CONFIDENTIAL HIRING DOCUMENT
INTERVIEW GUIDE
Maya Okonkwo - Senior Frontend Developer
TARGET 60 MIN • REMOTE • LISBON, PORTUGAL
Candidate snapshot
at a glance
Current Role
Senior Frontend Engineer at Corvo Pay
Experience
6 Years total; BSc Informatics Engineering
Location
Lisbon, Portugal
Contact
(351) 912 004 118 / maya.okonkwo@email.com
What we already know
context
Frontend engineer with six years building product interfaces in React and TypeScript. Owns the shared component library at a 200‑person fintech, led a design‑system migration across 40+ screens, and ran a performance program that cut LCP by 45%.
Scored 91 of 100 against this posting, the strongest applicant in the pipeline. This interview is about confirming the depth behind the headline numbers and testing breadth outside the component library. Treat the assessment below as a hypothesis to test, not a conclusion.
Depth behind the metrics
The 45% LCP reduction and 60% component saving are strong claims. Confirm she can break both down to method and measurement rather than repeating the figure.
Breadth outside the library
Most recent impact sits inside a design system. Establish whether she has shipped product features end to end, including data and state, in the last two years.
Scope of leadership
Mentored two engineers, but has not held a formal lead title. Test whether she can set direction for a squad, not only review work.
Opening and Career Intent
8 min
Establish why this role, and what she actually owned in the work behind it.
01
Walk us through the design-system migration at Corvo Pay. What made it possible to do without a feature freeze?
LISTEN FOR
A sequencing strategy, codemods or adapters, and a rollout she can describe screen by screen. Weak answer: the migration described as a team effort with no named decisions of her own.
02
You cut Largest Contentful Paint by 45%. How did you measure it, and what actually moved the number?
LISTEN FOR
Field data over lab data, a named baseline, and the two or three changes that carried most of the gain. Weak answer: a round figure with no measurement method.
03
What are you looking for in the next role that Corvo Pay cannot give you?
LISTEN FOR
A specific gap, ideally scope or product ownership. Weak answer: compensation only, or a general wish for something new.
SECTION NOTES
Test hands-on depth against the platforms and patterns the role requires.
04
How do you decide what belongs in a shared component library and what stays in the product?
LISTEN FOR
A clear boundary rule and an example of something she deliberately kept out. Weak answer: everything reusable goes in the library.
05
Describe a piece of product work you shipped end to end, including the data layer.
LISTEN FOR
Feature ownership beyond the UI, with API or state decisions she made. Weak answer: only UI work handed to her fully specified.
06
How do you approach accessibility beyond passing an automated audit?
LISTEN FOR
Keyboard paths, screen-reader testing, and a real defect she found manually. Weak answer: naming a tool and stopping there.
SECTION NOTES
Communication and Collaboration
10 min
Assess clarity with non-technical partners and behaviour inside a squad.
07
How did you get four product squads to adopt your component library?
LISTEN FOR
Persuasion, documentation and migration support, not a mandate. Weak answer: leadership told teams to use it.
08
Tell us about disagreeing with a designer on a specification. How did it resolve?
LISTEN FOR
A decision made on user or performance evidence, and a relationship intact afterwards. Weak answer: deferring to avoid friction.
SECTION NOTES
Leadership and Growth
12 min
Assess ability to set direction, not only review work.
09
You mentored two engineers from junior to mid-level. What did you change about how they worked?
LISTEN FOR
Written growth plans, specific feedback, and a measurable outcome for each person. Weak answer: general availability for questions.
10
If you owned frontend direction for this team, what would you change in the first ninety days?
LISTEN FOR
A prioritised, evidence-led plan she can defend. Weak answer: a list of technologies she wants to adopt.
SECTION NOTES
Problem Solving Under Pressure
10 min
Confirm structured diagnosis when several things compete.
11
Describe a production issue you diagnosed with no clear cause.
LISTEN FOR
Isolate, reproduce, narrow. A durable fix and a follow-up that prevented recurrence. Weak answer: trial and error until it cleared.
12
A launch is in two days and the performance budget is blown. What do you do?
LISTEN FOR
A stated trade-off, a stakeholder conversation, and a decision she owns. Weak answer: absorbing it silently or shipping regardless.
SECTION NOTES
Summarize and open the floor for candidate questions.
13
Do you have any questions for me about the role, the team, or the company?
LISTEN FOR
Thoughtful questions about the stack, team structure or growth path. Weak answer: no questions, or only compensation.
SECTION NOTES
Post‑interview scoring
circle 1‑5
Signal
What to evaluate
Score
Technical Depth
Can she explain the method behind the migration and the performance work, not just the outcome? Does she own decisions rather than describe team activity?
12345
Product Breadth
Evidence of shipping features end to end, including data and state, rather than UI handed to her fully specified.
12345
Design-System Judgement
A defensible boundary between shared and product code, with an example of something deliberately kept out.
12345
Influence Without Authority
How she drove adoption across four squads, and how she handles disagreement with design or product.
12345
Leadership Readiness
Can she set direction for a squad and defend a ninety-day plan, or is her leadership limited to code review?
12345
GREEN LIGHT
Candidate breaks down both headline metrics to method and measurement, names a product feature she owned including its data layer, defends a clear boundary for the component library, and describes driving adoption through persuasion rather than mandate.
RED FLAG
Candidate cannot break the 45% claim down beyond the number, has shipped nothing outside the design system in two years, or describes library adoption as something leadership enforced on her behalf.
Interviewer
Date
Generated by Resume Guide. Questions and scores are advisory. They can be wrong or incomplete and should not be the sole basis for a hiring decision. A human reviewer makes the final call.
