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Software Engineer Interview Questions

Practice 9403 coding, system design and machine learning questions from 546 companies, sorted by role, topic and interview round. Every question has step-by-step hints, a code runner that supports 8 languages and an AI mentor; members also get the full solution walkthrough.

9403
Questions
546
Companies
11
Topics
8
Languages

Showing 931–960 of 2810 results

  • DoorDashHardSoftware Engineer
    Scale the cache to a distributed system

    This question evaluates a candidate's ability to design and scale a distributed caching system, testing competencies in sharding and consistent hashing, replication and consistency models, request routing, failure detection, cache invalidation, capacity planning, and operational trade-offs for high-throughput, low-latency workloads.

    System DesignTechnical Screen
  • DoorDashMediumSoftware Engineer
    Simulate Constant-Time Random Courier Selection

    Design a courier pool data structure that supports adding, removing, and uniformly selecting random courier IDs in average O(1) time.

    Coding & AlgorithmsTechnical ScreenData StructuresHash TableArray
  • DoorDashMediumSoftware Engineer
    Solve BFS grid delivery routing

    This question evaluates proficiency in grid-based graph traversal and shortest-path computation, along with complexity analysis and handling dynamic changes, assessing skills in algorithm design, graph algorithms, and data structures within the Coding & Algorithms domain.

    Coding & AlgorithmsTechnical Screen
  • DoorDashMediumSoftware Engineer
    Solve string match and DashMart BFS

    This question evaluates proficiency with string algorithms and pattern matching, assessing understanding of substring search complexity and algorithm selection within the algorithms and data structures domain, and is commonly asked to verify efficient low-level text-search implementation and time/space trade-off reasoning at a practical implementation level. The "Dash Mart" grid BFS evaluates graph traversal, state-space modeling, and shortest-path reasoning for multi-target collection tasks within graph algorithms and path-finding, and is commonly asked to measure competence in BFS-based search, state encoding and optimization strategies with a focus on practical algorithmic application and performance considerations.

    Coding & AlgorithmsTechnical Screen
  • DoorDashMediumSoftware Engineer
    Validate a Shopping Cart

    Implement a shopping cart validation function that checks item availability, consolidates duplicate entries, verifies inventory levels, and ensures order minimums are satisfied.

    Coding & AlgorithmsTechnical ScreenHash TableData ValidationBusiness Logic
  • DropboxMediumSoftware Engineer
    Scale a file-crawling API using async jobs

    This question tests the ability to design an asynchronous distributed system for crawling large file structures, focusing on job orchestration, state management, and scalability under high-latency operations.

    System DesignTechnical ScreenDistributed SystemsAsynchronous ProcessingScalability
  • DuolingoHardSoftware Engineer
    Design Animal Chess game classes

    This interview question evaluates requirements, scale assumptions, API/data design, architecture, trade-offs, failure modes, and rollout in a realistic interview setting. A strong answer for Design Animal Chess game classes states assumptions, handles edge cases, explains trade-offs, and shows how to validate the result clearly.

    System DesignTechnical Screen
  • DuolingoEasySoftware Engineer
    Implement String Encryption and Decryption

    This problem tests your ability to manage character mapping and reverse lookups using dictionaries to perform basic string transformation and reconstruction.

    Coding & AlgorithmsTechnical ScreenStringsDictionariesHash Maps
  • EaseHardSoftware Engineer
    Build a Hash-Table Key-Value Store Without Built-in Dictionaries or Sets

    Implement a key-value store class with put, get and remove without using built-in dictionaries or sets, resolving collisions inside the store rather than raising them to callers. It tests hash table mechanics, collision strategies, deletion, resizing and precise average versus worst-case complexity claims.

    Software Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
  • EightfoldaiMediumSoftware Engineer
    Make a Parentheses String Valid

    This question evaluates proficiency in string manipulation and delimiter matching, specifically balancing parentheses while preserving character order and handling edge cases.

    Coding & AlgorithmsTechnical Screen
  • ElasticMediumSoftware Engineer
    Implement log aggregation in React

    This question evaluates a candidate's front-end development and real-time data-aggregation skills, specifically React component state management, handling streaming updates, choosing appropriate in-memory data structures (e.g., Map), and timestamp parsing/comparison for per-category frequency and last-update tracking.

    Coding & AlgorithmsTechnical Screen
  • ElasticMediumSoftware Engineer
    Review a JavaScript flatten PR

    This question evaluates a candidate's understanding of JavaScript recursion, array manipulation, API contract reasoning, and correctness when implementing a flatten utility.

    Software Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
  • EliseAIMediumSoftware Engineer
    Analyze the Fairness of an Incremental Shuffle

    This question tests the ability to analyze algorithm correctness through probability theory and identify common pitfalls in pseudo-random number generation that lead to selection bias.

    Software Engineering FundamentalsTechnical ScreenAlgorithmsProbabilityShuffle
  • EliseAIEasySoftware Engineer
    Describe Something a Previous Engineering Team Did Not Do Well

    A behavioral question asking what a previous engineering team did not do well. Tests whether a candidate can name a specific, fixable weakness, explain its cost and systemic cause, describe their own part in improving it and stay constructive without blaming former colleagues.

    Behavioral & LeadershipTechnical Screen
  • EliseAIMediumSoftware Engineer
    Explain a Technical Decision and Transferable Team Practice

    This question assesses the candidate's ability to articulate technical trade-offs, reflect on past architectural decisions, and demonstrate maturity in implementing new engineering processes within an existing team culture.

