Scale Engineer

SWE II

Software EngineerL3Medium

This interview process is for a Software Engineer (SWE II, L3) position at Google. It is designed to assess a candidate's technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and cultural fit within Google's engineering environment.

Rounds·3

Timeline·~21d

Experience·2 - 5 yrs

Comp band·US$110000 - US$150000

Interview time·135 min

Evaluation

What they measure.

  • Problem-solving approach
  • Algorithmic knowledge
  • Data structures proficiency
  • Code quality and efficiency
  • Ability to handle ambiguity
  • Communication skills

Preparation

How to prepare.

Tips

  1. Master fundamental data structures and algorithms.
  2. Practice coding problems on platforms like LeetCode, HackerRank, and AlgoExpert.
  3. Study system design principles and common architectural patterns.
  4. Review object-oriented design principles.
  5. Prepare for behavioral questions by reflecting on past experiences using the STAR method.
  6. Understand the technologies and domains relevant to the specific role.
  7. Research Google's engineering culture and values.

Study plan

Fig · Study plan — 04 phases

01 / 04
01

Phase 01 of 04

Data Structures and Algorithms

Weeks 1-2: Data Structures & Algorithms Fundamentals. Cover arrays, lists, stacks, queues, trees, graphs, hash tables, sorting, searching, recursion, DP. Analyze complexity.

Weeks 1-2: Focus on core data structures (arrays, linked lists, stacks, queues, trees, graphs, hash tables) and fundamental algorithms (sorting, searching, recursion, dynamic programming). Practice implementing these from scratch and analyzing their time and space complexity.

Questions

Commonly asked.

  • Given an array of integers, find the contiguous subarray with the largest sum.
  • Design a URL shortening service.
  • Explain the difference between a process and a thread.
  • Describe a situation where you had to deal with a difficult stakeholder.
  • How would you implement a Least Recently Used (LRU) cache?
  • What are the trade-offs between SQL and NoSQL databases?
  • Tell me about a time you failed and what you learned from it.
  • Design a system to count the number of unique visitors to a website in real-time.
  • How do you approach testing your code?
  • What are your strengths and weaknesses as a software engineer?

Locations

Regional differences.

Fig · Regions — 02 locations

01 / 02

Location

Mountain View, CA

Interview focus

Distributed Systems DesignScalability and PerformanceCloud ComputingProblem-solving in large-scale environments

Common questions

  • Discuss a challenging project you worked on in a distributed systems environment.
  • How would you design a system to handle real-time traffic data for a major city?
  • Explain the trade-offs between different caching strategies.
  • Describe your experience with cloud platforms like GCP or AWS.
  • How do you approach debugging complex issues in a production environment?

Tips

  • Familiarize yourself with Google Cloud Platform (GCP) services.
  • Understand common distributed systems patterns and challenges.
  • Be prepared to discuss your experience with large-scale data processing.
  • Practice explaining complex technical concepts clearly and concisely.

Rounds

Round-by-round.

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

DSA

Coding questions at Google.

Frequently reported on Google loops

View all at Google

Other guides

More at Google.