The vibe coding interview: what it is and how to prepare
"Vibe coding interview" is the informal name for a live round where you build something with an AI coding agent while interviewers watch. Unlike AI rounds inside HackerRank or CoderPad, you often use your own tools, such as Claude Code, Cursor or Codex. The name sounds casual, but the grading isn't.
Who runs them
- Databricks has a round candidates call the "vibe coding round" for solutions architect and forward-deployed roles. Several posts in r/databricks ask about it. One candidate who took it said you may use a cheat sheet and anything you'd use on a real client site, including the web, and that the focus is discovery and how you approach the problem. Another said Databricks sends a couple of pages explaining how the round works (r/databricks, r/databricks).
- DoorDash describes the same shape officially: 60 minutes, your own machine, an AI assistant you're required to use, and a realistic project. See DoorDash's AI-assisted interview.
- Other companies run it under other names. A senior frontend candidate described getting a React spec in advance, then building it live with two engineers watching, "using an AI coding agent of my choice" (r/ExperiencedDevs).
What interviewers look for
In that r/ExperiencedDevs thread, people who run these rounds described what they score:
- Planning. One interviewer looks for "using plan mode and iterating on the plan until you're happy with it".
- Verification. Another, whose employer runs this format, asks: are you checking that what the agent wrote solves the problem, and are there tests that are good enough?
- Scope. Did you let the agent overcomplicate things or solve a bigger or smaller problem than asked?
- Flexibility. Are you willing to change your approach as the solution evolves, or do you get tunnel vision?
- Ownership. One interviewer takes the agent away at the end and asks about the code, the decisions and the trade-offs. You should be able to explain all of it.
Another reply made a sharp point. In an hour, interviewers can't read your whole diff, so the finished product carries less signal than it feels like. The moment that tells them the most is when the agent hands you something "plausible and wrong" and they see whether you catch it.
The top reply was a warning: there's no standard. Some interviewers mark you down for leaning on the agent too much, others for too little. Ask what they want to see.
How to prepare
- Set up your tools in advance. A working project template, a test runner, and any instructions file your agent reads. Don't configure things on the call.
- Read the spec for gaps. If you get it in advance, list the ambiguities and say them out loud before your first prompt.
- Plan, then build in slices. Agree a plan with the agent, then ask for one small piece at a time and run it.
- Review every diff. Read what changed before accepting it, and say what you're checking.
- Keep tests running from the start. They're your evidence that it works.
- Rehearse with a timer. Build a small app from a one-page spec in 45 minutes while narrating, then explain the code without the agent.
See also how to use the AI without hurting your score and which companies allow AI.
Sources
- r/ExperiencedDevs: What are interviewers looking for in a "use an AI agent live" coding interview? (August 2026, interviewer replies)
- r/databricks: Databricks Solutions Architect vibe coding round (September 2026)
- r/databricks: Databricks vibe coding round (October 2026)
- DoorDash: Why DoorDash is rebuilding its engineering interviews around AI (March 2026)