Canva Now Requires Use of LLMs During Coding Interviews

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Register: Australian SaaS-y graphic design service Canva now requires candidates for developer jobs to use AI coding assistants during the interview process. Canva's hiring process previously included an interview focused on computer science fundamentals, during which it required candidates to write code using only their actual human brains. The company now expects candidates for frontend, backend, and machine learning engineering roles to demonstrate skill with tools like Copilot, Cursor, and Claude during technical interviews, Canva head of platforms Simon Newton wrote in a Tuesday blog post.

His rationale for the change is that nearly half of Canva's frontend and backend engineers use AI coding assistants daily, that it's now expected behavior, and that the tools are 'essential for staying productive and competitive in modern software development.' Yet Canva's old interview process 'asked candidates to solve coding problems without the very tools they'd use on the job,' Newton admitted. 'This dismissal of AI tools during the interview process meant we weren't truly evaluating how candidates would perform in their actual role,' he added. Candidates were already starting to use AI assistants during interview tasks -- and sometimes used subterfuge to hide it. 'Rather than fighting this reality and trying to police AI usage, we made the decision to embrace transparency and work with this new reality,' Newton wrote. 'This approach gives us a clearer signal about how they'll actually perform when they join our team.' The initial reaction among engineers 'was worry that we were simply replacing rigorous computer science fundamentals with what one engineer called 'vibe-coding sessions,'' Newton said.

The company addressed these concerns with a recruitment process that sees candidates expected to use their preferred AI tools, to solve what Newton described as 'the kind of challenges that require genuine engineering judgment even with AI assistance.' Newton added: 'These problems can't be solved with a single prompt; they require iterative thinking, requirement clarification, and good decision-making.'

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