Foursquare Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process
Real candidates share what happened, how many rounds they had,
and how the experience turned out.
Based on 48 interview experiences · FREE TO READ
Candidate interview experiences
First-hand accounts from people who interviewed at Foursquare.
Foursquare
Software Engineer
Senior Average Positive experience No offer 5 rounds
Interview process
Recruiter call Technical screen Technical screen Technical screen Technical screen
Interview formats
Coding System Design Technical
The interview process had 5 rounds: an initial HR call, followed by two live coding sessions, then a system design interview, and finally a technical interview with a senior engineer. All rounds felt quite easy. Although I didn't receive an offer, I'm unsure if the role was filled or closed. The interviewers were professional, but the company didn't leave a great impression, especially considering the recent 30%+ layoffs and negative employee feedback online. Ultimately, I believe the outcome was for the best.
Confirmed questions3 questions
- Questions about algorithms, my previous experience, and system design were asked, which are pretty standard.
- Tell me about your previous experience.
- How would you design a system?
Foursquare
Software Engineer
Senior Easy Negative experience No offer 5 rounds
Interview process
Recruiter call Technical screen
Interview formats
Behavioral Technical Coding System Design
Stopped after the first round. The role involves customer interaction and ETL work, with the job app also mentioning full-stack responsibilities, mentoring, and being an IC. I was informed they no longer have product managers, which might explain the customer-facing aspect. When I inquired how an engineering manager supports lead engineers, the interviewer seemed unprepared and didn't provide a direct answer, mentioning that sometimes there are no engineering managers, which appears to be a pattern of offloading more work onto individuals. The company had layoffs in May 2024. Additionally, the salary range discussed verbally was lower than what was posted on the job application, and the interview process consists of 5 rounds, including 2 coding interviews and 1 system design interview. It seems they are trying to capitalize on the current job market.
Confirmed questions2 questions
- Can you tell me about your experience?
- Are you asking me what managers do?
Foursquare
Software Engineer
Entry Average Positive experience Accept offer 5 rounds
Interview process
Recruiter call Technical screen Technical screen Technical screen Technical screen Presentation Background check Offer
Interview formats
Technical Coding System Design Behavioral
Applied as a new grad, just finished undergrad. Recruiter called to check on relocation willingness and sponsorship needs. After my response, I got my first technical screen, which was a 1-hour interview where I had to create an iterator class. Then, I had my final virtual onsite, spread over 2 days with flexible timing. It included 4 rounds: 1 system design, 2 technical coding interviews, and a final hiring manager chat with lots of behavioral questions. They were quick to respond, usually within 2 days, and the recruiter was very fast with emails. I got an offer in a week and could schedule more chats with the team.
Confirmed questions4 questions
- design an iterator
- design an open table
- a graph question
Foursquare Software Engineer Interview Questions
Quoted word for word from Foursquare interview reports.
“Can you determine if a given string is a palindrome?”
Read reports →“In a given list of graph nodes that define relationships (e.g., A->B represented as [(B, C), (D,C), (C, E) (A, C)]), how would you find the shortest distance between two specified nodes?”
Read reports →“How would you merge two lists into a single ordered list?”
Read reports →“How would you generate k random options from a list of n items?”
Read reports →“Can you explain the difference between malloc and new?”
Read report →“What is the minimum time required to buy and sell stock II?”
Read report →“Given an array containing photo IDs and an integer k, could you return a random array consisting of k photo IDs?”
Read report →“Given a scenario where users are snapped to the nearest place every minute, how would you detect visits based on these snaps using a 4-minute sliding window? Specifically, a visit starts if 3 out of the last 4 snaps are the same ID and ends when 3 out of 4 are not the current ID. Consider the provided examples: [A A B A] => [A], [A A A A A A A A] => [A], [A A B B A A] => [], [A A A B C B A A A] => [A A], [A A A B C B B A B] => [A B].”
Read report →“Can you implement an iterator for an array of values, ensuring it has next() and hasNext() functions?”
Read report →Formats, difficulty and experience
Across all 48 Foursquare interview reports.