Tailored to the shape of backend engineer work. Universal questions plus the 4 role-specific ones that surface the most useful signal for this hire.
Universal
How do you know [Candidate] — what was your working relationship?
What you're learning:Establishes context. Their boss has a different read than a peer; a direct report has yet another.
What stood out about [Candidate]'s work?
What you're learning:Lets them lead with strengths. Listen for specifics vs generics — vague answers are a flag.
Where did [Candidate] struggle? Where did they need support?
What you're learning:Every strong candidate has growth edges. A reference who says 'nothing' is a flag of its own.
How did [Candidate] respond when they got hard feedback?
What you're learning:Single best predictor of how they'll perform under stress and how they'll grow in the next role.
Would you hire [Candidate] again, knowing what you know now? For what kind of role?
What you're learning:The crown jewel of any reference check. The 'for what kind of role' qualifier is the truth-tell.
What's the working environment where [Candidate] thrives best?
What you're learning:Cross-check against your team's actual environment. If they need a structured boss and yours is hands-off, big risk.
Is there anything I should be worried about going into this hire?
What you're learning:The open-ended catch-all. Often produces the most useful single fact in the whole call.
Backend Engineer specific
How did [Candidate] handle on-call incidents?
What you're learning:On-call composure separates engineers who scale with the team from ones who flame out at 50 employees.
Was [Candidate]'s code review feedback growth-producing or grating?
What you're learning:Code review is half the job at senior+. Style matters as much as content.
How did [Candidate] balance feature work vs technical investment?
What you're learning:Engineers who only ship features pile up debt. Engineers who only refactor never ship. The balance is the skill.
How did [Candidate] handle being wrong about a technical call?
What you're learning:Engineering is full of wrong calls. The next-quarter behavior is the signal.
Raffi calls every backend engineer applicant and ranks them. You only reference-check the top 3 — the ones you're actually about to hire. $25 starter credit.