Software Engineer Interviews

Software Engineer Interview Questions

Software engineers write programs to design and develop computer software. Interviews are highly technical, so come ready to work through coding problems and math brainteasers. The specific questions you are asked will depend on what type of programming position you are looking for. Try researching a specific software discipline such as web development, application development, or system development.

Top Software Engineer Interview Questions & How to Answer

Question 1

Question #1: How would you describe your programming task process?

How to answer
How to answer: When answering a question about your process or life cycle for software development and engineering, it's helpful to consider every step, beginning with obtaining the requirements for the end product. Include as much detail as possible to help the interviewer learn more about any work you've done as a software engineer and how you handle a task to show your ability to tackle a project from start to finish.
Question 2

Question #2: Which programming languages do you know and prefer?

How to answer
How to answer: An interviewer will want to know what programming languages you're familiar with, as well as which languages you prefer. This question doesn't necessarily have a right or wrong answer, but it does provide insights into your capabilities and coding expertise. If the job listing for which you are interviewing includes specific language knowledge preferences, make sure to include them when outlining the software languages you know.
Question 3

Question 3: What is an example of a successful project that you completed?

How to answer
How to answer: When describing your success with a past project, it's helpful to identify aspects of the project that went well and detail the different task list elements. You can describe the team with whom you worked on the project, how you managed your time, and how you specifically contributed to the project.

418,653 software engineer interview questions shared by candidates

Phone interview 1 : a) Simulate a Queue with stacks ? b)Find repeated occurrence of character in a string ? Phone interview 2 : a) Given a 2D matrix of numbers find the position of number . Constraints of matrix number always in increasing order left to right and top to bottom . b)When should version control be used . And a tricky discreet math problem ?
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Software Engineer Test

Interviewed at Google

4.4
Nov 21, 2009

Phone interview 1 : a) Simulate a Queue with stacks ? b)Find repeated occurrence of character in a string ? Phone interview 2 : a) Given a 2D matrix of numbers find the position of number . Constraints of matrix number always in increasing order left to right and top to bottom . b)When should version control be used . And a tricky discreet math problem ?

You are trying to rob houses on a street. Each house has some +ve amount of cash. Your goal is to rob houses such that you maximize the total robbed amount. The constraint is once you rob a house you cannot rob a house adjascent to that house.
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Software Engineer

Interviewed at Meta

3.6
Oct 20, 2010

You are trying to rob houses on a street. Each house has some +ve amount of cash. Your goal is to rob houses such that you maximize the total robbed amount. The constraint is once you rob a house you cannot rob a house adjascent to that house.

I was asked a pretty straight forward brain teaser during my last phone interview, which they said they don't normally do, but because I put that I was a logical problem solver on my resume they couldn't resist the opportunity to. It was the following "There are 20 different socks of two types in a drawer in a completely dark room. What is the minimum number of socks you should grab to ensure you have a matching pair?"
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Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET)

Interviewed at Webtrends

3.2
Sep 26, 2012

I was asked a pretty straight forward brain teaser during my last phone interview, which they said they don't normally do, but because I put that I was a logical problem solver on my resume they couldn't resist the opportunity to. It was the following "There are 20 different socks of two types in a drawer in a completely dark room. What is the minimum number of socks you should grab to ensure you have a matching pair?"

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