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An Anthropic team led by hiring manager Felix Rieseberg has removed coding questions from its software engineering interview process, according to The Pragmatic Engineer. The team said data-structures-and-algorithms interviews gave it no useful signal; it is not clear whether Anthropic as a whole will adopt the change.
An Anthropic engineering team has stopped asking software engineering candidates coding questions, hiring manager Felix Rieseberg said, after the team found data-structures-and-algorithms interviews provided no useful hiring signal. The change challenges a familiar screening method at a major AI company, but the report does not establish that Anthropic has changed its company-wide recruitment process.
Rieseberg, who has led work on Claude Cowork and Claude Desktop, described the team’s decision in a blog post, according to The Pragmatic Engineer. The newsletter reported that the team had removed data-structure-and-algorithm, or DSA, questions from its engineering recruitment process because it found they did not help distinguish candidates.
The reported change concerns coding questions in interviews, rather than software engineering hiring as a whole. The source does not say that the team stopped evaluating technical skills, describe what it uses instead, or provide details about the number of candidates affected.
The Pragmatic Engineer characterized the team as part of a leading frontier AI company and suggested other teams at Anthropic and AI-native startups could follow. That is a forecast, not confirmation of further changes. The report provides no company-wide policy announcement or response from Anthropic.
A Different Test for Engineering Skills
The decision matters because coding exercises have long been used to screen software engineering applicants, including at technology companies. If a team concludes that a standard interview question does not help it make hiring decisions, dropping it could change what candidates are asked to demonstrate and how interviewers judge their work.
For applicants, the immediate implication is limited: the reported change applies to one team, and the source does not spell out its replacement process. It would be premature to assume that Anthropic candidates, or candidates at other AI companies, will no longer face coding interviews.
The report also puts a practical question about hiring under the spotlight: whether interview formats measure the skills a team needs. Its account gives the team’s conclusion about DSA interviews, but no study design, candidate outcomes, or comparison with other assessment methods. The finding should be understood as the team’s stated experience, not proof that coding questions are ineffective in every hiring process.
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The Report Behind the Change
The development appeared in The Pulse, a series from The Pragmatic Engineer covering developments in technology companies and startups. Its item on Anthropic centers on Rieseberg’s account of his team’s hiring practice, rather than a formal company announcement.
The newsletter placed the item alongside other workplace and technology developments, including companies’ AI spending and expectations for employees to use AI tools. Those topics provide a broader industry setting, but the source does not connect them directly to Anthropic’s interview decision. It gives no indication that the team dropped coding questions because of AI tools or a change in the work itself.
That distinction is relevant: the reported reason was that DSA interviews produced zero useful signal for the team. The source does not say whether the team reached that conclusion through a formal evaluation, how long it used the interviews, or whether it had already tried other formats.
“The rest of the company, and other AI-native startups, could follow.”
— The Pragmatic Engineer, on the possibility of broader adoption
Scope and Replacement Remain Unknown
The report does not establish whether Anthropic has changed hiring company-wide or whether any other team has adopted the same approach. It also does not name the alternative assessments Rieseberg’s team uses, if any, or explain whether candidates still complete coding tasks in another format.
Other details are absent, including when the change took effect, how many roles it covers, and what evidence led the team to judge DSA interviews uninformative. Anthropic did not provide a company-wide statement in the supplied source material. The broader suggestion that AI-native startups may follow remains unconfirmed.
Whether Other Teams Follow
The next point to watch is whether Anthropic confirms a broader recruitment change or whether other engineering teams describe similar decisions. For now, the available account is Rieseberg’s description of his team’s practice, as reported by The Pragmatic Engineer.
Further details from the team could clarify what replaces coding questions and how it evaluates candidates’ technical ability. Until those details emerge, the report supports a narrow conclusion: one team says it removed DSA interview questions because they did not provide useful hiring signal.
Key Questions
Did Anthropic eliminate coding interviews across the company?
The source does not say that. It reports that a team led by Felix Rieseberg stopped asking coding questions; it does not confirm a company-wide policy change.
Why did the team stop asking coding questions?
The Pragmatic Engineer says the team found data-structures-and-algorithms interviews provided no useful hiring signal. The report does not give further evidence or detail about how the team reached that conclusion.
What will the team use instead?
The alternative process is not specified in the supplied report. It is also unclear whether candidates still complete coding exercises in another format.
Does this mean other AI companies will drop coding interviews?
No such broader change is confirmed. The newsletter says other Anthropic teams and AI-native startups could follow, presenting that as a possibility rather than a reported development.
Source: newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com
