SDE Interview Questions | Interview Preparation Essentials PDF Download

SDE Interview Questions

Q.1. What aspects of this position interest you most?

Q.2. How do you stay updated on industry developments?

Q.3. How do you remove duplicates from an array in place?

Q.4. What is a bucket sort algorithm? How do you use it?

Q.5. Describe the development life cycle and models for it.

Q.6. What are the most important factors to consider when designing scalable applications?

Q.7. How do you use abstract classes?

Q.8. What is the difference between black box and white box testing?

Q.9. How do you conduct a linear search in JavaScript?

Q.10. What is your process for starting a new project?

SDE Interview Questions and Answers

As a software engineer, you might have experience working with various programming languages. Depending on the systems that a company designs, they might be looking for specific languages. Prior to your interview, it is recommended that you review the job description and research the company to identify their preferred language. When answering this question, you should give examples of your experience working with different programming languages. For instance, "I have expertise in Java, JavaScript, C#, Ruby, Python and C++. Among these, I feel most comfortable using Java, C# and C++. In my previous role, I utilized Java to create applications that could run on various platforms. Additionally, I used C++ to develop an operating system that was compatible with my engineered apps and C# to enhance my productivity while developing web-based software and applications.

When hiring for a software engineering position, the hiring managers may ask about your previous project experience to understand your work style, priorities and how you handle setbacks. To answer such questions, it is recommended to use the STAR interview method, which involves discussing the situation, the task, your role in the situation, the actions you took to overcome the problem, and the results of your actions. For example, "In my previous job, I was responsible for developing an internal online training program for the company's employees to provide uniform and effective training on workplace ethics. Initially, I faced difficulties in incorporating features like games and point-based rewards. However, after researching similar training programs, I developed an application using Java, which enabled us to upload training courses and incentives for all employees. My implementation was successful, and it helped the organisation to eliminate lengthy training processes."

The hiring manager may ask you about abstract and theoretical concepts to assess your knowledge and understand your work process better. To prepare for such technical questions, it would be helpful to review common software engineering terminology before your interview. This may assist you in recalling technical terms for patterns and processes that you use regularly. For example, "In my gaming projects, I implement level state and player characters as singletons, and use a factory pattern for enemy creation, which generates different enemies based on inputs. However, for more complex games, I may switch to a compositional model such as an Entity-Component-System. The system functions would use dependency injection to separate concerns and increase the testability of game logic."

The reason for this question is for hiring managers to assess your ability to effectively communicate technical information to non-technical colleagues. As a software engineer, it's common to collaborate with colleagues from various non-technical departments, such as marketing or finance. In your response, you should describe how you communicate with team members and stakeholders about technical concepts. For instance, "When working with someone who doesn't have a technical background, I try to use simpler language and only convey the necessary information for them to comprehend my message. For example, if I was explaining a complex coding process to a client, I would focus on the end-user experience and changes instead of technical details, making the information more accessible."

As a software engineer, it is your responsibility to identify and resolve errors such as bugs that often arise in new applications and software programs. These issues usually result from unusual alignment of conditions. When asked about your experience in resolving such issues, you can showcase your technical aptitude, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills. For instance, at my previous job, my manager reported a bug in one of our databases due to an expensive query being excessively called from the UI. To resolve the issue, I reviewed the logs to determine when the bug started and reproduced it on the latest production code. By using git bisect, I could isolate the specific commit that introduced the bug and pulled the branch. Finally, I used the browser's developer tools to debug and fix the issue.

Consider the following strategies to enhance your confidence and increase your chances of success during an interview: 

• Conduct research on the company to gain an understanding of the position and the company's current challenges or projects, which you can discuss during the interview to demonstrate your enthusiasm for contributing to the company's success. 
• Identify your skills that match the employer's requirements and prepare answers that showcase your abilities. 
• Select several accomplishments that exemplify how your past work produced successful results. Utilize the STAR response technique as an outline for discussing a specific situation, your role in it, the actions you took to resolve it, and the results you achieved.
• Create a list of questions to ask the interviewer, as they often give candidates the opportunity to ask questions at the end of the interview. 
• Use this opportunity to ask about expectations, potential projects, and what you can anticipate from your team and supervisors.