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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.

419,642 software engineer interview questions shared by candidates

given a string,which is filled with either "(" or ")", for example "(())()())", write a function to check if the string is "proper". A "proper" string means if there is a "(" in the string, there should be a ")" which corresponds to the "(" in the string. For example, "))()("
avatar

Software Engineer

Interviewed at Ooyala

3.3★
Dec 17, 2010

given a string,which is filled with either "(" or ")", for example "(())()())", write a function to check if the string is "proper". A "proper" string means if there is a "(" in the string, there should be a ")" which corresponds to the "(" in the string. For example, "))()("

Puzzle ------- Eg: Assume you have 4 strings formed from a,b,c,d like abcd, acdb, adbc, bcda Output should be "bc",3 as "bc" is the largest substring repeated in 3 input strings. Few more examples to understand it. Inp1: {abcd,abcd,abcd,abcd} Out1: abcd,4 Inp2: {abcd,dabc,acbd} Out2: abc,2 Inp3: {abcd,dabc,adbc} Out3: bc,3 All the chars are distinct and all the chars are repeated in each string(You can relax these restrictions if you want). If 4 input strings are given then the output should be like, if you have subString of size 3 present in 3 inputs and subString of size 4 present in 3 inputs but a subString of size 2 present in 4 inputs then you should print the last one as output. But as it is obvious a subString of size 1 will be repeated in all the inputs but you should consider subString od size > 2 and repeated in max of the inputs. To say mathematically, high priority is given to the number of repetitions followed by the size of the subString.
avatar

Senior Software Engineer

Interviewed at Deem

3.6★
Jun 22, 2013

Puzzle ------- Eg: Assume you have 4 strings formed from a,b,c,d like abcd, acdb, adbc, bcda Output should be "bc",3 as "bc" is the largest substring repeated in 3 input strings. Few more examples to understand it. Inp1: {abcd,abcd,abcd,abcd} Out1: abcd,4 Inp2: {abcd,dabc,acbd} Out2: abc,2 Inp3: {abcd,dabc,adbc} Out3: bc,3 All the chars are distinct and all the chars are repeated in each string(You can relax these restrictions if you want). If 4 input strings are given then the output should be like, if you have subString of size 3 present in 3 inputs and subString of size 4 present in 3 inputs but a subString of size 2 present in 4 inputs then you should print the last one as output. But as it is obvious a subString of size 1 will be repeated in all the inputs but you should consider subString od size > 2 and repeated in max of the inputs. To say mathematically, high priority is given to the number of repetitions followed by the size of the subString.

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