Top 17
Prep plan
Updated weekly · Last refresh Aug 30

Principle Software Engineer Interview Questions

The questions to prepare for a Principle Software Engineer interview. Questions from real interview reports rank first. Updated weekly.

17questions
~3htotal time
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1
CodingStart here. 9 questions · ~96 min
Longest Subarray With Target SumMedium
Practice

Use prefix sums and a hash table to find the longest continuous subarray with a given sum in O(n) time.

Hash TablesArraysSearchingPrinciple
First Non-Repeating CharacterEasy
Practice

Find the first non-repeating character in a string using frequency counting and a second pass in O(n) time.

Hash TablesStringsSearchingPrinciple
Cycle Detection in Linked ListsMedium

Tests linked-list cycle detection strategies and complexity tradeoffs.

Linked ListsAlgorithmsTwo PointersPrinciple
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2
SQL & Data Manipulation4 questions + 2 drills · ~63 min
Third-Highest Salary Department-WiseMedium
Practice

Use DENSE_RANK and a CTE to find employees earning the third-highest distinct salary in each department.

Window FunctionsRankingGroup ByPrinciple
Normalization vs Denormalization TradeoffsMedium

Explain normalization, why it improves data integrity, and when denormalization is a practical performance tradeoff.

schema designperformanceData ModelingPrinciple
Clustered vs Non-Clustered IndexesMedium

Explain how clustered and non-clustered indexes differ in storage, lookup behavior, and query performance.

JoinsData WranglingPrinciple
SQL Queries for RankingMedium
Practice
Practice drill

Rank active HSBC employees by division and return every employee tied for the highest or second-highest salary.

javasqlHsbc
Top Daily Rides by VehicleMedium
Practice
Practice drill

Rank the top 3 completed rides per vehicle per day using joins, a CTE, and ROW_NUMBER.

Window FunctionsJoinsData WranglingWaymo
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3
Behavioral & Leadership3 questions · ~32 min
Probability and Logic AptitudeHard

Tests quantitative reasoning and problem-solving under time constraints.

Problem SolvingPrinciple
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4
More topics1 question · ~11 min
End-to-End Spring ArchitectureHard

Evaluates your ability to design and explain a Spring-based application end-to-end.

javaarchitecturePrinciple
The finish line: interview-readyComplete all 17 questions plus 2 hands-on drills to finish this plan.