    Behavioral & LeadershipTechnical ScreenLeadershipCommunicationEngineering Process
  • EliseAIEasySoftware Engineer
    Introduce Yourself and Explain What You Want in Your Next Engineering Role

    The opening of a software engineer phone screen: give a concise introduction of yourself and explain what you are looking for in your next role. Tests narrative structure, the choice of specific highlights that set up a technical deep dive, and motivation that is backed by evidence and fits the role.

    Behavioral & LeadershipTechnical Screen
  • EliseAIEasySoftware Engineer
    Read and Critique a Short Python Function That Randomly Swaps List Elements

    A code-reading exercise: assess a short Python function that walks a list and swaps each element with a randomly chosen position at or before it. Tests tracing unfamiliar code, reasoning about whether every ordering is equally likely, input-type edge cases such as strings, and practical code-review judgment.

    Software Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
  • EliseAIEasySoftware Engineer
    Walk Through a System You Built: Key Technical Decisions and the Hardest Part

    Describe a technical system you implemented at a previous company, the technical decisions you made along the way and the hardest part of the work. Tests clear ownership, trade-off reasoning between real alternatives, technical depth under probing and honest reflection on what was difficult.

    Behavioral & LeadershipTechnical Screen
  • EngelhartMediumSoftware Engineer
    Design a Daily Weather-Forecast Pipeline That Runs Power Models for Energy Traders

    Design a pipeline that ingests a weather forecast CSV published daily at a variable time, validates and stores it, runs black-box demand, wind, solar, hydro and price models across every scenario, and serves aggregated forecasts to traders. It tests scheduling, DAG design, failure handling, dashboard delivery and scaling to thousands of scenarios.

    System DesignTechnical Screen
  • EngelhartMediumSoftware Engineer
    Exposing a Python Function as a REST Endpoint with FastAPI and Unit Testing It

    An interview question on exposing a Python function as a REST API endpoint and testing it. It asks whether FastAPI counts as an endpoint, how an endpoint maps an HTTP request onto a function, and how you unit test such code, with a concrete example that covers edge cases and replaced dependencies.

    Software Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
  • EngelhartMediumSoftware Engineer
    Python Abstract Classes and Instance, Class and Static Methods

    A Python object-oriented programming interview question on abstract classes and method kinds. It asks what an abstract class is and whether it can be instantiated, how instance, class and static methods differ, what self and cls refer to, and why a static method would live inside a class at all.

    Software Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
  • EngelhartMediumSoftware Engineer
    Python Dictionary Internals: Hashing, Collisions, O(1) Lookup and Hashable Keys

    A Python fundamentals interview question on how dictionaries store and look up values: what gets hashed, whether different keys can share a hash, how collisions are resolved and why average lookup is constant time. It also tests whether a list can serve as a key and which objects are allowed as keys.

    Software Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
  • EngelhartMediumSoftware Engineer
    Python Generators, yield, Lazy Evaluation and How Decorators Work

    A Python interview question on generators and decorators. It asks what a generator is, what yield does, why generators use less memory and what lazy evaluation means, then what a decorator actually does under the hood, testing precise language mechanics rather than memorized definitions.

    Software Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
  • EngelhartMediumSoftware Engineer
    Python Virtual Environments, Conda and Poetry, and Everyday Linux Commands

    A developer tooling interview question on Python virtual environments, why projects need them and how Conda and Poetry fit in, followed by practical Linux experience: which system you work on and which Unix commands you rely on to run and debug jobs on a server.

    Software Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
  • EngelhartMediumSoftware Engineer
    Relational Database Indexes: Read/Write Trade-offs and Tuning a Slow SQL Query

    A database fundamentals interview question on relational indexes: what an index is, why it speeds up queries, why not every column should be indexed and how indexes affect write performance. It then asks how you would troubleshoot and tune a complex SQL query that runs extremely slowly.

    Software Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
  • EngelhartMediumSoftware Engineer
    Threads vs Processes, the Python GIL, Multiprocessing and Async I/O

    A Python concurrency interview question covering how threads and processes differ, including their memory spaces, when to reach for multiprocessing, what the Global Interpreter Lock is and how it limits CPU-bound threads, and why async I/O is a good fit for network and other I/O-bound workloads.

    Software Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
  • EnigmaMediumSoftware Engineer
    Search Book Titles

    This question evaluates proficiency in string processing, tokenization, case-insensitive matching, anagram detection, and algorithmic design for efficient search and deduplication.

    Coding & AlgorithmsTechnical Screen
  • EquinixMediumSoftware Engineer
    Review AI Platform And Software Fundamentals

    This problem tests foundational knowledge in software architecture, AI system design, and data structures by requiring the candidate to explain the trade-offs in building a RAG-based document retrieval system.

    Software Engineering FundamentalsTechnical ScreenRAGSystem DesignSOLID
  • EricssonMediumSoftware Engineer
    Solve Triangle Rows and Top Frequencies

    This question set evaluates understanding of combinatorial number patterns and frequency-based selection, specifically the ability to generate an additive number triangle and to identify the k most frequent elements, assessing skills in array/list manipulation, counting, and selection algorithms.

    Coding & AlgorithmsTechnical Screen
  • EvenUpMediumSoftware Engineer
    Walk through your resume and impacts

    This interview question evaluates behavioral evidence, ownership, communication, trade-offs, and measurable outcomes in a realistic interview setting. A strong answer for Walk through your resume and impacts states assumptions, handles edge cases, explains trade-offs, and shows how to validate the result clearly.

    Behavioral & LeadershipTechnical Screen