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Welcome to Payara

Thank you for your interest in joining Payara! We’re passionate about building a diverse, collaborative, and innovative team that shapes the future of Java software and cloud-native solutions. This guide will help you prepare for your interview and give insight into what we value in our people.

What to Expect

At Payara, we want everyone to have a great candidate journey.
We follow the process below to ensure we deliver on that aim. Here’s how our process works:

1. Apply

Submit your application through our careers site. We aim to review every application promptly and let you know the outcome within 5 working days. Transparency matters to us you won’t be left wondering.

2. Connect with Us

Follow us on social media to get a feel for life at Payara. See how we live our values of ownership, collaboration, and innovation every day and get inspired by our global team in action.

3. Talent Acquisition Welcome

This is a introductory conversation with our Talent Acquisition team. We’ll align on expectations, learn about you, and answer any questions you have about the role or Payara. It’s your chance to get to know us, too.

4. First Interview: Skills Assessment

We’ll assess your technical abilities and skills relevant to the role. This may include a practical exercise or scenario discussion to understand how you solve problems and apply your expertise.

5. Final Interview: Culture add

In this stage, you’ll meet with someone from our People Operations Team and Hiring Manager to explore how you align with Payara’s culture and values. We want to see how you’ll grow with us, collaborate with the team, and own your impact.

6. Offer & Welcome

Congratulations! With your offer in hand, you’ll join our inclusive, remote team. Our onboarding sets you up to thrive, giving you the support and tools to grow, collaborate, and make a real difference from day one.

Payara’s EVP Payara’s Values

Application and Interview Tips

Shape Your Future with Us
Tailor your application to show how you want to contribute to innovation and growth. Highlight experiences where you helped build or improve products, processes, or teams.

Own Your Impact
Clearly demonstrate moments where you took ownership and made a measurable difference. Use specific examples of problem-solving or leadership, even in small tasks.

Show Your Collaborative Spirit
Emphasise teamwork, communication, and how you’ve supported diverse colleagues or customers. We value people who lift others up and work inclusively.

Express Your Willingness to Evolve
Share examples of learning new skills, adapting to change, or stepping outside your comfort zone to grow professionally.

Be Clear and Authentic
Write honestly about your strengths, motivations, and aspirations. Authenticity helps us understand how you’ll fit and thrive with Payara

Show How You Own Your Impact
We want to hear about times you took ownership and made a real difference. Prepare examples where you proactively solved problems, drove projects forward, or influenced outcomes. Demonstrate your ability to take responsibility and deliver meaningful results.

Demonstrate a Collaborative Mindset
Payara thrives on teamwork and open communication. Share stories where you worked effectively with others, navigated challenges together, or helped build inclusive environments. We value candidates who listen, support peers, and build strong relationships.

Highlight Your Innovative Thinking
Innovation is at our core. Discuss how you’ve approached challenges creatively or introduced new ideas that improved processes or products. Show your eagerness to learn, experiment, and push boundaries to shape the future.

Focus on Growth and Evolution
We’re looking for people who want to learn and evolve alongside us. Talk about times you embraced change, learned new skills, or adapted in fast-moving environments. Show your openness to feedback and continuous improvement.

Be Authentic and Engaged
Bring your whole self to the conversation. We want to understand who you are and how you align with our culture and values. Ask thoughtful questions that show your interest in growing with Payara and making an impact.

Clarify Next Steps with Confidence
At the end of your interview, ask about the timeline and next stages. This shows your proactive approach and genuine enthusiasm to own your journey with Payara.

How to Prepare for Your Interview

Before the Interview
  • Research Payara: Explore our website, products, and community involvement.
  • Check internet connection (try a test run with a friend at home)
  • Reflect on your experiences: Prepare stories showing how you demonstrate our core behaviours (ownership, collaboration, innovation, growth).
  • Review the job description carefully and align your skills and achievements.
  • Prepare thoughtful questions about the role, team, and company culture.
During the Interview
  • Use the STARR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result, Reflection) to structure your answers.
  • Be authentic and clear about your experiences and motivations.
  • Listen actively and engage with your interviewers.
  • Demonstrate curiosity and a growth mindset by asking insightful questions.
  • Find a quiet spot to interview, think about lighting and background visuals (you can blur your background if you wish).
After the Interview
  • Reflect on your interview experience and any additional information you want to share.
  • Follow up promptly with a thank-you email.
  • Note any key topics or questions that stood out, they can help you prepare for potential next steps or future interviews.

Tips to Shine

Tip 1: Reflect

Reflect on a few projects or situations where you made an impact big or small. Be ready to talk about what you changed, how, and what you learned.

Tip 2: Prepare

Choose a format that feels natural to you (STARR, stories, bullet points) don’t force a template.

Tip 3: Practice

Practice out loud. That helps you find your voice.

Tip 4: Stand Out

Be curious: ask questions in the interview. We love talking about what we build, how we work, and how people grow here.

The Payara Guide to Using AI in Your Interview Process

We believe in bringing your true self to the table. At Payara, we’re excited by what you know, how you think, and how you grow AI tools can help you prepare better, but they never replace the person we want to meet: you.

Here’s how to use AI tools effectively in your interview prep, plus what we care about most when we hire:

What You Can Do
  • Use AI to gather research on our products, technologies, or industry trends. It helps you come in informed and ready.
  • Use AI as a writing assistant polish your responses, fix grammar, make structure clearer. Then add your voice.
  • Ask AI to help you brainstorm examples from your past based on skills listed in the role, then pick the ones that genuinely resonate with your experience.
  • Practice with AI-driven interview questions (behavioural, technical) so you feel confident, but don’t lean too much on canned answers.
What You Shouldn’t Do
  • Don’t invent stories. We want real experiences: what you did, not something made up by a model.
  • Don’t copy and paste someone else’s work or an AI-generated block without editing; it erases your authentic voice.
  • Don’t use AI tools during a live interview in a way that misleads; we want honest, human conversation.
  • Avoid letting AI replace your preparation. You know you best your perspective, your growth, your thinking.
How Payara Sees It
  • We use more than answers. We want to understand how you problem-solve, how you learn, how you communicate, and how you collaborate.
  • Authenticity matters to us. When you share what you actually did, what you found hard, or what you changed, that tells us a lot.
  • Use your prep tools (AI or otherwise) to help you be your best self but don’t lose you in the process.