A QA Engineer at Verily plays a vital role at the intersection of healthcare, life sciences, and advanced software engineering. Unlike traditional software companies where bugs might simply result in a minor user inconvenience, software quality at Verily directly impacts clinical trials, patient care, medical devices, and regulated health platforms. As a quality champion, you ensure that the software driving precision health is safe, reliable, compliant, and highly performant.

In this role, you will work on cutting-edge platforms such as clinical research tools, software-as-a-medical-device (SaMD) applications, and data-driven healthcare portals. Your responsibilities go beyond standard functional testing; you will validate complex data pipelines, ensure rigorous data integrity, and help navigate the unique requirements of medical regulatory bodies.

The work is highly cross-functional, requiring close collaboration with software developers, product managers, data scientists, and regulatory affairs specialists. For a QA Engineer, Verily offers the unique challenge of applying modern software testing methodologies to highly regulated, life-saving technologies, making it an incredibly rewarding and impactful career path.

The questions you will face during the Verily interview process are designed to evaluate your functional testing expertise, data validation skills, domain knowledge, and behavioral alignment with the company's mission. The following questions are representative of what candidates have experienced in real interviews and are organized by core competency.

SQL & Data Validation

Because Verily platforms process massive volumes of clinical and health data, verifying data integrity is a major part of the role. Expect questions that test your ability to query databases and validate complex data sets.

• Write a SQL query to find duplicate patient records across two separate clinical trial databases.
• How do you validate data integrity when data is migrated from a legacy clinical database to a new cloud-based schema?

Preparing for an interview at Verily requires a balanced approach. You must demonstrate strong technical fundamentals while showing a deep respect for the regulatory and ethical standards of the healthcare industry.

Role-Related Knowledge – You must show a deep understanding of core QA methodologies, test planning, and defect lifecycle management. Be ready to explain how you design test strategies that cover functional, regression, and integration testing.

Data & Analytical Skills – Data is at the core of precision health. You will be evaluated on your ability to write clean SQL queries and analyze data structures to verify that back-end data matches front-end expectations.

Problem-Solving & Adaptability – Interviewers want to see how you approach ambiguous scenarios. When faced with a complex software system, you should be able to break it down logically, identify potential failure points, and propose structured testing solutions.

Mission Alignment & Communication – Verily values candidates who are genuinely passionate about improving healthcare through technology. Your communication should be clear, structured, and empathetic, reflecting your ability to work with diverse stakeholders.

The interview process at Verily is thorough, structured, and designed to evaluate both your immediate technical capabilities and your long-term potential within the team. Candidates can expect a multi-stage process that moves relatively quickly, with scheduling teams often praised for their prompt communication.

The journey begins with an initial recruiter phone screen, which focuses on your background, interest in the company, and basic alignment with the role. Following a successful screen, you will move into the technical screening phase, which typically consists of two virtual interviews. One of these sessions will focus on functional QA scenarios and past experience, while the other is a dedicated technical test focusing heavily on SQL and data validation.

If you pass the technical screens, you will be invited to a comprehensive virtual or onsite loop. This loop typically consists of four 45-minute sessions, featuring interviews with three QA Engineers and one Software Developer. The final step in the process is a conversation with the Director or Hiring Manager to discuss team fit, high-level strategy, and career alignment.

The timeline shown above represents the typical progression for a QA Engineer candidate. Use this overview to pace your preparation, ensuring you focus heavily on SQL and functional testing fundamentals before your technical screens, while reserving time for behavioral and system-level preparation prior to the onsite loop.

To succeed at Verily, you must perform consistently across several core evaluation areas. Understanding what interviewers look for in each of these areas will help you structure your preparation.

SQL & Data Validation

Data integrity is paramount in clinical and health applications. You will face a dedicated SQL test designed to evaluate your ability to query databases, manipulate data, and identify anomalies. Interviewers want to see that you can write correct, optimized queries under pressure.

Be ready to go over:

• Complex Joins – Utilizing inner, left, right, and outer joins to combine data from multiple clinical tables.
• Aggregation & Filtering – Using GROUP BY, HAVING, and aggregate functions (COUNT, SUM, AVG) to audit and validate metrics.
• Subqueries & CTEs – Structuring readable queries to isolate specific subsets of data for validation.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Window functions (ROW_NUMBER, RANK) and basic database optimization techniques.

Example scenarios:

• "You are given a database of patient clinical trials. Write a query to identify any patients who have duplicate enrollment records but differing birth dates."
• "Write a query to find the average heart rate recorded per patient per day, filtering out any records with null or corrupted sensor readings."

Healthcare Regulations & Compliance

While you do not need to be an expert in FDA law, having a solid grasp of how healthcare regulations impact software development is a massive differentiator. Interviewers want to see that you respect the stakes of medical software and understand that "moving fast and breaking things" is not an acceptable strategy in this domain.

Be ready to go over:

• FDA Software Review Process – The general purpose of FDA reviews for software and the distinction between regulated and non-regulated applications.
• GxP & SaMD – The core principles of Good Practice (GxP) and how Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) is validated.
• Traceability & Documentation – The importance of maintaining clear test documentation, requirements traceability matrices, and defect logs for audit purposes.

Example scenarios:

• "How would you approach testing a software update for an application that directly controls a wearable medical sensor versus a general wellness tracking app?"
• "Explain how you would document a test execution to ensure it meets the traceability standards required for an external regulatory audit."

Functional QA Methodology & Problem-Solving

This area evaluates your core testing instincts. Interviewers want to see how you translate product requirements into comprehensive test plans, prioritize testing activities, and handle complex technical challenges.

Be ready to go over:

• Test Case Design – Writing clear, comprehensive, and reusable test cases that cover positive, negative, and edge-case scenarios.
• Risk-Based Testing – Identifying critical paths and high-risk areas of an application to optimize testing when time is constrained.
• Defect Lifecycle Management – How you document, prioritize, and track bugs from discovery through to verification.

Example scenarios:

• "Walk me through how you would design a test plan for a new feature that allows clinical trial participants to upload medical documents securely."
• "Describe a time when you discovered a critical bug right before a major production release. What steps did you take to mitigate the risk and communicate with stakeholders?"