A Software Engineer at Viasat sits at the intersection of cutting-edge aerospace systems, global telecommunications, and high-performance cloud computing. Unlike traditional software companies, Viasat designs and operates massive satellite constellations, ground stations, and secure communication networks that connect commercial airlines, maritime fleets, defense forces, and remote communities worldwide. As a software engineer, you will write the mission-critical code that powers these complex ecosystems, directly impacting how millions of users access secure, high-speed connectivity.

The impact of this role is exceptionally broad. You might find yourself optimizing real-time data streaming protocols to reduce latency over satellite links, designing secure APIs for tactical defense communication systems, or scaling the distributed cloud services that manage ground station telemetry. Software engineering at Viasat requires a unique blend of traditional software practices—such as object-oriented design, web development, and cloud architecture—and low-level systems knowledge, including computer networks, operating systems, and occasionally hardware-adjacent concepts like RF engineering and digital logic.

Ultimately, working as a Software Engineer at Viasat means tackling engineering challenges at a scale and complexity that few other organizations can offer. The systems you build must remain resilient under extreme environmental and security constraints, making this role both highly demanding and incredibly rewarding. If you thrive on solving multi-layered problems that bridge the physical and digital worlds, this position offers an unparalleled platform for technical growth and global impact.

The questions you will face during the Viasat hiring process are designed to evaluate both your technical depth and your collaborative style. While the exact questions will vary depending on the specific team and location you are interviewing with, they generally mirror real reported interview experiences. Use the categories below to guide your preparation, focusing on your conceptual understanding and your ability to articulate your problem-solving process.

Computer Networks & Systems

Because Viasat is a global communications leader, technical interviewers place a heavy emphasis on your understanding of networking fundamentals and low-level system behavior.

• Explain the primary differences between TCP and UDP. In what scenarios would you choose one over the other for satellite data transmission?
• Walk me through the layers of the OSI model. How does data flow from the transport layer down to the physical layer?

Preparing for an interview at Viasat requires a balanced approach. You cannot rely solely on memorizing coding patterns or scanning behavioral questions. Instead, you must develop a deep, foundational understanding of computer science principles and be ready to discuss your past engineering decisions in detail.

Role-Related Knowledge – You must demonstrate a strong command of the technologies and languages listed on your resume. Whether your strength is in Java, C++, Python, or embedded systems, expect interviewers to drill down into language-specific behaviors, object-oriented principles, and memory management.

Problem-Solving & Communication – Viasat highly values your ability to think out loud. When presented with a technical problem or coding challenge, vocalize your thought process immediately. Explain the brute-force approach first, discuss its limitations, and then work collaboratively with your interviewer to optimize it. They are often more interested in how you handle hints and navigate roadblocks than in you getting the perfect answer instantly.

Systemic Thinking – Because Viasat deals with massive, interconnected hardware and software systems, you should show that you think about end-to-end architecture. When designing a solution, consider network latency, data serialization, security protocols, and system resource constraints.

Culture & Collaboration – Show that you are a supportive, humble, and highly collaborative teammate. Viasat maintains a friendly, professional environment where ego is left at the door. Highlight your experiences mentoring others, receiving constructive feedback, and working across diverse teams.

The hiring process for a Software Engineer at Viasat is thorough and structured to evaluate both your technical capabilities and your alignment with the company's collaborative culture. Depending on the seniority of the role, the location, and the specific team, the process typically takes between two to six weeks from the initial application to the final decision.

The journey generally begins with a brief recruiter screen, followed by a deeper technical phone interview with a hiring manager or senior engineer. If you perform well, you will move on to the final stage, which consists of a comprehensive, multi-round panel interview. This final stage may be conducted virtually or on-site at one of Viasat's major campuses, such as Carlsbad, CA, Tempe, AZ, or Chennai, India. During this stage, you will meet with multiple team members, managers, and system architects.

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This visual timeline outlines the typical progression of the Viasat hiring pipeline for engineering candidates. It highlights the transition from initial behavioral screening to deep technical evaluations, culminating in a multi-hour panel interview. Candidates should use this timeline to pace their preparation, ensuring they allocate ample time to study both core computer science fundamentals and behavioral scenarios before reaching the intensive final rounds.

