OutsetAI - Senior Frontend Engineer - Technical Screen

Interview Experience
1

Description: Build something similar to a Google Sheets in your own Text Editor.
Education: Bachelors
Location: San Francisco, CA
Years of Experience (YOE): 3

Questions Asked:

1. Google Sheets Clone (Live Coding Round - 1 Hour)

  • I was asked to build a simplified version of Google Sheets using React.
  • Key Requirements:
    • A grid layout of editable cells (e.g., 10x10 by default).
    • Cells should be individually editable and persist value on blur.
    • Support for keyboard navigation (arrow keys, Enter to edit next cell).
    • Basic formula parsing (e.g., =A1+B2 → optional, stretch goal).
  • What I did:
    • Used React with functional components and hooks (useState, useEffect).
    • Maintained a 2D array for cell values.
    • Handled focus/blur events and basic styling with CSS grid.
    • Was able to implement core editing and keyboard navigation.
  • Tips:
    • Start with a clean component structure.
    • Clarify feature expectations early—time flies in a 1-hour screen!
    • Use useRef strategically to manage DOM focus if required.

Salary Transparency Participation:

Post Title: Senior Frontend Engineer - OutsetAI

Post Description:
YOE: 3
Annual Base: 145k USD
Annual Stock: 30k USD
Bonus: 5%
Signing Bonus: 10k USD