# Engineer A
**Role:** Software Engineer · **Level:** 15
**Company:** [Huawei](https://scaleengineer.com/companies/huawei)
**Difficulty:** Medium to Hard
**Salary:** US$110000 - US$150000
**Experience:** 5 - 8
**Timeline:** ~14 days
This interview process is for a Software Engineer position at Huawei, specifically for Level 15. It aims to assess the candidate's technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and cultural fit within the company.
Canonical: https://scaleengineer.com/interviews/huawei/15-software-engineer
---
## Overall evaluation

- Technical Skills & Problem Solving
- Behavioral & Cultural Fit

## Questions asked

- Tell me about a challenging technical problem you solved.
- Describe a time you disagreed with a team member and how you resolved it.
- How would you design a URL shortening service?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- Why are you interested in working at Huawei?
- Explain the concept of multithreading.
- How do you handle tight deadlines?
- Describe a project you are particularly proud of.

## Preparation tips

### lists

- Thoroughly review fundamental computer science concepts, including data structures, algorithms, and operating systems.
- Practice coding problems on platforms like LeetCode, HackerRank, and Codewars, focusing on medium to hard difficulty.
- Study system design principles and common architectural patterns.
- Prepare for behavioral questions by reflecting on past experiences using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result).
- Research Huawei's products, services, and recent technological advancements.
- Understand Huawei's company culture and values.
- Prepare thoughtful questions to ask the interviewer.

### studyPlan

- {"title":"Data Structures & Algorithms","longDescription":"Weeks 1-2: Focus on Data Structures and Algorithms. Cover arrays, linked lists, trees, graphs, hash tables, sorting, searching, dynamic programming, and greedy algorithms. Practice implementing these structures and algorithms efficiently. Aim for 2-3 coding problems per day.","shortDescription":"Weeks 1-2: DSA fundamentals and practice (2-3 problems/day)."}
- {"title":"System Design","longDescription":"Weeks 3-4: Dive into System Design. Study concepts like scalability, availability, reliability, databases (SQL vs. NoSQL), caching, load balancing, message queues, and microservices. Work through common system design interview questions.","shortDescription":"Weeks 3-4: System Design principles and case studies."}
- {"title":"Behavioral & Company Fit","longDescription":"Week 5: Prepare for Behavioral and Situational Questions. Reflect on your past projects and experiences. Use the STAR method to structure your answers for questions related to teamwork, leadership, conflict resolution, and handling challenges. Research Huawei's values and prepare examples that align.","shortDescription":"Week 5: Behavioral questions (STAR method) and company research."}
- {"title":"Mock Interviews & Refinement","longDescription":"Week 6: Mock Interviews and Review. Conduct mock interviews with peers or mentors to simulate the actual interview environment. Review weak areas identified during practice and mock interviews. Refine your answers and ensure clarity and conciseness.","shortDescription":"Week 6: Mock interviews and final review."}

## Location differences

- {"location":"China","differences":{"tips":["Research Huawei's global presence and recent projects.","Be prepared to discuss your experiences working with international teams.","Familiarize yourself with common Chinese business etiquette."],"interviewFocus":["Adaptability to Huawei's global work environment","Understanding of the Chinese market and tech ecosystem","Teamwork and communication skills in a diverse setting"],"commonQuestions":["How do you handle cross-cultural team collaboration?","What are your thoughts on the current tech landscape in China?","Describe a time you had to adapt to a new work environment quickly."]}}
- {"location":"Europe","differences":{"tips":["Highlight your experience with remote work tools and methodologies.","Be ready to discuss your understanding of data privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR).","Showcase your ability to manage projects with distributed teams."],"interviewFocus":["Remote collaboration and communication strategies","Understanding of European work culture and regulations","Project management and stakeholder engagement across geographies"],"commonQuestions":["How do you approach problem-solving in a remote team setting?","What are your expectations regarding work-life balance in a European context?","Describe a project where you had to manage stakeholders across different time zones."]}}
- {"location":"North America","differences":{"tips":["Be prepared to discuss your contributions to open-source projects or tech communities.","Showcase your ability to drive technical initiatives and mentor junior engineers.","Emphasize your experience with various agile frameworks (Scrum, Kanban)."],"interviewFocus":["Technical innovation and staying current with industry trends","Leadership and influencing skills","Proficiency in agile development practices"],"commonQuestions":["How do you stay updated with the latest technology trends in North America?","Describe a situation where you had to influence a technical decision within your team.","What are your thoughts on agile methodologies and their implementation?"]}}

