When Rahul logged into his Eightfold interview, he expected the usual: a whiteboard, a coding problem, maybe a few tricky edge cases. What he got instead felt like a glimpse into the future of engineering.
“This was my first experience with an AI-driven interview. It felt surprisingly natural, like collaborating with a smart pair programmer who never gets tired,” he later said.
He wasn’t wrong. The round he went through, AI Design and Coding, is not just another technical exercise. It’s how we at Eightfold are redefining what it means to be a great engineer in the age of intelligent tools.
Why we changed the playbook
The traditional engineering interview—filled with algorithm puzzles and syntax-heavy coding—once measured brilliance. But in 2025, brilliance looks different.
AI has shifted the game. The best engineers today don’t just write code; they orchestrate it. They know when to let AI scaffold, when to intervene, and how to transform a vague idea into a working prototype quickly.
So we asked ourselves a bold question:
- What if our interview process mirrored how real, modern engineering actually happens?
- That’s how the AI Design and Coding interview was born: a 60-minute, high-intensity challenge where candidates can use any AI tool of their choice (Cursor, ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot—all fair game) to build a functional prototype.
- We’re not testing how much you can memorize. We’re testing how effectively you can think, design, and build in partnership with AI.
The interview, reimagined
In this round, candidates are given a real-world problem, something you might find in an early-stage product discussion. They’re asked to design, code, and demonstrate a working prototype.
There are no restrictions on tools, no penalties for using AI, and no points for reinventing the wheel. The only thing that matters is outcome and reasoning.
“It showed that Eightfold cares about getting to the solution without being rigid about the means,” said one candidate.”
“It judges problem-solving and thought process rather than memory-based skills. You can focus on the end-to-end solution instead of syntax.”
For some, it’s liberating. For others, it’s eye-opening. Either way, it reflects the new reality: your ability to guide AI is as important as your ability to code.
What we’ve learned so far
Early signals have been powerful. Candidates have built everything from intelligent task schedulers to mini-agent frameworks within an hour. But the real takeaway has been deeper—it’s how they think.
“I had a really positive experience with the AI Design and Coding round. It allowed me to leverage AI to build an end-to-end working module quickly and focus on non-functional requirements,” one engineer shared.
“It also showed that Eightfold truly walks the talk on AI-first. This is not a gimmick; it’s how they build.”
Many candidates leave the interview, even those who don’t advance, with a sense of discovery. They realize how powerful and practical AI fluency can be when applied to real engineering problems.
The signal behind the process
We’re not replacing rigor; we’re updating it. The fundamentals still matter: architecture, problem decomposition, and clarity of thought. But in an AI-accelerated world, these must coexist with a new skill—AI literacy and tool fluency.
This round helps us see who can adapt, think abstractly, and guide an AI partner toward quality. It also reveals who can take a concept from zero to one without friction while exercising judgment and responsibility in how they use AI.
Responsible AI use is central to this approach. We want engineers who understand that tools like ChatGPT and Copilot are only as effective as the intent and oversight behind them. It’s not about outsourcing thinking to machines; it’s about amplifying human creativity through them.
Because that balance—speed and responsibility—is how we build at Eightfold: fast, pragmatic, and human at the core.
The future belongs to AI-fluent engineers
This interview is more than a hiring experiment. It’s a reflection of how engineering itself is evolving. Great engineers today are not the ones who type the fastest; they’re the ones who think the clearest and know how to get the most from their AI copilots.
As one candidate put it, “It was a smooth and insightful experience. I walked away realizing that using AI effectively isn’t just about speed; it’s about judgment.”
At Eightfold, we’re hiring for more than technical skills. We’re hiring for the ability to think critically, use AI responsibly, and approach engineering with creativity and care.
Because the best engineers of the future won’t just write code.
They’ll expand what’s possible.
Ready to build what’s next?
Join us at Eightfold, where engineers design with AI, not around it.