Question Overview: A candidate should be able to describe the steps they would take to mitigate a DDoS attack.
Sample Answer: I would contact the network team and ask them to increase the bandwidth of our servers. If that didn't work, I would ask them to move our servers to a different network with more bandwidth.
Question Overview: This question is designed to assess a candidate's career goals and their ability to see the big picture. A candidate should be able to describe how they will grow professionally and how their role in the company will change over time.
Sample Answer: I'd like to be a senior developer in 3 years and a lead developer in 5 years.
Question Overview: SOA and MVC are two different ways of structuring a software application. SOA is a more general term that refers to a loosely coupled system that can be scaled by adding or removing modules. MVC is a specific implementation of SOA that uses three distinct components to handle requests. A candidate should be able to explain the difference between the two and how they can be used to scale an application.
Sample Answer: SOA stands for service-oriented architecture and refers to a loosely coupled system that can be scaled by adding or removing modules. MVC stands for model-view-controller and is a specific implementation of SOA that uses three distinct components to handle requests.
Question Overview: A candidate's hobbies can reveal a lot about their personality and interests. A candidate should be able to describe several activities that they enjoy outside of work.
Sample Answer: I like to play golf in my free time. I also like to read books on my Kindle.
Question Overview: This is an open-ended question that gives the candidate a chance to tell you about their background, experience, and interests. It's a good opportunity to learn about the candidate's personality and cultural fit for your organization.
Sample Answer: I was born in New York City and I've lived there ever since. I graduated from NYU with a degree in computer science. I'm a big fan of the New York Yankees and I love to travel.
Question Overview: A candidate's expectations from a job are often a good indicator of whether they will be a good fit for the organization. A candidate should be able to describe what they expect from the job in terms of salary, benefits, and work-life balance.
Sample Answer: I expect to be paid a competitive salary and to receive excellent benefits. I also want to work for an organization that values work-life balance.
Question Overview: A candidate should be able to design a cache that uses the least recently used data first to optimize memory usage.
Sample Answer: I would use a linked list to store the data in the cache. I would use a hash table to store the data by key.
Question Overview: This is a classic computer science problem that requires the candidate to use a combination of loops and recursion to solve it. The candidate should be able to explain their solution in terms of the problem and how they arrived at it.
Sample Answer: I would start by writing a loop that counts the number of pairs of integers that sum up to the target number. Then I would write another loop that counts the number of pairs that don't sum up to the target number. Finally, I would subtract the second number from the first to get the total number of pairs.
Question Overview: Designing a user interface is a complex process that requires a developer to consider many factors. A candidate should be able to explain how they would design a user interface for a specific task. This question is designed to assess the candidate's ability to think through a problem and communicate their ideas in an organized way.
Sample Answer: I would use a table with the most recently viewed items at the top. The table would be sorted by date, and the most recent items would be at the top.
Question Overview: A linked list is a common data structure that is used to store a sequence of data. A candidate should be able to describe the steps they would take to reverse the order of the data in a linked list.
Sample Answer: I would start by reversing the order of the nodes in the linked list. Then I would reverse the order of the pointers in each node.
Question Overview: A candidate should be able to describe a solution to a simple programming problem. This question tests the candidate's ability to think through a problem and use basic programming constructs to solve it.
Sample Answer: I would start by creating an array of characters and then loop through the array. If I find a character that is repeated twice, I'll know that it's part of a palindrome. I'll keep track of the length of the palindrome as I loop through the array.
Question Overview: Binary trees are a common data structure used in computer science. A binary search tree is a special type of binary tree that follows specific rules. A candidate should be able to identify the rules and use them to determine if a binary tree is a binary search tree.
Sample Answer: A binary search tree has the following properties:
Question Overview: A graph is a mathematical structure that represents a network of nodes and edges. A candidate should be able to describe several algorithms for finding a path between two nodes in a graph.
Sample Answer: I would start by looking for the shortest path between the two nodes. If that doesn't work, I would try to find the path with the fewest number of edges.
Question Overview: AmazonGo is a new retail concept that is currently being tested in Seattle. It's a grocery store with no cashiers or checkout lines. Instead, shoppers use a mobile app to scan items as they put them in their carts. When they leave the store, their purchases are automatically charged to their credit cards. A candidate should be able to explain how they would use data analysis to determine where to place new AmazonGo stores based on the locations of existing stores.
Sample Answer: I would use a heat map to visualize the distribution of current AmazonGo stores and then overlay that with a map of Seattle neighborhoods. I would then use a clustering algorithm to group neighborhoods with similar characteristics.
Question Overview: A candidate should be able to solve a simple programming problem like this one without referring to a computer.
Sample Answer: I would start by writing a function that adds the number of nodes at level K-1 to the number of nodes at level K. Then I would write another function that multiplies the result by 2.
Question Overview: A candidate should be able to explain how they would approach a problem like this in code. They should also be able to describe the different approaches that they would consider and why they would choose one over the others.
Sample Answer: I would start by splitting the string into an array of characters, then I would loop through the array and permute each character.
Question Overview: Software developers often need to solve complex problems that require them to think creatively. A candidate should be able to describe a strategy for solving a complex problem.
Sample Answer: I would create a diagram of the circuit and then write code for each gate.
Question Overview: Design patterns are reusable solutions to common problems in software development. They are a great way to save time and money when building applications. A candidate should be able to describe several design patterns that they have used in their projects and explain why they were useful.
Sample Answer: I've used the Singleton pattern to ensure that only one instance of a class exists. This is useful for things like database connections or other resources that need to be shared across an application.
Question Overview: This is a classic behavioral interview question that is designed to assess a candidate's communication skills. The interviewer wants to know how the candidate will interact with team members and leaders. Candidates should be able to describe a project they have worked on in detail and explain how they collaborated with others to complete it.
Sample Answer: I worked on a project to develop a new application for the company's website. My team and I had to work closely with the marketing department to make sure the app was useful for their needs.