Scale Engineer

Software Engineer

Software EngineerPrincipal Software ArchitectVery High

FactSet is seeking a Principal Software Architect with a strong background in designing and implementing complex, scalable, and robust software solutions. This role requires deep technical expertise, leadership capabilities, and a proven track record of mentoring engineering teams. The interview process is designed to assess your architectural vision, problem-solving skills, and ability to drive technical strategy.

Rounds·4

Timeline·~14d

Experience·10 - 15 yrs

Comp band·US$180000 - US$250000

Interview time·210 min

Evaluation

What they measure.

  • Technical depth and breadth in software architecture.
  • Problem-solving and analytical skills.
  • Leadership and mentorship potential.
  • Communication and interpersonal skills.
  • Strategic thinking and business acumen.
  • Cultural fit and alignment with FactSet values.

Preparation

How to prepare.

Tips

  1. Thoroughly review FactSet's products and services to understand our business context.
  2. Brush up on core computer science fundamentals, data structures, and algorithms.
  3. Deep dive into system design principles, distributed systems, and cloud architecture (AWS, Azure, GCP).
  4. Prepare to discuss your experience with various programming languages and technologies relevant to FactSet's stack.
  5. Practice articulating your thought process and decision-making for complex technical challenges.
  6. Review common behavioral interview questions and prepare STAR method responses.
  7. Familiarize yourself with architectural patterns like microservices, event-driven architecture, and domain-driven design.
  8. Understand concepts related to scalability, performance, security, and reliability.
  9. Prepare questions to ask the interviewers about the role, team, and company culture.

Study plan

Fig · Study plan — 05 phases

01 / 05
01

Phase 01 of 05

Foundational Knowledge

Weeks 1-2: CS Fundamentals, DS&A, Design Patterns, OS, Networking.

Weeks 1-2: Focus on foundational computer science concepts, data structures, and algorithms. Review common design patterns and object-oriented principles. Understand the basics of operating systems and networking.

Questions

Commonly asked.

  • Design a real-time analytics platform for financial market data.
  • How would you architect a system to handle millions of concurrent users for a trading application?
  • Describe a challenging architectural decision you made and the trade-offs involved.
  • How do you ensure code quality and maintainability in a large, distributed system?
  • What is your approach to managing technical debt?
  • How would you design a system for secure and efficient data sharing between multiple financial institutions?
  • Discuss your experience with CI/CD pipelines and infrastructure as code.
  • How do you mentor and grow engineering talent within a team?
  • What are the key considerations when migrating a monolithic application to microservices?
  • How do you handle failure scenarios in a distributed system?

Locations

Regional differences.

Fig · Regions — 02 locations

01 / 02

Location

New York

Interview focus

Deep dive into distributed systems design and trade-offs.Assessment of leadership and mentorship capabilities.Evaluation of strategic thinking and long-term technical vision.Understanding of operational excellence and site reliability engineering (SRE) principles.

Common questions

  • Discuss a time you had to make a significant architectural decision with incomplete information. How did you approach it?
  • How do you balance technical debt with the need for rapid feature delivery?
  • Describe your experience with cloud-native architectures and microservices. What are the key challenges and best practices?
  • How do you ensure the security and compliance of a large-scale system?
  • What are your strategies for mentoring and developing junior engineers into strong technical leaders?

Tips

  • Be prepared to discuss specific examples of complex systems you've designed and their impact.
  • Articulate your thought process clearly, especially when discussing trade-offs.
  • Demonstrate a proactive approach to identifying and mitigating risks.
  • Showcase your ability to influence and guide technical direction across teams.

Rounds

Round-by-round.

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

DSA

Coding questions at FactSet.

Frequently reported on FactSet loops

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Other guides

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