I have a software development offer from a late-stage start up for what could be my first job out of college.<p>I'm trying to assess the engineering organization to see if I really am a good fit. I got to ask questions during the interview process, but want to follow up to better understand how they develop product.<p>I'm concerned that I may end up working to pay back technical debt and won't get a chance to work on new feature development. I see myself excelling at sales and business development in the long run, and want to build up the product-oriented skills needed to accomplish my long term goals. What questions will allow me to best gauge my potential for success at this company?<p>Questions asked thus far:
1. Code unit test/review/check in policy
2. Development methodologies & software shipping schedule
3. Ability for face time with customers
2 suggestions:<p>1) Why not ask the question you asked here? "How much of this role will be new feature development?"<p>2) Don't assume that the /manager/ really has the low-level information that will dictate how your time will be spent. Ask to meet the coders you'll be working with (not a bad idea in any interview process!) and pop the questions:<p>"What state do you feel the codebase is in? How does new feature development tend to get divvied out across the team? Which part of the product are you most proud of? ... and least proud of?"<p>HTH