To succeed at Viasat, you must understand the specific technical domains that interviewers are tasked with evaluating. The following sections detail the core areas where you will be expected to demonstrate proficiency.

Computer Networks & Protocols

Because networking is the bedrock of Viasat's business, almost every software engineering candidate will face questions in this domain. Interviewers want to ensure you understand how data moves across local and global networks, especially under the latency and packet-loss constraints typical of satellite communications.

Be ready to go over:

• The OSI and TCP/IP Models – Understand the exact responsibilities of each layer, particularly the Network and Transport layers.
• Transport Protocols (TCP vs. UDP) – Be able to explain connection handshakes, flow control, congestion window mechanisms in TCP, and why UDP is preferred for real-time streaming or voice services.
• IP Subnetting and Routing – Know how to calculate subnet masks, explain the difference between public and private IP addresses, and understand basic routing concepts.
• Application Layer Protocols – Understand DNS resolution, the HTTP request/response lifecycle, and how security protocols like TLS/SSL secure data in transit.

Example scenarios:

• "Explain how a satellite connection might affect TCP's congestion control mechanism, and how you might mitigate this latency."
• "Walk me through what happens at the network level when a user types a URL into their browser and presses enter."

Data Structures, Algorithms & OOP

Your coding interviews will assess your ability to write clean, maintainable, and efficient code. Viasat places a strong emphasis on solid object-oriented programming (OOP) principles and your choice of data structures.

Be ready to go over:

• Core Data Structures – Mastery of Arrays, Linked Lists, Hash Maps, Trees, and Graphs. Understand their average and worst-case time and space complexities.
• Algorithmic Techniques – Be comfortable with two-pointer approaches, sorting algorithms, and graph traversals (BFS and DFS).
• Object-Oriented Design – Deeply understand encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism, and abstraction. Be prepared to explain how these principles apply to your preferred programming language (e.g., Java, C++, or Python).
• Concurrency & Memory Management – Understand how threads share memory, how to use locks or semaphores to prevent race conditions, and how memory allocation works.

Example scenarios:

• "Given a stream of incoming network packets, design an efficient data structure to store and retrieve them by their sequence ID."
• "Explain how you would write a thread-safe class to manage a shared resource pool in a multi-threaded system."

Resume & Project Validation

Viasat engineers are highly practical and will spend a significant portion of the interview validating your actual hands-on experience. They want to ensure you didn't just participate in projects, but that you truly understood the design decisions and trade-offs involved.

Be ready to go over:

• Architectural Choices – Why did you use a specific framework, database, or language? What were the alternatives, and why were they rejected?
• Quantified Impact – Be prepared to explain any performance metrics or business results listed on your resume (e.g., "reduced API latency by 20%").
• Leadership & Collaboration – If you acted as a team lead or collaborated closely with hardware engineers, explain how you managed tasks and resolved technical disagreements.
• Specialized Domains – If your resume mentions FPGAs, RF, cloud DevOps tools, or security frameworks, expect deep, highly specific questions in those areas.

Example scenarios:

• "On your resume, you mentioned implementing a real-time data pipeline. Walk me through the architecture on the whiteboard and explain how you handled peak traffic loads."
• "You listed experience with embedded C. Explain how you managed memory constraints on that specific microcontroller project."

As a Software Engineer at Viasat, your day-to-day work will depend on your specific team, but it will generally center around building highly reliable, scalable, and secure software systems.

• Designing and Developing Software – You will write clean, well-tested, and optimized code in languages like Java, C++, Python, or Go. This includes developing backend microservices, embedded firmware, cloud-native applications, or network management tools.
• Collaborating Across Disciplines – You will work closely with system architects, network engineers, hardware designers, and product managers to translate complex system requirements into functional software designs.
• Optimizing System Performance – You will continuously monitor, profile, and optimize software systems to ensure they meet strict performance, latency, and reliability requirements, especially when operating over satellite networks.
• Maintaining Security and Resilience – Given Viasat's role in critical infrastructure and defense, you will design and implement robust security measures, ensuring data encryption, secure access controls, and system resilience against cyber threats.
• Participating in Code Reviews and Mentorship – You will engage in rigorous peer code reviews to maintain high code quality standards and, as you grow in the role, mentor junior developers and interns.