snap

Snap (Snapchat) Product Designer Case Interview — Camera-first AR Feature for Close Friends

This case simulates a real Snap product design session and mirrors the company’s camera-first, low-latency, privacy-by-default ethos. You will design an end-to-end AR-powered experience that strengthens communication between close friends while respecting safety and trust constraints. Context provided by interviewer: - Mission and vibe: Design for real friends, fast creation and sharing, playful AR, and minimal friction from camera open to capture. - Platforms: iOS and Android, with attention to performance on mid/low-end devices. - Guardrails: Protect minors by default, limit unnecessary data collection, clear reporting/mute flows, and reduce abuse/spam. - Success lens: Drive healthy engagement (daily opens, send rate, lens plays) without eroding user trust. Prompt (you choose a direction after clarifying questions): 1) Shared AR Moment: Create a lightweight way for a small group of close friends to co-create a time-bound AR moment (e.g., a Lens that stitches everyone’s clips into a playful recap) that disappears after a set window. 2) Contextual Lens Handoff: Help a user smoothly hand off an AR effect to a friend during chat/camera, encouraging quick back-and-forth creation while preserving ephemerality. 3) Location-Optional Lens on Map: Enable friends to react to a moment on the Map with an AR overlay without exposing precise location by default. What to produce in-session (whiteboard or lightweight wireframes are fine): - Problem framing: Target user, primary job-to-be-done, constraints unique to Snap (camera speed, ephemerality, trust). - Core flows: Entry from camera/chat, capture, review, share, and a graceful failure path (poor network, denied permissions). - Interaction details: One-handed use, thumb reach, motion/feedback, snap-worthy defaults, and how AR states are represented. - Safety and privacy: Default audiences, teen protections, reporting, rate limits, and how you reduce spam or unwanted contact. - Metrics and experiments: Primary metrics (e.g., first-snap time, send rate, lens plays/session), guardrail metrics (reports, mutes, uninstalls), and a simple A/B test plan. - Rollout plan: V0 scope (what ships in 6–8 weeks), V1+ roadmap, international considerations, and creator/Lens Studio touchpoints. Data/constraints the interviewer may share if you ask: - Baselines (directional only): Daily opens, average send rate per DAU, median first-snap time, lens attach rate. - Performance: Keep camera open-to-capture snappy; be explicit about trade-offs (e.g., prefetch vs. battery). - Content policy: Community Guidelines implications for AR effects; how you deter misuse. Evaluation rubric aligned to Snap’s style: - Product sense (clarity of the problem, crisp trade-offs, real-friends mental model). - Interaction and visual craft (simple, fast, legible on small screens; motion used sparingly to guide). - AR usability and feasibility (how the Lens fits capture/review/share; realistic technical assumptions). - Trust & Safety by design (defaults that protect, clear controls, minimal data exposure). - Metrics and iteration (testable hypothesis, success/guardrail metrics, thoughtful ramp plan). - Communication and collaboration (kind, direct, iterative; how you’d partner with PM, Eng, DS, Legal/T&S). Interview flow (typical): - 5–10 min: Clarifying questions and alignment on goal/constraints. - 25–30 min: Sketch core flows, edge cases, and safety. - 10–15 min: Metrics, experiment, and rollout. - 5–10 min: Deep dive on a trade-off (e.g., speed vs. richness, privacy vs. coordination) and brief retrospective. What good looks like: - You keep the camera front-and-center, minimize taps to first capture, and design for quick back-and-forth among close friends. - You make privacy the default, articulate abuse vectors, and show how to measure healthy use (not just raw time spent). - You propose a pragmatic V0 with a believable path to V1, calling out performance and international nuances. What to avoid: - Heavy, multi-step setup before capture; ambiguous audience controls; features that increase spam or expose precise location by default.

engineering

8 minutes

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About This Interview

Interview Type

PRODUCT SENSE

Difficulty Level

4/5

Interview Tips

• Research the company thoroughly

• Practice common questions

• Prepare your STAR method responses

• Dress appropriately for the role