Google Software Engineer Interview Questions

Review this list of 91 Google software engineer interview questions and answers verified by hiring managers and candidates.
  • Google logoAsked at Google 

    "I followed STAR format"

    Shashikant A. - "I followed STAR format"See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Behavioral
    +3 more
  • Software Engineer
    System Design
  • Google logoAsked at Google 

    "Question: An array of n integers is given, and a positive integer k, where k << n. k indicates that the absolute difference between each element's current index (icurrent) and the index in the sorted array (isorted) is less than k (|icurr - isorted| < k). Sort the given array. The most common solution is with a Heap: def solution(arr, k): min_heap = [] result = [] for i in range(len(arr)) heapq.heappush(min_heap, arr[i]) "

    Guilherme M. - "Question: An array of n integers is given, and a positive integer k, where k << n. k indicates that the absolute difference between each element's current index (icurrent) and the index in the sorted array (isorted) is less than k (|icurr - isorted| < k). Sort the given array. The most common solution is with a Heap: def solution(arr, k): min_heap = [] result = [] for i in range(len(arr)) heapq.heappush(min_heap, arr[i]) "See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Coding
    +1 more
  • Google logoAsked at Google 

    "performance issues and sudden spikes on input requests by scaling techniques and optimization."

    Srini K. - "performance issues and sudden spikes on input requests by scaling techniques and optimization."See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Technical
    +5 more
  • Software Engineer
    System Design
    +1 more
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  • Google logoAsked at Google 

    "STAR story weaved around the project 0 to 1 execution with all the technical tradeoffs, issues, and success metrics involved."

    Push S. - "STAR story weaved around the project 0 to 1 execution with all the technical tradeoffs, issues, and success metrics involved."See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Behavioral
    +2 more
  • Google logoAsked at Google 
    Video answer for 'Design a key-value store.'

    "Is this in-memory key value store or Disk based as store they are trying to make? Can someone help me with this"

    Chetan R. - "Is this in-memory key value store or Disk based as store they are trying to make? Can someone help me with this"See full answer

    Software Engineer
    System Design
    +2 more
  • Google logoAsked at Google 
    +1

    "delete"

    David P. - "delete"See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Behavioral
    +1 more
  • +6

    "I would first call out the two types of Google Doodles that are published. First would be the static doodle which just shows a picture, and users can get more information on it by hovering on it or clicking on it. Second would be the dynamic google doodles which are either short videos or games through which users engage a bit more. My top 3 metrics that covers both would be: Click-through rate and post-click CTR - Although different metrics, I clubbed them since they fall under similar"

    Rahul R. - "I would first call out the two types of Google Doodles that are published. First would be the static doodle which just shows a picture, and users can get more information on it by hovering on it or clicking on it. Second would be the dynamic google doodles which are either short videos or games through which users engage a bit more. My top 3 metrics that covers both would be: Click-through rate and post-click CTR - Although different metrics, I clubbed them since they fall under similar"See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Analytical
    +1 more
  • Google logoAsked at Google 
    +8

    " class Node { constructor(data) { this.data = data; this.left = null; this.right = null; } } function diameterOfTree(root) { if (root === null || root.left === null & root.right === null) { return 0; } function countBranch(node, count) { if (node.left === null && node.right === null) { return count; } let left = node.left === null ? 0 : countBranch(node.left, count+1); let right = no"

    Jeff S. - " class Node { constructor(data) { this.data = data; this.left = null; this.right = null; } } function diameterOfTree(root) { if (root === null || root.left === null & root.right === null) { return 0; } function countBranch(node, count) { if (node.left === null && node.right === null) { return count; } let left = node.left === null ? 0 : countBranch(node.left, count+1); let right = no"See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Data Structures & Algorithms
    +1 more
  • Google logoAsked at Google 
    Video answer for 'Write functions to serialize and deserialize a list of strings.'
    +4

    "Maybe we can use this solution: 1, connect all the strings together, and add an integer value ahead each string. 2, use Huffmans algorithm to encode the step 1 result, to make the result size smaller. 3, return the root of Huffmans tree. This solution man be slower than the common serialize method, but it can save a lot of memory, I think, at lease doing serialize is mainly for tranfering data or storing data."

