Trainline Software Engineer interview questions

The interview lasted two hours: the first 30 minutes were questions about my background, followed by 90 minutes of live coding. Three engineers asked me to build a .NET Core application from scratch using clean architecture. I was initially told the focus would be on my thought process and communication, and that it would feel like a pair-programming session rather than finishing everything. I followed a structured approach with a diagram, bullet points, and constant explanation of my reasoning and next steps. I made some small mistakes that I think were reasonable given the scope and time constraints of the task. However, I received negative feedback mainly because I didn’t reach a fully working solution in time. Overall, the interview felt stressful, and it seemed they expected a fast, mistake-free implementation while asking many questions, which contradicted the initial emphasis on collaboration and thought process.