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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.

418,965 software engineer interview questions shared by candidates

Given a m*n grid starting from (1, 1). At any point (x, y), you has two choices for the next move: 1) move to (x+y, y); 2) move to (x, y+x); From point (1, 1), how to move to (m, n) in least moves? (or there's no such a path)
avatar

Software Engineer

Interviewed at Meta

3.5★
Apr 19, 2012

Given a m*n grid starting from (1, 1). At any point (x, y), you has two choices for the next move: 1) move to (x+y, y); 2) move to (x, y+x); From point (1, 1), how to move to (m, n) in least moves? (or there's no such a path)

Consider a stack of N number of cards which are piled up and in facing down. Each card has a unique number from the range 1 to N. The card is stacked in such a way that it exhibits the following behavior: Take the first card and put it under the stack without revealing. Now the next card on the top will have the number 1 on it. Next take 2 cards one after the other and put is under the stack without revealing. Yes you guessed it right - the next card on the top will reveal a value of 2. This goes on. Eg. for such a series : 9,1,8,5,2,4,7,6,3,10 [for N=10] Write a program to generate such a series for a given N number of cards so that this behavior can be exercised.
avatar

Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET)

Interviewed at Microsoft

4★
May 26, 2013

Consider a stack of N number of cards which are piled up and in facing down. Each card has a unique number from the range 1 to N. The card is stacked in such a way that it exhibits the following behavior: Take the first card and put it under the stack without revealing. Now the next card on the top will have the number 1 on it. Next take 2 cards one after the other and put is under the stack without revealing. Yes you guessed it right - the next card on the top will reveal a value of 2. This goes on. Eg. for such a series : 9,1,8,5,2,4,7,6,3,10 [for N=10] Write a program to generate such a series for a given N number of cards so that this behavior can be exercised.

Mark likes to listen to music while travelling. His iPod™ contains N songs and he wants to listen to L (not necessarily different) songs during a trip. So he creates a playlist such that: • Every song is played at least once. • A song can be played again only if at least K other songs have been played Mark wants to know how many different playlists are possible. Can you help Mark determine this number? As the number can be very large, display number modulo 1,000,000,007. You are given N, K and L.
avatar

Software Engineer

Interviewed at Coursera

3.7★
Sep 23, 2016

Mark likes to listen to music while travelling. His iPod™ contains N songs and he wants to listen to L (not necessarily different) songs during a trip. So he creates a playlist such that: • Every song is played at least once. • A song can be played again only if at least K other songs have been played Mark wants to know how many different playlists are possible. Can you help Mark determine this number? As the number can be very large, display number modulo 1,000,000,007. You are given N, K and L.

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