    Jordan Z. - "Maybe we can use this solution: 1, connect all the strings together, and add an integer value ahead each string. 2, use Huffmans algorithm to encode the step 1 result, to make the result size smaller. 3, return the root of Huffmans tree. This solution man be slower than the common serialize method, but it can save a lot of memory, I think, at lease doing serialize is mainly for tranfering data or storing data."See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Coding
    +1 more
  • Google logoAsked at Google 
    +6

    " function climbStairs(n) { // 4 iterations of Dynamic Programming solutions: // Step 1: Recursive: // if (n <= 2) return n // return climbStairs(n-1) + climbStairs(n-2) // Step 2: Top-down Memoization // const memo = {0:0, 1:1, 2:2} // function f(x) { // if (x in memo) return memo[x] // memo[x] = f(x-1) + f(x-2) // return memo[x] // } // return f(n) // Step 3: Bottom-up Tabulation // const tab = [0,1,2] // f"

    Matthew K. - " function climbStairs(n) { // 4 iterations of Dynamic Programming solutions: // Step 1: Recursive: // if (n <= 2) return n // return climbStairs(n-1) + climbStairs(n-2) // Step 2: Top-down Memoization // const memo = {0:0, 1:1, 2:2} // function f(x) { // if (x in memo) return memo[x] // memo[x] = f(x-1) + f(x-2) // return memo[x] // } // return f(n) // Step 3: Bottom-up Tabulation // const tab = [0,1,2] // f"See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Data Structures & Algorithms
    +3 more
  • Google logoAsked at Google 
    +20

    "def friend_distance(friends, userA, userB): step = 0 total_neighs = set() llen = len(total_neighs) total_neighs.add(userB) while len(total_neighs)!=llen: s = set() step += 1 llen = len(total_neighs) for el in total_neighs: nes = neighbours(friends, userA, el) if userA in nes: return step for p in nes: s.add(p) for el in s: total_neighs.add(el) return -1 def neighbours(A,n1, n2): out = set() for i in range(len(A[n2])): if An2: out.add(i) return out"

    Batman X. - "def friend_distance(friends, userA, userB): step = 0 total_neighs = set() llen = len(total_neighs) total_neighs.add(userB) while len(total_neighs)!=llen: s = set() step += 1 llen = len(total_neighs) for el in total_neighs: nes = neighbours(friends, userA, el) if userA in nes: return step for p in nes: s.add(p) for el in s: total_neighs.add(el) return -1 def neighbours(A,n1, n2): out = set() for i in range(len(A[n2])): if An2: out.add(i) return out"See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Data Structures & Algorithms
    +1 more
  • " Project Overview: Real-Time Risk Management System Objective The goal was to develop a real-time risk management system capable of processing and analyzing large volumes of trading data to provide near-instantaneous risk assessments. This system was crucial for enabling traders to make informed decisions while managing their exposure to various market risks in real-time. Complexity Factors 1. \\Data Volume and Velocity\\ \\High Throughput:\\ The system needed to ha"

    Scott S. - " Project Overview: Real-Time Risk Management System Objective The goal was to develop a real-time risk management system capable of processing and analyzing large volumes of trading data to provide near-instantaneous risk assessments. This system was crucial for enabling traders to make informed decisions while managing their exposure to various market risks in real-time. Complexity Factors 1. \\Data Volume and Velocity\\ \\High Throughput:\\ The system needed to ha"See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Behavioral
    +2 more
  • Google logoAsked at Google 
    +3

    "As an engineering manager, motivation is key to the success of the team. Here are some ways to motivate the team: Set clear goals: Clearly defined goals help team members understand what they're working towards and give them a sense of purpose. Offer growth opportunities: Providing opportunities for professional development and advancement can increase motivation and job satisfaction. Provide recognition and rewards: Recognising and rewarding team members for their hard work and achieve"

    Santhosh K. - "As an engineering manager, motivation is key to the success of the team. Here are some ways to motivate the team: Set clear goals: Clearly defined goals help team members understand what they're working towards and give them a sense of purpose. Offer growth opportunities: Providing opportunities for professional development and advancement can increase motivation and job satisfaction. Provide recognition and rewards: Recognising and rewarding team members for their hard work and achieve"See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Behavioral
    +1 more
  • Google logoAsked at Google 

