The goal is not to discover who can produce a convincing answer. It is to establish enough relevant engineering evidence to make the next human conversation worthwhile.
Start with a decision
Name what the first screen needs to establish for this role. Avoid asking one bounded assessment to evaluate architecture, collaboration, leadership, domain expertise, and every tool in the job description.
Make tools part of the specification
Decide what assistance is permitted and explain it before the session. Evaluate the candidate’s decisions about the output, rather than treating the mere presence or absence of AI use as a competency.
Connect output to understanding
Use consequential moments in the work to guide follow-up: a missing test, an ambiguous requirement, a failed hypothesis, or a change in constraints. Ask the candidate to reason about the actual task.
Preserve the uncertainty
Report what was demonstrated, what was not established, and what deserves further exploration. A bounded work sample cannot carry the whole hiring decision.
Earn the workflow change
Compare the evidence with independent reviewer judgments during a pilot. Remove or shorten an existing round only when the hiring team has a defensible reason to do so.