The Applied Intuition interview process, with and without AI
Key takeaways Applied Intuition runs two interviews that pull in opposite directions. Its technical phone screen is a 45-minute coding task with no AI. Its onsite gives you a 45-minute system design question and then two hours to build what you designed with any AI model you want, followed by a demo to a panel of engineers. The company laid out that split in a July 2026 post on its engineering…
Applied Intuition runs two distinct interview stages for engineering positions. The first stage is a 45-minute technical phone screen consisting of a coding task with no AI assistance. The company maintains this no-AI approach to ensure candidates demonstrate their understanding of code without relying on AI tools. The second stage is an onsite interview that begins with a 45-minute system design question.
This open-ended problem is typically derived from a real-world challenge the company has faced. Candidates then have two hours to build a working prototype of the system they designed, utilizing any AI model or frameworks they wish. Following this, candidates present their work to a panel of engineers, who assess their decisions, thought process, and areas for improvement.
The reasoning behind splitting the interview process in this manner stems from Applied Intuition's July 2026 engineering blog post. The company restructured its interview process after transitioning to AI coding agents and recognizing that its original no-AI approach no longer aligned with its current practices. The phone screen remains unchanged, serving to evaluate candidates' foundational coding skills independently of AI assistance.
The onsite build, however, has been adapted to incorporate AI, reflecting the company's belief that AI fluency is valuable but only one aspect of the job. Applied Intuition emphasizes the importance of decision-making, technical excellence, and cultural factors in evaluating candidates, with the onsite build serving as the primary platform to assess these skills with AI support.
During the trial phase, Applied Intuition interviewed over 30 candidates to gauge the effectiveness of its new interview format. Senior engineers involved in the trial reported that six out of seven hiring signals, including practical skills, tackling unfamiliar challenges, technical communication, logical thinking, and technical mastery, were clearly surfaced by the new format.
The onsite build, which allows the use of any AI model, emerged as a key stage for evaluating these core skills. Additionally, the company noted that the phone screen still serves to assess code elegance and design, an area where candidates using AI tools had previously scored lower. To prepare for the phone screen, candidates should practice coding problems without AI assistance to ensure a solid understanding of code fundamentals.
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