    "Situation: As a Product Manager at Cisco, I was leading the development of a new highly critical product for enterprise customers. Midway through the project, a key engineering team was reassigned due to an urgent security patch, leaving us understaffed with only six weeks left before a critical customer pilot. Task: I had to ensure the product launched on time without sacrificing key features, despite losing half of our engineering team. The challenge was to"

    fuzzyicecream14 - "Situation: As a Product Manager at Cisco, I was leading the development of a new highly critical product for enterprise customers. Midway through the project, a key engineering team was reassigned due to an urgent security patch, leaving us understaffed with only six weeks left before a critical customer pilot. Task: I had to ensure the product launched on time without sacrificing key features, despite losing half of our engineering team. The challenge was to"See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Behavioral
  • Google logoAsked at Google 
    Video answer for 'Design a visual landmark recognition system.'
    +3

    "I understand this is more focused on ML. However, I have a system question. If users allow us to access their location, or they send location via text box, could we use CDNs for the search without hitting our database? We only query the database when we have zero information on location. Other questions: does embedding always guarantee information on location? Do we discharge the user images after we return a prediction? I heard the feedback that we should keep it for future learning. What would"

    Bini T. - "I understand this is more focused on ML. However, I have a system question. If users allow us to access their location, or they send location via text box, could we use CDNs for the search without hitting our database? We only query the database when we have zero information on location. Other questions: does embedding always guarantee information on location? Do we discharge the user images after we return a prediction? I heard the feedback that we should keep it for future learning. What would"See full answer

    Software Engineer
    System Design
    +1 more
  • "def encode(root): if not root: return [] def dfs(node): if not node: return res.append(node.val) res.append(len(node,children)) for child_node in node.children: dfs(child_node) res = [] dfs(root) return res def decode(arr): if not arr: return None n = len(arr) i = 0 def dfs(val, children_count): if children_count == 0: return Node(val) cur_node = Node(val) cur_node.children = [] for j in range(children_count): nonlocal i i += 2 cur_node.children.append(dfs(arr[i], arr[i"

    Ying T. - "def encode(root): if not root: return [] def dfs(node): if not node: return res.append(node.val) res.append(len(node,children)) for child_node in node.children: dfs(child_node) res = [] dfs(root) return res def decode(arr): if not arr: return None n = len(arr) i = 0 def dfs(val, children_count): if children_count == 0: return Node(val) cur_node = Node(val) cur_node.children = [] for j in range(children_count): nonlocal i i += 2 cur_node.children.append(dfs(arr[i], arr[i"See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Coding
  • Google logoAsked at Google 
    +7

    "Honestly, In addition to having the right expertise and skills required for this job, I am really looking forward to being part of this organisation’s journey. I am really confident that I will really exceed your expectations in achieving both mine and the company’s goals. I have worked with different teams in different capacities, managed a team of engineers successfully from very early part of my career and that has made me a very easy person to work with. I get things done easily. I am passio"

    Piyush D. - "Honestly, In addition to having the right expertise and skills required for this job, I am really looking forward to being part of this organisation’s journey. I am really confident that I will really exceed your expectations in achieving both mine and the company’s goals. I have worked with different teams in different capacities, managed a team of engineers successfully from very early part of my career and that has made me a very easy person to work with. I get things done easily. I am passio"See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Behavioral
    +2 more
  • "Clarifying questions: is this a brand new product, or are we improving an existing one? (i.e. are we going to have to migrate an existing codebase or are we starting from scratch?). are we resource-strapped (e.g. # engineers, time)? are there any specific priorities for the product, or should i leave it open-ended? Assume: brand new product, well-resourced, no specific priorities. It seems that there are two sides to this question: 1) technical evaluation of different languages, and 2)"

    Laura S. - "Clarifying questions: is this a brand new product, or are we improving an existing one? (i.e. are we going to have to migrate an existing codebase or are we starting from scratch?). are we resource-strapped (e.g. # engineers, time)? are there any specific priorities for the product, or should i leave it open-ended? Assume: brand new product, well-resourced, no specific priorities. It seems that there are two sides to this question: 1) technical evaluation of different languages, and 2)"See full answer

    Software Engineer
    Technical
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