Top Interview Questions for Software Engineers

Navigating the competitive technology field and hiring for the coveted software engineer position can be tricky. Most tech companies, such as Google and Amazon, assess technical skills, general cognitive ability and cultural fit. We’ve compiled top software engineering interview questions, listing explanations and expected responses from ideal candidates to help tech recruiters hire top tech talent. 

Using the STAR Format

Candidates can use the situation, task, action and result format to answer behavioral interview questions for software engineers. Here’s how they can apply each component:

• Situation: They describe a specific task or challenge they faced in a previous role. 
• Task: Next, they should outline their specific responsibilities, which helps clarify their role. 
• Action: They detail steps to address the challenge. 
• Result: They highlight the outcomes of their actions and how they benefited the project or organization.

1. Can You Explain the Difference Between Object-Oriented Programming and Functional Programming?

Each programming paradigm offers distinct advantages regarding performance optimization and code maintainability.

Why You Should Ask This Question

A good understanding of OOP can help tech recruiters learn the candidate’s knowledge of programming paradigms that help make informed decisions in software design.

What to Expect from the Candidate

Candidates should define and explain both paradigms, including their real-world applications, when answering this common interview question for software engineers. They should also highlight their trade-offs, such as how OOP helps developers model complex systems, but it can lead to complicated class hierarchies. They may mention hybrid approaches, such as Python supporting both OOP and FP. Here are some differences between the paradigms:

2. Describe a Time When You Had to Optimize a Piece of Code for Better Performance. What Steps Did You Take?

Optimizing code can help with better execution speed, improved scalability and smoother user experience.

Why You Should Ask This Question

This technical interview question for software engineers evaluates the candidate’s hands-on experience with performance optimization. It also gives insight into their problem-solving abilities and analytical approach.

What to Expect from the Candidate

Candidates should use the STAR method to answer this question. They should briefly state the context of the project and the goals for optimization. Then, they should mention the specific techniques and performance metrics they used, such as refactoring, algorithm optimization, response time and throughput metrics. They may also mention any trade-offs, such as readability vs. performance. Finally, they should conclude with the outcomes achieved.

3. How Do You Approach Testing and Debugging in Your Software Development Process?

Testing and debugging ensure that applications are reliable, secure and user-friendly.

Why You Should Ask This Question

This question assesses the candidate’s understanding of best practices in software testing. It also reveals their approach to problem-solving and proficiency in maintaining robust software development processes.

What to Expect from the Candidate

A strong candidate will mention their approach to testing, such as unit testing followed by integration testing, for thorough coverage of the codebase. They should describe specific methodologies and examples of their application in past projects. They should also be familiar with different debugging tools and techniques.

4. Can You Explain the Concept of Version Control and Why It’s Important in Software Development?

Version control helps manage changes to code and facilitates collaboration among developers.  

Why You Should Ask This Question

Interviewers can assess the candidate’s understanding of collaborative development practices and familiarity with industry-standard tools and workflows. 

What to Expect from the Candidate

An ideal candidate will explain version control and its importance in maintaining project history and facilitating rollback to previous versions. They should provide examples of past projects using version control, including specific tools and workflows. Here’s an example of a Git workflow:

1. Clone repository: git clone
2. Create branch: git checkout -b
3. Make changes: Edit files as needed.
4. Stage changes: git add
5. Commit changes: git commit -m “Description of changes “
6. Push changes: git push origin

5. Describe a Challenging Project You’ve Worked On. What Was Your Role, and How Did You Contribute to Its Success?

Challenging projects often require engineers to use advanced technical skills and tools for the overall success of the projects.

Why You Should Ask This Question

Top software engineering interview questions assess the candidate’s ability to handle real-world projects, showing their problem-solving skills and adaptability. It also shows if they can work in dynamic environments. 

What to Expect from the Candidate

A strong candidate should structure their responses using the STAR method. They should describe the project’s scope, their responsibilities and the steps they took to address challenges. Finally, they should highlight measurable outcomes, such as improvements in performance or efficiency.

6. How Do You Stay Updated with the Latest Trends and Technologies in Software Engineering?

It’s important to learn new tools, languages and methodologies as a software engineer. 

Why You Should Ask This Question

This question aims to understand the candidate’s commitment to professional growth and lifelong learning. It also shows their passion for the field, including their ability to adapt to new technologies and methodologies.

What to Expect from the Candidate

A strong response should include resources such as online courses, industry publications and tech meetups to stay updated on current trends. An ideal candidate should also mention recent technologies or frameworks learned and discuss how they integrate new knowledge into their projects or workflows.

7. Can You Explain the Principles of Clean Code and Why They Are Important?

Clean code is easy to read, understand and maintain. It follows conventions and best practices for better clarity and less complexity.

Why You Should Ask This Question

Interviewers ask this question to assess the candidate’s understanding of software engineering best practices and their familiarity with industry standards.

What to Expect from the Candidate

A strong candidate should clearly articulate clean code and share the principles they used and challenges they faced, such as dealing with legacy code. Finally, they should highlight strategies and tools to overcome those challenges, such as using ESLint for JavaScript to improve code quality. 

Things to Remember When Interviewing Software Engineers

1. Hire candidates with strong technical skills, cognitive abilities and leadership qualities.
2. Understand their willingness to stay current with the latest technologies and methodologies. 
3. Review their portfolio and past work to understand the projects they’ve worked on.

Hiring strong candidates can be fraught with challenges. Explore our recruiting advice and insights to hire and retain top tech talent for software development and organizational growth.