Bolt Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process
Real candidates share what happened, how many rounds they had,
and how the experience turned out.
Based on 31 interview experiences · FREE TO READ
Candidate interview experiences
First-hand accounts from people who interviewed at Bolt.
Bolt
Software Engineer
Senior Average Negative experience No offer 4 rounds
Interview process
Recruiter call Phone screen Technical screen Onsite Background check Offer
Interview formats
Behavioral Technical System Design
I applied in November and got an email to schedule an interview in February. The process started with an initial recruiter screen with a technical recruiter. Then, I had an interview with the Hiring Manager. After that, it was a virtual onsite with system design and architecture interviews, and a product discussion. The technical recruiter wasn't very friendly, just asked a lot of questions without introducing himself or the company. He also refused to give a salary range. I only made it to the hiring manager call before getting an automated rejection email.
Confirmed questions2 questions
- Can you tell me about some of your past projects?
- Could you describe the architecture of a project you were involved in?
Bolt
Software Engineer
Senior Difficult Positive experience No offer 5 rounds
Interview process
Recruiter call Phone screen Onsite Background check Offer
Interview formats
Behavioral Technical Coding System Design
First, an HR call about my background and projects. Then, a phone screen with a backtracking problem. The onsite consisted of two algorithm rounds (LC medium), an EM round that was technical and covered past experience with a bit of system design, and a separate high-level system design round. After that, a background check and then hopefully an offer.
Confirmed questions4 questions
- What was the backtracking based problem you were asked?
- Can you describe the two algorithm based rounds (LC medium)?
- Tell me about your EM round, covering technical aspects, past experience, and easy system design.
Bolt
Software Engineer
Entry Easy Negative experience Decline offer 1 round
Interview process
Recruiter call Technical screen Onsite
Interview formats
Technical Behavioral
This is an early-stage company with young, inexperienced engineers running the show. This might be okay for bootstrapping, but it's not ideal for long-term stability. The interview panel was poorly put together, and the interviewers weren't aligned. The team seemed unsure about the skills needed for the role and didn't fully grasp the position's requirements. Because of this lack of clear objectives and poor coordination among the interviewers, the interview was a mess. The technical standard was pretty low, and the assessment was weak due to the inexperience of the young engineers. On top of that, the recruiting process was also lacking. Recruiters dropped the ball, failing to follow up with candidates and leaving them in limbo. The interview spanned from 8 am to 1 pm without a lunch break or any consideration for the candidate's well-being. This isn't a place anyone would want to work. The message to the company is: while you're interviewing candidates, they are also evaluating your business. Do your homework and make a good impression if you want to attract good talent.
Confirmed questions1 question
- An engineer asked about prioritizing and completing a task that was low priority from a business standpoint but would improve customer experience.
Bolt Software Engineer Interview Questions
Quoted word for word from Bolt interview reports.
“Given a string like "-(a+b) + c - (d-e)", convert it to an equivalent equation without the brackets.”
Read reports →“Given 2 strings A and B, Find the index of the first substring in A which is an anagram of another string B.”
Read reports →“Can you implement a hashmap that also supports retrieving a random key in constant time?”
Read reports →“Can you count all the paths from the top-left to the bottom-right of an m x n matrix?”
Read reports →“Can you perform DFS in a 2D array?”
Read report →“Describe how the internet works”
Read report →“Can you find the next item in the sequence?”
Read report →“Could you solve a DP problem in a 2D array?”
Read report →“Solve Leetcode medium and hard algorithmic problems.”
Read report →Formats, difficulty and experience
Across all 31 Bolt interview reports.