Scale Engineer

IC2

Software EngineerSoftware EngineerMedium to Hard

The IC2 Software Engineer interview at LinkedIn is designed to assess a candidate's technical proficiency, problem-solving abilities, and cultural fit within the company. It typically involves multiple rounds, including technical screenings, coding challenges, system design, and behavioral interviews.

Rounds·4

Timeline·~14d

Experience·2 - 5 yrs

Comp band·US$110000 - US$150000

Interview time·210 min

Evaluation

What they measure.

  • Problem-solving skills
  • Algorithmic thinking
  • Data structure knowledge
  • Code quality and efficiency
  • System design capabilities
  • Communication skills
  • Teamwork and collaboration
  • Cultural alignment with LinkedIn values

Preparation

How to prepare.

Tips

  1. Master fundamental data structures and algorithms.
  2. Practice coding problems on platforms like LeetCode, HackerRank, and Educative.
  3. Study system design concepts, including scalability, reliability, and trade-offs.
  4. Review common behavioral interview questions and prepare STAR method responses.
  5. Understand LinkedIn's products, mission, and values.
  6. Prepare questions to ask the interviewer.
  7. Mock interviews can be very beneficial.

Study plan

Fig · Study plan — 05 phases

01 / 05
01

Phase 01 of 05

Data Structures and Algorithms

Weeks 1-2: Data Structures & Algorithms Fundamentals.

Weeks 1-2: Focus on core data structures (Arrays, Linked Lists, Stacks, Queues, Trees, Graphs, Hash Tables) and their common algorithms (Sorting, Searching, Traversal). Practice implementing these from scratch and analyze their time and space complexity.

Questions

Commonly asked.

  • Given an array of integers, find the contiguous subarray with the largest sum.
  • Design a system to count the number of unique visitors to a website.
  • Tell me about a time you had to deal with ambiguity.
  • How would you implement a Least Recently Used (LRU) cache?
  • Describe a challenging project you worked on and your role in it.
  • What are the trade-offs between SQL and NoSQL databases?
  • How do you handle merge conflicts in Git?
  • Explain the concept of CAP theorem.
  • Describe a situation where you had to influence a decision.
  • Write a function to reverse a linked list.

Locations

Regional differences.

Fig · Regions — 03 locations

01 / 03

Location

Global

Interview focus

Adaptability to local market trends and technologies.Understanding of regional engineering challenges.Collaboration with geographically distributed teams.

Common questions

  • Discuss a challenging technical problem you solved at your previous company.
  • How do you approach debugging a complex issue?
  • Describe a time you had to work with a difficult teammate.
  • What are your thoughts on the latest trends in cloud computing?
  • How would you design a URL shortener service?

Tips

  • Research common technologies used in the specific region.
  • Be prepared to discuss projects relevant to the local industry.
  • Highlight experience working with diverse, international teams.

Rounds

Round-by-round.

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

DSA

Coding questions at LinkedIn.

Frequently reported on LinkedIn loops

View all at LinkedIn

Other guides

More at LinkedIn.