medium difficulty, both had follow-ups. one was a graph traversal variant, one was about manipulating a nested data structure. I used Python. they're fine with any major language, just pick the one you're fastest in.
the system design round was the scariest going in, ended up being fine. I had to design a basic feed system (think simplified Twitter timeline). they probed fan-out, read vs write tradeoffs, caching strategies. the key was I drove the conversation and didn't wait to be told what to address next.
the behavioral round felt like a real conversation, not a checkbox. two stories from my experience, they went deep on one of them. had three follow-up questions on a single story about a cross-functional project. came out of it thinking I'd bombed it. didn't.
the front-end round: CSS specificity, browser rendering pipeline, React reconciliation, when not to use useEffect. if you're going for a front-end role, don't neglect web fundamentals thinking it'll all be React trivia.
timeline: onsite to offer letter was 11 days. HC review takes a few days inside that window. recruiter was good at communicating status.
comp (my offer): L4, Bay Area. base $195k, signing $40k over two years, RSUs $280k over four years. negotiated base up $10k, they moved. total year one landed around $260k all-in depending on stock price at vest. they don't move much on base but will sometimes adjust RSU grant or signing.