A technical interview rubric scores a candidate's performance on a coding or system design exercise against banded levels, from a level 1 answer to a level 4 answer, on dimensions like correctness, code quality, testing and trade-off reasoning. Use it after a technical exercise so every interviewer scores the same dimensions against the same descriptions, whatever language or stack the candidate used.
Use this rubric right after a take-home exercise, live coding round or system design interview, before you discuss the candidate with anyone else. It replaces a single pass or fail impression with banded descriptions of what each level of performance actually looks like, so two interviewers scoring the same solution land in the same place.
Correctness - does the solution solve the stated problem, including edge cases?
Code quality - is the solution readable, organised and reasonably maintainable?
Testing - did the candidate test their own work, and how?
Debugging approach - how did they find and fix an issue when something broke?
Trade-off reasoning - did they explain the trade-offs of their approach, or defend it as the only option?
System design depth, if applicable - did they reason about scale, failure modes and alternatives, or describe a single happy path?
Level 1: solution does not solve the core problem, or only works for the exact example given.
Level 2: solves the core problem but misses common edge cases without prompting.
Level 3: solves the core problem and handles edge cases the candidate identified themselves.
Level 4: solves the problem, handles edge cases, and proactively raises cases the interviewer had not mentioned.
Level 1: hard to follow, inconsistent naming, no separation of concerns.
Level 2: readable but with duplicated logic or unclear naming in places.
Level 3: clean, consistently named, reasonably organised for the size of the exercise.
Level 4: clean and organised, and the candidate can explain why they structured it that way.
Level 1: no attempt to verify the solution works beyond running it once.
Level 2: manually checks a couple of cases but writes no structured tests.
Level 3: writes or describes tests covering the main cases and at least one edge case.
Level 4: tests proactively, and when something breaks, narrows down the cause methodically rather than guessing.
Level 1: presents one approach with no discussion of alternatives or their trade-offs.
Level 2: mentions an alternative when asked, but cannot compare it to their own approach.
Level 3: explains the trade-offs of their approach unprompted and can name a reasonable alternative.
Level 4: reasons about trade-offs at the level appropriate to the exercise, such as performance, scale or maintainability, and defends the choice made for this specific problem, not a generic best practice.
Over-engineering a small exercise with unnecessary abstraction or infrastructure.
Copying a memorised solution pattern without being able to explain why it fits this problem.
Dismissing edge cases or trade-off questions as not important rather than engaging with them.
Blaming the tools, environment or interview format for a weak result, instead of describing what they would do differently.
Score each dimension independently using the level bands above - do not average a strong correctness score into a weak testing score.
Compare scores across interviewers on the same exercise periodically to check the levels are being applied consistently, not just as a one-off.
Use the same exercise and rubric for every candidate at a given level or role, regardless of the language or stack they chose.
Record the overall recommendation separately on your interview scorecard - this rubric is the scoring instrument for the technical dimensions, not the final hire decision.
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