Software Engineering Fundamentals interview questions

Showing 331–360 of 1208 results

• Pick Budget Line Items That Net to an Exact TargetMedium

  A staged algorithm discussion: decide whether some subset of budget line items nets to an exact target amount, first with only charges and then with refunds (negative amounts) mixed in, then produce one such subset, then every distinct subset, reasoning about dynamic programming, pruned backtracking, and why negative values change the problem.

  ConfluentSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsOnsite
• Pick Numbers Summing to a Target: Existence With Negatives, One and All SolutionsMedium

  A staged coding discussion about choosing integers from a list so that they add up to a target. It asks whether a solution exists with only positive numbers and then with mixed signs, for one solution and for every solution without duplicates, and for optimizations, testing dynamic programming, pruned backtracking and reasoning about negative numbers.

  ConfluentSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsOnsite
• Search Words and Phrases in a Large Line-Oriented FileMedium

  Design word and exact-phrase search over a line-oriented file that may be much larger than memory. Compare a streaming one-off scan with a persistent positional inverted index, defining tokenization, Unicode and punctuation behavior, file-version binding, updates, result locations, and resource trade-offs.

  ConfluentSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsOnsite
• Build a Resilient Concurrent Python CLI for Local-Service LookupsEasy

  Design a Python CLI for serial-number lookups with timeout, HTTP, and JSON handling, bounded thread-pool concurrency, and ordered results.

  CoreweaveSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
• Build an OAuth-based data migration clientMedium

  This question evaluates proficiency in OAuth 2.0 client-credentials authentication, API integration and pagination, JSON data transformation and checksum-based data integrity, token lifecycle management, retries, and idempotency within the Software Engineering Fundamentals category.

  CoreweaveSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsOnsite
• Coordinate Basic Threads and Inspect Them on LinuxMedium

  Use basic Python threading primitives for bounded concurrent function calls, exception capture and joining, then inspect native threads with Linux tools.

  CoreweaveSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
• Design Tree Operations with DFS and BFSMedium

  Implement and compare Breadth-First Search (BFS) and Depth-First Search (DFS) operations on an N-ary tree representing a hierarchical compute cluster.

  CoreweaveSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsOnsite
• Design a predicate structure and filter records with comparison, AND and ORMedium

  Design a data structure for predicates that combine greater-than and less-than comparisons with AND and OR, then implement filter(data, predicate) to return the matching items. Tests recursive structure design, extensibility to new operators, evaluation with early exit, and handling of missing fields and type mismatches.

  CoreweaveSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
• Represent and Evaluate Boolean Predicate ExpressionsMedium

  Design an object-oriented or tree-based representation for boolean predicate expressions and implement an evaluation engine that supports logical operators, comparison operations, and short-circuit evaluation against attribute dictionaries.

  CoreweaveSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsOnsite
• Debug a Google Cloud Web App Where 80% of Users See Only a Loading SpinnerMedium

  A production debugging scenario: a web app deployed on Google Cloud loads for only 20% of users while the other 80% see a loading spinner forever. It tests a systematic walkthrough that scopes the failure, gathers browser and server evidence, and tests explanations for the split one at a time.

  CostcoSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
• Anagram Group Tracker with Add, Remove, and Largest-Group Queries: Read vs Write Trade-offsMedium

  Design an in-memory data structure that supports adding words, removing words, and querying the largest anagram group. Tests canonical key generation, dynamic maximum maintenance, and read-versus-write algorithmic trade-offs.

  CoupangSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsOnsite
• Implement FastAPI CRUD endpoints from skeletonsMedium

  This question evaluates a candidate's ability to implement RESTful CRUD endpoints with FastAPI, focusing on API contract consistency, HTTP status codes and idempotency, input validation and exception handling, and unit testing.

  Credit GenieSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
• Build a Tool-Calling Chat Agent That Searches and Books Flights via a REST APIMedium

  An AI-assisted coding round: turn a Python starter script into a terminal chat agent that uses LLM tool calling to search flights, save passenger details and book a flight through a three-endpoint REST API. It tests tool schemas, a multi-step tool loop, ID handling, booking safeguards and error handling.

  CrestaSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsOnsite
• Design a Robust Feature Flag Evaluation EngineMedium

  Implement an in-memory feature flag evaluation engine that evaluates flags against user attributes using rule predicates, deterministic percentage rollouts, and a true-wins resolution policy.

  CrestaSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsOnsite
• Job Dispatcher with Least-Loaded, Round-Robin Assignment and Executor RemovalMedium

  A coding exercise to implement Executor and JobDispatcher classes that send each integer job ID to the executor with the fewest pending jobs, breaking ties round-robin, while executors join and leave. It tests precise tie-break semantics, consistent load tracking, reassigning a removed executor's queued jobs, and edge cases.

  CrestaSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
• Search a Directory Tree for a File and Return Its Absolute Path in PythonMedium

  Write a Python function that searches a directory and all of its subdirectories for a file matching a requirement and returns the file's absolute path. It tests practical use of os and pathlib, deterministic handling of multiple or missing matches, relative roots, symbolic links and unreadable directories.

  CrestaSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsOnline Assessment
• Implement a Risk-Score Priority DetectionStore With Put and GetNext in C++Medium

  Implement a C++ DetectionStore whose Put stores security detections with an id, an unsigned risk score and a payload, and whose GetNext removes and returns the next detection by risk score as a unique_ptr. Tests priority-structure choice, ownership semantics, tie and duplicate-id policies, and thread safety.

  CrowdstrikeBackend EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
• Implement an In-Memory Key-Value Cache with Expiry, Then Sketch a Redis-Like ServerMedium

  Implement an in-memory key-value cache in the spirit of Redis, with get, set, delete and per-key expiry, then briefly discuss how a Redis-like server is built and where caches fit in a system. It tests data structure choices, expiry and eviction logic, thread safety, and practical knowledge of caching patterns.

  CrowdstrikeSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsOnsite
• Review a Sample Python Function Aloud and Label Every Finding by SeverityMedium

  Review a short hypothetical Python function that builds a user profile from a database query and a billing-service call, narrating your reasoning aloud. The exercise tests how you read unfamiliar code and whether every comment is clearly labeled as must-fix, could-improve or a personal preference.

  CrowdstrikeSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsOnsite
• Design a class to submit jobs with dependencies and track their statusMedium

  Design and implement a job tracker class that accepts job submissions with dependencies, hands out jobs that are ready to run, and reports each job's status. It tests state-machine design, dependency-graph bookkeeping, handling of failures and cycles, and thread safety when several workers call the class at once.

  CubistSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
• Design a reusable event-driven framework for trading strategiesMedium

  Design a reusable, event-driven framework for trading strategies that a team can keep extending after a take-home handoff. It tests event modeling and dispatch ordering, strategy interfaces, backtest and live parity, order and risk management, and the tests and documentation that make a framework maintainable.

  CubistSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
• Build a Merkle Tree over a Directory with Hash Lookup and Tree DiffMedium

  Implement a Merkle tree over a real directory in Python, with N-ary directory nodes, a build method, a hash lookup by path, and a diff that compares two trees, and write the tests yourself. It tests deterministic hashing design, file-system traversal, pruning identical subtrees, and disciplined testing under time pressure.

  CursorSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
• Build a Streaming Markdown Code Fence ParserHard

  Tests streaming string processing, finite state machine design, and edge-case handling for incrementally received Markdown code fences.

  CursorSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
• Hash a Repository with a Merkle Tree and Find Changed FilesMedium

  Hash a repository with canonical Merkle nodes, compare changed subtrees, report file changes, and account for symlinks, cached hashes, and snapshot limits.

  CursorSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
• Implement Deterministic Merkle Hashing for a RepositoryMedium

  Implement an incremental, deterministic Merkle tree for a virtual repository file system with stable serialization, child ordering, and ancestor cache invalidation.

  CursorSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
• Implement a Merkle Tree for Repository ContentsMedium

  Implement a Merkle tree to model repository file systems and efficiently compute differences between two repository states using subtree hashes.

  CursorSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
• Implement and Explain a Merkle TreeMedium

  Tests understanding of cryptographic hash trees (Merkle trees), including tree construction, odd-node handling, proof generation, and verification.

  CursorSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
• Add Sliding-Window Get and Put Activity Metrics to a Key-Value StoreMedium

  Design and implement an in-memory key-value store that tracks read and write throughput (operations per second) over configurable sliding windows.

  DatabricksSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsOnsite
• Build a Durable Key-Value CacheMedium

  This question tests the ability to design a crash-recoverable key-value store by implementing a write-ahead log (WAL) to ensure data durability and system integrity after an unexpected failure.

  DatabricksSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsOnsite
• Design Snapshot Set Iteration and Clarify Durable WritesHard

  Design a memory-efficient snapshotting set supporting concurrent mutations and isolated iteration, and define the reliability and persistence contracts required for durable writes.

  DatabricksSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsOnsite