Scale Engineer

Software Engineer

Software EngineerMid Level Software EngineerMedium to Hard

Akuna Capital's interview process for a Mid-Level Software Engineer aims to assess a candidate's technical proficiency, problem-solving abilities, and cultural fit within a fast-paced trading environment. The process is designed to evaluate a candidate's ability to design, develop, and maintain high-performance software solutions.

Rounds·3

Timeline·~14d

Experience·3 - 7 yrs

Comp band·US$120000 - US$160000

Interview time·135 min

Evaluation

What they measure.

  • Technical proficiency in core computer science concepts.
  • Problem-solving and analytical skills.
  • Ability to write clean, efficient, and maintainable code.
  • Understanding of data structures and algorithms.
  • System design and architectural thinking.
  • Communication and collaboration skills.
  • Cultural fit and alignment with Akuna Capital's values.

Preparation

How to prepare.

Tips

  1. Review fundamental data structures (arrays, linked lists, trees, graphs, hash maps) and algorithms (sorting, searching, dynamic programming, graph traversal).
  2. Practice coding problems on platforms like LeetCode, HackerRank, or AlgoExpert, focusing on medium to hard difficulty.
  3. Understand time and space complexity (Big O notation).
  4. Brush up on object-oriented programming principles and design patterns.
  5. Familiarize yourself with common operating system concepts and concurrency.
  6. Read about Akuna Capital's business and the technologies they use.
  7. Prepare to discuss your past projects in detail, focusing on your contributions and technical challenges.
  8. Practice explaining your thought process out loud as you solve problems.
  9. Research common behavioral interview questions and prepare STAR method responses.
  10. Understand the basics of networking and distributed systems if applicable to the role.

Study plan

Fig · Study plan — 04 phases

01 / 04
01

Phase 01 of 04

Data Structures Fundamentals

Weeks 1-2: Data Structures & Basic Algorithms. Practice LeetCode Easy/Medium.

Weeks 1-2: Focus on core data structures (Arrays, Linked Lists, Stacks, Queues, Hash Tables) and basic algorithms (Sorting, Searching). Practice implementing these from scratch and analyze their time/space complexity. Solve 10-15 LeetCode Easy/Medium problems per week.

Questions

Commonly asked.

  • Given an array of integers, find the contiguous subarray with the largest sum.
  • Implement a function to reverse a linked list.
  • Design a system like Twitter's feed.
  • How would you optimize a database query?
  • Describe a situation where you had a conflict with a teammate and how you resolved it.
  • What are the trade-offs between SQL and NoSQL databases?
  • Explain the concept of recursion with an example.
  • How do you handle concurrency issues in multi-threaded applications?
  • Tell me about a time you failed and what you learned from it.
  • What is the difference between a process and a thread?

Locations

Regional differences.

Fig · Regions — 02 locations

01 / 02

Location

Chicago

Interview focus

Emphasis on practical application of data structures and algorithms in financial scenarios.Understanding of distributed systems and concurrency relevant to high-frequency trading.Problem-solving skills applied to real-time data processing and optimization.

Common questions

  • Discuss a challenging project you worked on and how you overcame obstacles.
  • How do you approach debugging complex systems?
  • Describe your experience with low-latency systems.
  • What are your thoughts on functional programming in a trading context?
  • How do you ensure code quality and maintainability in a production environment?

Tips

  • Be prepared to discuss specific examples of optimizing code for performance.
  • Familiarize yourself with common data structures and algorithms used in quantitative finance.
  • Understand the challenges of building and maintaining low-latency systems.
  • Showcase your ability to work collaboratively in a team environment.

Rounds

Round-by-round.

Expand a step for evaluation criteria, sample questions, and prep notes.

DSA

Coding questions at Akuna Capital.

Frequently reported on Akuna Capital loops

View all at Akuna Capital

Other guides

More at Akuna Capital.