$340 / month
2 calls per month (55min/call)
Unlimited Q&A via chat
Expect responses in 2 days
Hands-on support
No spots left, but you can save the mentor to your wishlist to get notified about their open spots!
Hi there! 👋
My name is Dan, and I'm a freelance software engineer, technology consultant, and coach/mentor based in Seattle, Washington, USA.
I spent 15 years working as a professional software engineer (most of it for Amazon and AWS, up to the Principal / Staff level), then in 2022 I decided to strike out on my own with a one-man consulting firm. In addition to my mentoring/coaching, I work part-time on other software projects that interest me, and the rest of the time is spent with my family and hobbies.
During my time at Amazon/AWS, I participated in over 1,000 hiring panels as a "Bar Raiser". This special role meant that not only was I interviewing each candidate, but I did all the pre-interview planning (topics for each interviewer to cover), led the hiring panel discussion, guided the group to a hire/no-hire decision, and ultimately I could "veto" a candidate if I felt they were not right for Amazon in the long-term.
As a Bar Raiser, I also conducted "behavioral interviews" in addition to technical interviews within my own expertise (software engineering), meaning I was talking to each candidate, diving into their past experience, and evaluating how well they fit Amazon's "leadership principles" in a broad way. This meant I interviewed a broad range of candidates in addition to SDEs, such as SDE-Ts, QA Engineers, Technical Program Managers, Engineering Managers, Product Managers, and many others, from entry-level up to Principal / Staff (L4-L7).
I now leverage this unique experience to do a lot of "interview coaching" on the other side of the hiring desk, helping candidates to prepare for technical and behavioral interviews.
I offer both monthly mentorships as well as one-off sessions, and I'm happy to do whichever one fits your needs best.
Feel free to send me an inquiry if you have any questions!
5 out of 5 stars
Working with Dan has been incredibly helpful. We focused on behavioral interview stories, and he really helped me level up how I approach them. He has a lot of firsthand experience interviewing candidates himself, and that perspective made his advice especially valuable. He gave me extremely practical guidance on how to structure stories in a way that feels clear, compelling, and authentic. He was great at spotting weak points in my examples and helping me turn them into stronger stories that better highlighted my impact. Beyond that, Dan was thoughtful, encouraging, and easy to talk to throughout the process. I left our sessions feeling much more confident about behavioural interviews. I’d definitely recommend him to anyone preparing for interviews.
Standard Plan • 2 months
5 out of 5 stars
Dan is awesome, was extremely helpful in getting me ready for systems design interviews
Session
5 out of 5 stars
Dan was incredibly attentive, helpful, and responsive. We worked together over the course of a few months and I landed a new role that was exactly what I was looking for.
Standard Plan • 6 months
I'm a software developer, consultant, and technical interview coach, with 15+ years full-stack software experience up to the Principal/Staff level …
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Hi there! I'm a freelance software engineer and coach/mentor based in Seattle, Washington, USA
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Mentees who work with a mentor for 3+ months reach their goals 2x faster than those going it alone. Long-term mentorship means fewer false starts, more focused sessions, and support that builds week after week.
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Dan Ford
Principal Software Developer at None
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