# Software Engineer
**Role:** Software Engineer · **Level:** L6
**Company:** [Verily](https://scaleengineer.com/companies/verily)
**Difficulty:** Hard
**Salary:** US$150000 - US$200000
**Experience:** 6 - 10
**Timeline:** ~14 days
This interview process is for a Software Engineer (L6) position at Verily. It is designed to assess a candidate's technical expertise, problem-solving abilities, system design skills, and cultural fit within the company.
Canonical: https://scaleengineer.com/interviews/verily/l6-software-engineer
---
## Overall evaluation

- Technical Acumen & Problem Solving
- System Design & Architecture
- Behavioral & Cultural Fit

## Questions asked

- Tell me about a time you led a complex technical project from inception to completion.
- Design a URL shortening service like bit.ly.
- How would you design a system to handle real-time analytics for a large streaming platform?
- Describe a challenging bug you encountered and how you debugged it.
- What are your thoughts on microservices vs. monolithic architectures?
- How do you handle technical debt?
- Tell me about a time you failed. What did you learn from it?
- How do you mentor junior engineers?
- What are the trade-offs between different database technologies?
- Design a system for managing patient health records securely and efficiently.

## Preparation tips

### lists

- Review fundamental computer science concepts, especially data structures and algorithms.
- Practice coding problems on platforms like LeetCode, HackerRank, or similar.
- 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 Verily's mission, products, and recent news.
- Understand the specific technologies and domains relevant to the role you are applying for.

### studyPlan

- {"title":"Data Structures and Algorithms","longDescription":"Weeks 1-2: Focus on core data structures (arrays, linked lists, trees, graphs, hash tables) and algorithms (sorting, searching, dynamic programming, graph traversal). Practice implementing these in your preferred language and analyze their time and space complexity. Aim for at least 5-7 problems per data structure/algorithm type.","shortDescription":"Weeks 1-2: Data Structures & Algorithms fundamentals. Practice coding problems."}
- {"title":"System Design","longDescription":"Weeks 3-4: Dive into system design. Study concepts like scalability, availability, reliability, load balancing, caching, databases (SQL vs. NoSQL), message queues, and microservices. Work through common system design interview questions and practice sketching out architectures.","shortDescription":"Weeks 3-4: System Design principles and common patterns. Practice design questions."}
- {"title":"Behavioral Preparation","longDescription":"Week 5: Prepare for behavioral interviews. Identify key experiences related to leadership, teamwork, conflict resolution, and handling failure. Structure your answers using the STAR method. Research Verily's values and prepare examples that align with them.","shortDescription":"Week 5: Behavioral interview preparation. Use STAR method. Research Verily's values."}
- {"title":"Mock Interviews & Review","longDescription":"Week 6: Mock interviews and review. Conduct mock interviews with peers or mentors to simulate the interview environment. Review any weak areas identified during practice and refine your answers. Ensure you are comfortable discussing your resume and past projects in detail.","shortDescription":"Week 6: Mock interviews and final review. Refine answers and identify weak areas."}

## Location differences

- {"location":"South San Francisco","differences":{"tips":["Research Verily's specific projects and products in the life sciences and healthcare space.","Be prepared to discuss how your technical skills can contribute to solving real-world health problems.","Highlight any experience with large-scale data processing, bioinformatics, or clinical trial management systems."],"interviewFocus":["Deep dive into specific technologies and their application in the healthcare/life sciences domain.","Understanding of regulatory compliance and data privacy (e.g., HIPAA) in system design.","Ability to lead technical discussions and influence architectural decisions."],"commonQuestions":["Discuss a complex technical challenge you faced in a previous role and how you overcame it.","How do you approach designing a scalable and reliable system for [specific domain relevant to Verily, e.g., healthcare data processing]?","Describe a time you had to mentor junior engineers. What was your approach?","What are your thoughts on the current trends in [relevant tech field, e.g., machine learning in healthcare]?"]}}
- {"location":"New York","differences":{"tips":["Familiarize yourself with Verily's broader Google/Alphabet ecosystem and how it integrates with Verily's mission.","Showcase your ability to work effectively in cross-functional teams.","Be ready to discuss your contributions to open-source projects or technical communities, if applicable."],"interviewFocus":["Emphasis on collaborative problem-solving and teamwork.","Agile development methodologies and experience with CI/CD pipelines.","Ability to adapt to evolving project requirements and priorities."],"commonQuestions":["How do you ensure code quality and maintainability in a fast-paced environment?","Describe a situation where you had to disagree with a technical decision made by your team lead or manager. How did you handle it?","What are your strategies for debugging complex distributed systems?","How do you stay updated with new technologies and best practices?"]}}

## Round 1: Technical Coding Round 1
**Type:** Data Structures and Algorithms · **Difficulty:** Hard · **Duration:** 45 min
Coding challenge focused on data structures and algorithms.
This round focuses on your core programming skills. You will be asked to solve one or two coding problems, typically involving data structures and algorithms. The interviewer will assess your ability to write clean, efficient, and correct code, as well as your problem-solving approach and communication skills. Expect to discuss time and space complexity.
**Interviewers look for:** Strong grasp of fundamental algorithms and data structures.; Clean, efficient, and well-structured code.; Ability to think through edge cases and constraints.; Clear communication of thought process.
**Evaluation criteria:** Correctness of the solution.; Efficiency of the solution (time and space complexity).; Code quality, readability, and maintainability.; Ability to explain the approach and trade-offs.
**Common rejection reasons:** Inability to articulate thought process clearly.; Fundamental misunderstanding of data structures or algorithms.; Code with significant bugs or inefficiencies.; Poor time management during the coding exercise.
## Questions

- Given a binary tree, find its inorder traversal.
- Implement a function to find the kth largest element in an unsorted array.
- Given a string containing just the characters '(', ')', '{', '}', '[' and ']', determine if the input string is valid.

