Hopper is the mobile-first travel platform that pioneered ML-powered price prediction for flights and hotels. Used by tens of millions for booking and price-watch features. The interview emphasizes mobile engineering, ML for pricing, and the unique constraints of the travel domain.
Process
Recruiter screen → 60-minute coding phone (DSA medium) → onsite virtual: 2 coding, 1 system design, 1 craft deep-dive, 1 behavioral. Cycle: 3–4 weeks.
What they actually ask
- Design a price prediction model and serving infrastructure for flight prices
- Design search across hundreds of airlines with sub-second latency
- Design “freeze the price” features (financial product on top of travel)
- Coding: medium DSA, often with caching or graph framing
- Behavioral: customer focus, ownership, working with B2C scale
Levels and comp (2026)
- SE II: $150K–$190K total (US); CAD$135K–$170K (Montreal)
- Senior SE: $215K–$285K
- Staff: $310K–$410K
- Principal: $430K–$570K
Prep priorities
- Be fluent in Scala (backend) or Python (ML); Swift/Kotlin for mobile roles
- Understand ML system design and time-series forecasting
- Brush up on airline data model: GDS, ATPCO, fare construction
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hopper remote-friendly?
Hybrid in Montreal (HQ), Boston, Toronto, NYC, London. Some engineering roles fully remote.
How does Hopper compare to Booking.com or Expedia?
Hopper is mobile-first and ML-driven; legacy OTAs are desktop-heavy and inventory-broker-driven. Hopper comp is competitive with FAANG-Canada.
What is the engineering culture?
Strong technical bar, ML-curious, mobile-first. Montreal HQ gives it a different cultural feel from Bay Area peers.