Skip to contentSkip to footer

Staff Software Engineer Interview Questions

Salaries
Interviews

2,628 staff software engineer interview questions shared by candidates

We are building a real time group chat app that consists of a backend server and a frontend web app. Our MVP needs to support multiple users joining a group. When a user is part of a group, that user should be able to send a message to all other users in the group and read all messages posted in the group. How would you design this group chat application, specifically what protocol(s) could be used to communicate between our server and client web app?
avatar

Staff Software Engineer

Interviewed at Wayfair

3★
Jul 23, 2024

We are building a real time group chat app that consists of a backend server and a frontend web app. Our MVP needs to support multiple users joining a group. When a user is part of a group, that user should be able to send a message to all other users in the group and read all messages posted in the group. How would you design this group chat application, specifically what protocol(s) could be used to communicate between our server and client web app?

Suppose we have input data describing relationships between parents and children over multiple generations. The data is formatted as a list of (parent, child) pairs, where each individual is assigned a unique integer identifier. For example, in this diagram, 3 is a child of 1 and 2, and 5 is a child of 4: 10 / 1 2 4 \ / / \ 3 5 8 \ / \ \ \ / \ \ 6 7 9 Find the Earliest Ancestor Write a function that, for a given individual in our dataset, returns their earliest known ancestor - the one at the farthest distance from the input individual. If there is more than one ancestor tied for “earliest”, return any one of them. If the input individual has no parents, the function should return null (or -1). Sample input and output: parentChildPairs = [[1, 3], [2, 3], [3, 6], [5, 6], [5, 7], [4, 5], [4, 8], [8, 9], [10,2]]; 8 => 4 7 => 4 6 => 10 Common Clarifications • Any member of the "earliest❞ generation of the input individual's ancestors is an acceptable result. • No person will appear in the ancestor list twice (via two different relationship paths). • There are no cycles in the input.
avatar

Staff Software Engineer

Interviewed at Wayfair

3★
Jul 23, 2024

Suppose we have input data describing relationships between parents and children over multiple generations. The data is formatted as a list of (parent, child) pairs, where each individual is assigned a unique integer identifier. For example, in this diagram, 3 is a child of 1 and 2, and 5 is a child of 4: 10 / 1 2 4 \ / / \ 3 5 8 \ / \ \ \ / \ \ 6 7 9 Find the Earliest Ancestor Write a function that, for a given individual in our dataset, returns their earliest known ancestor - the one at the farthest distance from the input individual. If there is more than one ancestor tied for “earliest”, return any one of them. If the input individual has no parents, the function should return null (or -1). Sample input and output: parentChildPairs = [[1, 3], [2, 3], [3, 6], [5, 6], [5, 7], [4, 5], [4, 8], [8, 9], [10,2]]; 8 => 4 7 => 4 6 => 10 Common Clarifications • Any member of the "earliest❞ generation of the input individual's ancestors is an acceptable result. • No person will appear in the ancestor list twice (via two different relationship paths). • There are no cycles in the input.

Which consistency model is more appropriate for each of these applications: strong consistency, or eventual consistency? Why? (Select the best answer that applies for each question) . An API call that needs to respond within 20 milliseconds, used by a web service to retrieve metadata about a piece of streaming media. • A web analytics platform recording every single click on a web page. • A banking system that makes deposits and payments to checking accounts.
avatar

Staff Software Engineer

Interviewed at Wayfair

3★
Jul 23, 2024

Which consistency model is more appropriate for each of these applications: strong consistency, or eventual consistency? Why? (Select the best answer that applies for each question) . An API call that needs to respond within 20 milliseconds, used by a web service to retrieve metadata about a piece of streaming media. • A web analytics platform recording every single click on a web page. • A banking system that makes deposits and payments to checking accounts.

1: string manipulation 2: box mgmt , small box filling into medium and high . medium only high. high in high. 3: pair programming about person A sending money to B. i have changed the coding question but they were pretty easy.
avatar

Staff Software Engineer

Interviewed at PayPal

3.6★
Nov 9, 2021

1: string manipulation 2: box mgmt , small box filling into medium and high . medium only high. high in high. 3: pair programming about person A sending money to B. i have changed the coding question but they were pretty easy.

Viewing 151 - 160 interview questions

Glassdoor has 2,628 interview questions and reports from Staff software engineer interviews. Prepare for your interview. Get hired. Love your job.