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.

419,571 software engineer interview questions shared by candidates

Easier questions 1) Two variations of a program exist, A and B. When run on machine 1, A runs twice as fast as B. When run on machine 2, A runs 10x as fast as B. How would you investigate this? -same datasets -same versions of OS and libraries -same hardware 2) Had to code a method that calculated the factorial, first simply, then a second one recursively.
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Software Engineer

Interviewed at Google

4.4
Mar 8, 2010

Easier questions 1) Two variations of a program exist, A and B. When run on machine 1, A runs twice as fast as B. When run on machine 2, A runs 10x as fast as B. How would you investigate this? -same datasets -same versions of OS and libraries -same hardware 2) Had to code a method that calculated the factorial, first simply, then a second one recursively.

Round 1 Given a bitmap, use a quaTree data structure to represent the bitmap. The maps are all squares with black or white pixels and the length of the map is 2^n (you can always divide the map into 4 smaller parts). Then give you a root node of a quaTree, calculate the total black pixel in this map. Follow up: Given two root node, generate the intersection of these two maps.
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Software Engineer

Interviewed at Google

4.4
Oct 14, 2015

Round 1 Given a bitmap, use a quaTree data structure to represent the bitmap. The maps are all squares with black or white pixels and the length of the map is 2^n (you can always divide the map into 4 smaller parts). Then give you a root node of a quaTree, calculate the total black pixel in this map. Follow up: Given two root node, generate the intersection of these two maps.

Only one programming questions. Input a string, including numbers, operands, and brackets. Calculate the result. Test case: input: "(+ 3 3)": Output: 6 input "(* 3 3)" Output: 9 input: "(+ 1 12 (- 17 3) 5 (* 2 8 (/ 120 4)) 46)", Output: 1 + 12 + (17 - 3) + 5 + (2 * 8 * (120 / 4)) + 46 = 558
avatar

Software Engineer

Interviewed at Google

4.4
Feb 3, 2016

Only one programming questions. Input a string, including numbers, operands, and brackets. Calculate the result. Test case: input: "(+ 3 3)": Output: 6 input "(* 3 3)" Output: 9 input: "(+ 1 12 (- 17 3) 5 (* 2 8 (/ 120 4)) 46)", Output: 1 + 12 + (17 - 3) + 5 + (2 * 8 * (120 / 4)) + 46 = 558

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