Boston University Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

So, the interview process kicked off with a phone interview, which was basically a recruiter screening. They asked about my experience, past projects, my reasons for seeking a new role, and my knowledge of the company. It was about 30 minutes, just to check if I was a good fit for the job and company culture. Then came the coding interview, done online with a shared editor. I had to solve some algorithm problems – challenging enough to make me think, but they cared more about my problem-solving approach than a perfect answer, so I talked through my thinking. After that, it was a deeper technical interview focused on system design. I was asked to design a messaging system, using a virtual whiteboard to go over databases, APIs, scaling, and error handling. It was more of a collaborative discussion that really tested my architecture skills. The fourth stage was a behavioral interview with a senior manager. It was all about teamwork, how I communicate, and deal with conflict, using a lot of 'tell me about a time' questions. The STAR method was really helpful for this. Finally, there was a virtual lunch with some team engineers. This was a more relaxed round, focused on culture fit, getting to know me as a person, and we chatted about tech, personal projects, and even hobbies and funny tech stuff.

The interview was behavioural, and the mentors were helpful and great! We talked about my resume and past experience. It was pretty easy if I didn't have formal experience because I had projects to show for it. I showed keen interest by asking relevant questions about their day-to-day life.

I did a video screening first and then had an onsite interview. The questions were reasonable, mostly about my experience, but I fumbled my words a bit.