Hightouch pioneered the “reverse ETL” category — sync data from your warehouse (Snowflake, BigQuery, Redshift) to operational tools (Salesforce, HubSpot, Iterable). Now expanding to Composable CDP. The interview emphasizes data engineering, SQL fluency, and the reliability concerns of moving customer data between systems.
Process
Recruiter screen → 60-minute coding pair → onsite virtual: 2 coding, 1 system design, 1 craft deep-dive, 1 behavioral. Cycle: 3–4 weeks.
What they actually ask
- Design a sync engine that pushes 10M rows from a warehouse to Salesforce without exceeding rate limits
- Design diff detection that finds only changed rows for incremental syncs
- Design a connector framework with retry, dead-letter, and observability
- Coding: medium DSA, often with parsing or transformation flavor
- Behavioral: customer focus, written communication, working with non-technical buyers
Levels and comp (2026)
- SE II: $170K–$210K total
- Senior SE: $250K–$320K
- Staff: $350K–$460K
- Principal: $480K–$620K
Prep priorities
- Be fluent in TypeScript/Node.js and SQL
- Understand modern data stack: Snowflake, BigQuery, dbt, Fivetran
- Read about reverse ETL patterns and customer data infrastructure
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hightouch fully remote?
Yes. Distributed across US and EU. Hubs in San Francisco optional.
How does Hightouch compare to Census?
Both reverse ETL leaders. Hightouch broader on Composable CDP / audience activation. Comp is comparable.
What is the bar like for senior roles?
High. Strong technical writing, demonstrated craft, and customer empathy all matter.