Secure the open source software supply chain on Google's GOSST team

Software engineer on the Google Open Source Security Team (GOSST) in Singapore, building tools to assess and improve the security posture of open source software, find vulnerabilities, and secure open source build/release pipelines. Entry bar is 2 years of software development experience (Go, Python, C/C++, Java, or Rust), with security/open-source and AI-assisted development experience preferred.

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Likely format

Google SWE loop: phone screen(s) with coding, followed by onsite rounds covering coding, system/security design, and Googleyness/leadership behavioral interviews.

What this interview tests

Finding and triaging vulnerabilities in open source software
Building tools for supply-chain security (build/release integrity, vulnerability scanning)
Secure software development practices and advocacy
AI-assisted development with critical review of AI output
Engaging external open source maintainers/community

Common question themes

Describe a security vulnerability you found and how you assessed its impact

Design a tool to assess or improve the security posture of an open source project

How do you review AI-generated code for security issues

Tell me about working with an external open source community or maintainer

Coding question in one of Go/Python/C/C++/Java/Rust with a security angle

How candidates describe it

Real Software Engineer interview stories — retold from candidates' public write-ups, with sources.

Google · L3 Software EngineerOffer

Google L3 software engineer interview: phone screen, four coding rounds, and the Googleyness round

A candidate with two years of experience went from recruiter outreach to offer over about four months. The onsite was four 45-minute coding rounds — three of them featuring binary trees — and one round turned into a 25-minute chain of follow-ups about approximating an optimal solution at scale.

Interviewed June 2020 · Bangalore, IN

Google · L4 Software EngineerNo offer

Google L4 Software Engineer Interview: Eight Rounds, No Offer

An L4 Software Engineer candidate went through two phone screens, three onsite rounds, a culture conversation, and a team-matching call with a Google hiring manager, then watched the process stall for about a month and a half over a tightened experience requirement before an added extended round ended without an offer.

Interviewed February 2024 · Not specified

Google · L5 Software EngineerNo offer

Google L5 software engineer interview: phone screening, three onsite rounds, system design, and a late rejection

A candidate interviewing for an L5 role went through a phone screening, three onsite coding rounds, a mobile system design round, and a Googleyness and Leadership round. Two of the four technical rounds went poorly by the candidate's own assessment, and after roughly two months of silence the recruiter reported that the role had been closed.

Interviewed January 2023 · Not specified

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