Berkshire Hathaway Software Engineer Interview Guide 2026

What is a Software Engineer at Berkshire Hathaway?

As a Software Engineer at Berkshire Hathaway, you play a pivotal role in shaping the technological landscape of one of the world's largest and most diversified holding companies. This position is not just about writing code; it is about crafting solutions that enhance operational efficiency and drive innovation across various subsidiaries, including insurance, energy, and manufacturing. You will be instrumental in developing software that is critical to the company's operations, ensuring reliability and scalability in complex environments.

The impact of your work extends beyond the technical realm; it influences business processes, user experiences, and ultimately the financial outcomes of Berkshire Hathaway's diverse portfolio. You will engage with teams that tackle significant challenges, from risk management in insurance to optimizing supply chains in manufacturing. This role is exciting due to the scale and complexity of projects, the opportunity for strategic influence, and the collaboration with talented professionals across various domains.

Common Interview Questions

In preparing for your interviews, expect a range of questions that reflect the diverse nature of the Software Engineer role at Berkshire Hathaway. The following questions are representative and drawn from various sources, including 1point3acres.com. They illustrate patterns you may encounter, emphasizing the importance of both technical skills and behavioral competencies.

Technical / Domain Questions

These questions assess your technical expertise and understanding of software development principles.

Describe a challenging technical problem you solved. What was your approach?
What programming languages are you most comfortable with, and why?
Can you explain the differences between REST and SOAP?
How do you ensure code quality and maintainability?
What experience do you have with cloud-based solutions?

System Design / Architecture

These questions evaluate your ability to design scalable and efficient systems.

How would you design a system to handle millions of transactions per second?
What factors do you consider when designing a database schema?
Describe a time when you had to refactor a system. What was the outcome?
How do you approach system performance optimization?
Explain the concept of microservices and their advantages.

Behavioral / Leadership

Behavioral questions will explore your teamwork, communication, and leadership abilities.

Tell me about a time when you disagreed with a team member. How did you handle it?
Describe a successful project you led. What made it successful?
How do you prioritize tasks when working on multiple projects?
Share an experience where you had to adapt to significant changes in a project.
How do you handle tight deadlines and pressure?

Problem-Solving / Case Studies

Expect to demonstrate your analytical thinking and problem-solving skills.

A user reports that the application is running slowly. What steps would you take to diagnose the issue?
How would you approach debugging a complex software issue?
Given a dataset, how would you extract meaningful insights from it?
Describe a situation where you had to learn a new technology quickly to complete a project.
How would you evaluate the success of a software feature post-implementation?

Coding / Algorithms

Prepare for coding challenges that assess your algorithmic thinking and coding proficiency.

Write a function to reverse a linked list.
Given an array of integers, find two numbers that add up to a specific target.
How would you implement a search algorithm for a large dataset?
Explain the difference between depth-first and breadth-first search.
Solve a problem using dynamic programming.

See every interview question for this role

Practice questions from our question bank

Curated questions for Berkshire Hathaway from real interviews. Click any question to practice and review the answer.

Easy

Coding

Systematic Debugging for Complex Bugs

Explain a structured debugging approach: reproduce, isolate, inspect signals, test hypotheses, and verify the fix.

Hash Tables

Searching

Medium

Coding

Synchronous vs Asynchronous Programming

Explain the differences between synchronous and asynchronous programming paradigms.

Easy

Coding

Debugging and Troubleshooting Code

Explain a structured debugging process, how to isolate bugs, and how to prevent similar issues in future code.

Arrays

Hash Tables

Easy

Coding

Optimizing Time and Space Complexity

Explain how to improve coding solutions by reducing time complexity first, then balancing space trade-offs.

Arrays

Hash Tables

Greedy

Easy

Pipelines

Reduce CI/CD Pipeline Bottlenecks

Design a CI/CD telemetry pipeline that surfaces developer bottlenecks, flaky tests, and queue delays across GitHub Actions, Jenkins, and Argo CD.

Infrastructure

Quality

Tools

Easy

Coding

Compare Programming Language Strengths

Explain how to compare programming languages by syntax, performance, ecosystem, and interview suitability.

Arrays

Strings

Medium

SQL & Data Manipulation

Understanding Database Indexing Purpose

Explain the purpose of using indexes in databases and their impact on query performance.

Easy

Coding

Reverse a Singly Linked List

Problem At Stripe, a service stores event sequences as singly linked lists. Write a function that reverses a singly linked list and returns the new head. ...

Linked Lists

Recursion

Medium

SQL & Data Manipulation

Understanding Common Table Expressions (CTEs)

Explain what CTEs are and their advantages in SQL queries.

CTEs

Easy

SQL & Data Manipulation

SQL vs NoSQL Database Tradeoffs

Explain how SQL and NoSQL databases differ in schema, consistency, scaling, and query patterns.

Joins

Aggregations

Data Wrangling

Medium

Coding

C++ Memory Management in Practice

Explain C++ memory ownership, RAII, smart pointers, and common failure modes like leaks and use-after-free.

Math

Easy

Coding

Secure Coding for Federal Systems

Explain secure coding practices for federal software, including input validation, secrets handling, dependency hygiene, and logging controls.

Strings

Hash Tables

Easy

Pipelines

Schedule Recurring Design File Jobs

Design a recurring batch pipeline to process new design files every 15 minutes with dependency management, retries, backfills, and idempotent loads.

Orchestration

Scheduling

Dependencies

Medium

Coding

Understanding Garbage Collection in .NET

Explain how garbage collection works in .NET and its importance in memory management.

