just finished the process at Linear for a frontend SWE position. took about 5.5 weeks start to finish. wanted to write this up while it's fresh.
Round 1: recruiter screen, pretty standard. they wanted to know why Linear specifically. vague answers did not fly. i'd actually used the product, which helped.
Round 2: written async component. they sent a doc with a few product/engineering questions and asked me to respond in writing. no call, just a Google Doc. i spent maybe 3 hours on it. they're reading for clarity and how you structure your thinking, not length.
Round 3: two back-to-back technical sessions. one was a practical coding task, more like a mini feature build than a leetcode problem. the other was a design/architecture discussion about something i'd built before.
Round 4: values/culture fit with two senior folks. they pushed back on almost everything i said, not aggressively but testing if i'd fold or defend my position with reasoning.
they're allergic to hand-wavy answers. if you say "i'd prioritize quality" you'd better be ready to explain what quality means to you and a time it cost you something.
no offer in my case but the feedback was actually useful. they said my technical work was strong, cultural alignment was the miss. not sure i disagree honestly.