## Preparation tips

- Practice coding problems on platforms like LeetCode, focusing on medium to hard difficulty.
- Be comfortable explaining your thought process out loud as you code.
- Review common data structures (arrays, linked lists, trees, graphs, hash maps) and algorithms (sorting, searching, dynamic programming, recursion).
- Practice writing code in a collaborative editor or whiteboard environment.

## Round 2: System Design Round
**Type:** System Design · **Difficulty:** Hard · **Duration:** 60 min
Design a complex system, focusing on scalability and reliability.
This round assesses your ability to design complex systems. You'll be given an open-ended problem (e.g., design Twitter, design a ride-sharing service) and expected to propose a high-level architecture. Focus on requirements gathering, component design, data storage, APIs, scalability, and potential bottlenecks.
**Interviewers look for:** Systematic approach to problem-solving.; Knowledge of common architectural patterns and technologies.; Ability to balance requirements and constraints.; Clear communication of design choices.
**Evaluation criteria:** Ability to design scalable, reliable, and maintainable systems.; Understanding of distributed systems concepts.; Identification and discussion of trade-offs.; Clarity and structure of the design.; Consideration of edge cases and failure scenarios.
**Common rejection reasons:** Lack of clarity in system design approach.; Failure to consider scalability and reliability.; Inability to identify and discuss trade-offs.; Overlooking critical components or failure modes.
## Questions

- Design a system like TinyURL.
- Design a distributed cache.
- Design a notification service.

## Preparation tips

- Study common system design interview topics (e.g., load balancing, caching, databases, message queues).
- Practice designing systems like Twitter, Instagram, Uber, Netflix, etc.
- Be prepared to discuss trade-offs between different design choices.
- Consider aspects like availability, latency, consistency, and fault tolerance.

## Round 3: Hiring Manager / Team Fit Round
**Type:** Technical Deep Dive & Behavioral · **Difficulty:** Medium · **Duration:** 45 min
Discuss past projects, technical depth, and team/company fit.
This round is typically conducted by the hiring manager or a senior member of the team. It focuses on your past experiences, technical depth in areas relevant to the team's work, and your overall fit with the team and company culture. Expect questions about your resume, career goals, and how you approach collaboration and problem-solving.
**Interviewers look for:** Deep understanding of technologies relevant to the role.; Evidence of impact and ownership in previous projects.; Curiosity and passion for technology and Verily's mission.; Good communication and interpersonal skills.
**Evaluation criteria:** Depth of technical knowledge in specific domains.; Relevance of past experience to the role.; Ability to articulate technical contributions and impact.; Alignment with Verily's culture and values.
**Common rejection reasons:** Lack of specific technical depth in relevant areas.; Inability to connect past experiences to the role's requirements.; Poor communication of technical achievements.; Lack of enthusiasm or alignment with Verily's mission.
## Questions

- Tell me about a project you are particularly proud of and your role in it.
- How do you handle disagreements within a team?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses as a software engineer?
- Why are you interested in Verily and this specific role?

## Preparation tips

- Thoroughly review your resume and be prepared to discuss any project or experience in detail.
- Prepare specific examples using the STAR method to illustrate your skills and accomplishments.
- Research Verily's mission, values, and the specific team's work.
- Think about your career goals and why you are interested in this role at Verily.

## Round 4: Final Behavioral / Cultural Fit Round
**Type:** Behavioral & Cultural Fit · **Difficulty:** Medium · **Duration:** 45 min
Assess cultural fit, values alignment, and behavioral competencies.
This final round often involves a senior leader or HR representative to assess your overall cultural fit, alignment with Verily's mission, and behavioral competencies. They will look for evidence of collaboration, leadership, adaptability, and a genuine interest in contributing to Verily's goals. Questions may be more open-ended and focus on your motivations and how you operate in a professional environment.
**Interviewers look for:** Positive attitude and enthusiasm.; Evidence of collaboration and teamwork.; Alignment with Verily's mission and culture.; Ability to handle ambiguity and learn.; Strong communication skills.
**Evaluation criteria:** Alignment with Verily's core values (e.g., impact, collaboration, innovation).; Communication and interpersonal skills.; Teamwork and collaboration abilities.; Problem-solving approach in ambiguous situations.; Cultural adaptability.
**Common rejection reasons:** Lack of alignment with company values.; Poor communication or interpersonal skills.; Inability to demonstrate collaboration or leadership potential.; Negative attitude or lack of enthusiasm.
## Questions

- Describe a time you had to work with someone with a very different working style. How did you adapt?
- What motivates you to do your best work?
- How do you approach learning new technologies or domains?
- What impact do you hope to make at Verily?

## Preparation tips

- Reflect on Verily's mission and values and how they resonate with you.
- Prepare examples that showcase collaboration, leadership, and problem-solving.
- Be ready to discuss your career aspirations and how this role fits into them.
- Ask thoughtful questions about the company culture, team dynamics, and future vision.