## Round 1: Data Structures and Algorithms
**Type:** Technical Interview (Coding) · **Difficulty:** Medium · **Duration:** 45 min
Assess core coding skills with 1-2 DSA problems.
This round focuses on your core technical skills. You will be asked to solve 1-2 coding problems, typically involving data structures and algorithms. The interviewer will assess your ability to understand the problem, devise an efficient solution, implement it correctly, and explain your reasoning. Expect questions on time and space complexity analysis.
**Interviewers look for:** Strong grasp of DSA.; Ability to write clean, efficient, and bug-free code.; Logical thinking and systematic approach to problem-solving.; Clear communication of ideas.
**Evaluation criteria:** Correctness of the solution.; Efficiency of the algorithm (time and space complexity).; Code quality and readability.; Problem-solving approach and ability to break down complex problems.; Communication of thought process.
**Common rejection reasons:** Inability to articulate thought process clearly.; Poor understanding of fundamental data structures and algorithms.; Inefficient or incorrect code implementation.; Lack of problem-solving approach.
## Questions

- Given an array of integers, find the contiguous subarray with the largest sum.
- Implement a function to reverse a linked list.
- Find the kth smallest element in a binary search tree.

## Preparation tips

- Practice coding on a whiteboard or a shared editor.
- Think out loud and explain your approach before coding.
- Test your code with edge cases.
- Be prepared to discuss trade-offs of different solutions.

## Round 2: Architecture & Scalability
**Type:** System Design Interview · **Difficulty:** Hard · **Duration:** 60 min
Design a scalable system, discussing architecture and trade-offs.
This round evaluates your ability to design complex, scalable, and reliable systems. You'll be given an open-ended problem (e.g., design Twitter's feed, design a URL shortener) and expected to discuss requirements, propose an architecture, identify components, and analyze trade-offs. Focus on high-level design and key components.
**Interviewers look for:** Experience in designing large-scale systems.; Knowledge of distributed systems concepts.; Ability to make informed design decisions and justify them.; Understanding of trade-offs between different approaches.
**Evaluation criteria:** Understanding of system design principles (scalability, availability, reliability).; Ability to design a system from scratch.; Knowledge of various system components and trade-offs.; Handling of non-functional requirements (e.g., latency, throughput, consistency).; Clarity and structure of the design.
**Common rejection reasons:** Lack of understanding of distributed systems concepts.; Inability to design scalable and reliable systems.; Poor consideration of trade-offs.; Not addressing non-functional requirements adequately.
## Questions

- Design a system like Instagram.
- Design a distributed cache system.
- How would you design a rate limiter?

## Preparation tips

- Study common system design patterns and architectures.
- Practice designing various popular services.
- Be prepared to discuss databases, caching strategies, load balancing, and APIs.
- Clearly articulate your design choices and the reasoning behind them.

## Round 3: Managerial & Behavioral
**Type:** Behavioral Interview · **Difficulty:** Medium · **Duration:** 30 min
Assess soft skills, behavioral competencies, and cultural fit.
This round assesses your soft skills, behavioral competencies, and overall fit with Huawei. You'll be asked questions about your past experiences, how you handle specific situations, your career aspirations, and your understanding of the company culture. Use the STAR method to provide concrete examples.
**Interviewers look for:** Evidence of teamwork and collaboration.; Examples of leadership and initiative.; Resilience and ability to handle challenges.; Alignment with Huawei's values.; Enthusiasm for the role and company.
**Evaluation criteria:** Behavioral competencies (teamwork, leadership, problem-solving).; Communication skills.; Motivation and career goals.; Cultural fit with Huawei.; Honesty and self-awareness.
**Common rejection reasons:** Lack of self-awareness.; Inability to provide specific examples.; Negative attitude or blaming others.; Poor communication skills.; Mismatch with company culture or values.
## Questions

- Tell me about a time you failed and what you learned from it.
- Describe a situation where you had to work with a difficult colleague.
- What are your long-term career goals?

## Preparation tips

- Prepare examples for common behavioral questions (teamwork, conflict, failure, success).
- Research Huawei's mission, vision, and values.
- Be positive and enthusiastic.
- Ask thoughtful questions about the team and role.