Medium

Coding

Understanding Event-Driven Architecture

Explain the principles of event-driven architecture and its key advantages.

Medium

Coding

Difference Between Interface and Abstract Class in Java

Explain the differences between interfaces and abstract classes in Java and when to use each.

Arrays

Strings

Hash Tables

+2 more

Medium

Execution

Enhance Code Quality Through Pair Programming

Develop a plan to implement effective pair programming practices in a remote engineering team to improve code quality and team collaboration.

Medium

SQL & Data Manipulation

Understanding Stored Procedures in SQL

Explain what a stored procedure is and its benefits in SQL databases.

Easy

SQL & Data Manipulation

Understanding Foreign Key Constraints

Explain what a foreign key constraint is and its significance in relational databases.

Hard

Pipelines

Petabyte Driving Logs Evaluation Pipeline

Design an ETL/streaming pipeline to ingest petabytes of autonomous driving logs and compute evaluation metrics with late data and strict data quality.

Data Modeling

ETL

Batch Processing

+2 more

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Getting Ready for Your Interviews

Preparation is key to success in your interview process. Focus on understanding the evaluation criteria that Berkshire Hathaway emphasizes in their selection of candidates.

Role-related knowledge – This criterion assesses your technical skills and understanding of software engineering principles. Interviewers will look for evidence of expertise in relevant programming languages, frameworks, and technologies.

Problem-solving ability – How you approach challenges is crucial. You should demonstrate structured thinking, creativity, and resilience in overcoming obstacles.

Leadership – While this role may not have direct reports, your ability to influence and communicate effectively with teams is vital. Showcase experiences where you've led initiatives or collaborated across departments.

Culture fit / values – Berkshire Hathaway values integrity, accountability, and a strong work ethic. Illustrate how your personal values align with the company culture.

Interview Process Overview

The interview process for a Software Engineer at Berkshire Hathaway typically involves multiple stages designed to assess your fit for the role comprehensively. Candidates can expect an initial phone screen, often conducted by HR or a recruiter, followed by several rounds of technical interviews. These interviews will involve discussions with team members and possibly leadership, focusing on both technical skills and cultural fit.

The company values a collaborative and data-driven approach, and you will likely encounter scenarios that test your ability to work under pressure and think critically. The pace can vary, but candidates should be prepared for a rigorous series of evaluations that may span several days.

This visual timeline outlines the stages of the interview process, including the initial screenings and subsequent rounds. Use this to manage your preparation time and ensure you are ready at each stage, especially for technical evaluations that may require deeper study of algorithms or system design principles.

Deep Dive into Evaluation Areas

Understanding how you will be evaluated is crucial for tailoring your preparation. Here are key evaluation areas for the Software Engineer role:

Technical Proficiency

Technical proficiency is fundamental to your success as a Software Engineer. Interviewers will evaluate your understanding of software development methodologies, programming languages, and frameworks. Strong performance here means demonstrating practical knowledge through coding challenges and discussions about past projects.

Programming Languages – Be ready to discuss your experience with languages relevant to the role.
Development Tools – Familiarity with version control systems, CI/CD pipelines, and testing frameworks is important.
Emerging Technologies – Awareness of trends such as cloud computing, AI, and machine learning can set you apart.

Example questions:

What tools do you use for version control, and why?
Describe your experience with Agile methodologies.

System Design

Your ability to design scalable systems will be tested. This area looks at your understanding of architecture, database design, and performance optimization. A strong candidate can articulate their design choices and justify them based on user needs and technical constraints.

Scalability – Understand how to design systems that handle growth.
Database Management – Be familiar with both SQL and NoSQL databases.

Example questions:

How would you approach designing a high-availability system?
What considerations would you make for data consistency in a distributed system?

Problem-Solving Skills

Expect questions that require you to demonstrate your analytical and problem-solving capabilities. Interviewers will assess how you approach challenges, structure your thought process, and derive solutions.

Critical Thinking – Illustrate your ability to dissect problems and evaluate solutions.
Creativity – Show how you can think outside the box to find innovative solutions.

Example questions:

Explain your process for troubleshooting a software bug.
Describe a complex problem you solved and the steps you took.

Collaboration and Communication

Effective collaboration is crucial at Berkshire Hathaway. You will work with cross-functional teams, and your ability to communicate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders will be assessed.

Team Dynamics – Be ready to discuss experiences where you contributed to team success.
Feedback – Illustrate how you handle constructive criticism.

Example questions:

Tell me about a time you had to communicate a technical concept to a non-technical audience.
How do you handle conflicts within a team?

Advanced Concepts

While less common, questions on advanced topics can differentiate you from other candidates. Familiarize yourself with concepts that might arise, particularly if you have experience in specialized areas.

Cloud Architecture – Understanding cloud services and architecture is becoming increasingly relevant.
Security Best Practices – Knowledge of application security can be a significant advantage.

Example questions:

How would you secure an API?
What are the best practices for data encryption in transit?

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Interview Guides

Berkshire Hathaway

What is a Software Engineer at Berkshire Hathaway?

Common Interview Questions

Technical / Domain Questions

System Design / Architecture

Behavioral / Leadership

Problem-Solving / Case Studies

Coding / Algorithms

See every interview question for this role

Practice questions from our question bank

Sign up to see all questions

Getting Ready for Your Interviews

Interview Process Overview

Deep Dive into Evaluation Areas

Technical Proficiency

System Design

Problem-Solving Skills

Collaboration and Communication

Advanced Concepts

Sign up to read the full guide

Key Responsibilities

Role Requirements & Qualifications

Frequently Asked Questions

Other General Tips

Summary & Next Steps