WD Principal Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process
Real candidates share what happened, how many rounds they had,
and how the experience turned out.
Based on 25 interview experiences · FREE TO READ
Candidate interview experiences
First-hand accounts from people who interviewed at WD.
WD
Principal Engineer
Staff Average Neutral experience No offer 4 rounds
Interview process
Technical screen Technical screen Technical screen Onsite
Interview formats
Technical Coding
So initially they had scheduled 3 rounds, 2 of which were online elimination rounds, and 1 on-site round. Depending on how I performed in those 2 online rounds, I would then proceed to the on-site. But after completing the 2 online rounds, the recruiter told me that they were looking to hire for a Principal Engineer role, which is actually two levels above my current position. So, they added one more online round before the actual on-site round.
Confirmed questions4 questions
- Tell me about your experience with Digital Design.
- Can you discuss your work on IP Development?
- How would you approach this coding problem?
WD
Senior Principal Engineer
Senior Average Positive experience Accept offer 1 round
Interview process
Recruiter call Technical screen Onsite Background check Offer
Interview formats
Behavioral Technical Group Other
I chatted with a recruiter from Western Digital who asked if I was interested in a role there. Since I was, they scheduled me for an interview the next week. It was an all-day affair, including lunch. I got to HR at 8 AM. Over the course of the day, I met with four engineers and two engineering directors. They all asked questions about standard engineering problems. No written tests, just conversational Q&A. The directors focused on team fit and how I'd work with others. Lunch was with three engineers, and we just talked casually about my family, hobbies, and my commute since I live pretty far away. This part was to gauge my personality. Afterwards, I met with HR again for a chat about company benefits. During this meeting, they asked about my salary expectations and my current pay. The HR person assured me they'd try their best to match my current salary. The interview wrapped up around 4 PM. A week later, I got the offer and accepted it over the phone.
Confirmed questions1 question
- Were there any difficult questions you were asked?
WD
Principal Engineer
Staff Average Positive experience Accept offer 6 rounds
Interview process
Recruiter call Phone screen Technical screen Onsite
Interview formats
Technical Coding System Design
HR reached out first. Then, I had two phone interviews with senior engineers based in San Jose. They were really great interviews, super polite folks. The first one dug deep into thread synchronization, specifically covering the lost wakeup problem (and how condition variables with mutexes fix it) and the thundering herd problem. The second call was more about storage and file systems, focusing on how to implement snapshots. After that, I went to Bangalore for about 4 in-person interviews. These were pretty standard technical interviews, nothing too out of the ordinary, except for one interviewer who seemed really into C programming brain teasers.
Confirmed questions1 question
- Given read-only access to all modifying I/Os targeting a block device as they occur, how would you implement point-in-time snapshots for the block device? The snapshots must not reside on the block device, and you cannot alter the block device's contents. Assume you are operating in user space. Feel free to assume any necessary resources, but clearly state your assumptions.
WD Principal Software Engineer Interview Questions
Quoted word for word from WD interview reports.
“How does BitBucket store the repository files – is it in a database or as physical files?”
Read reports →“In Jira Data Center, which file is used for cluster configuration, and what information do you put in it to add another node?”
Read reports →“For Jira Data Center, what port is used when setting up an LDAP User Directory like Microsoft AD?”
Read reports →“What's the name of the file for cluster info in BitBucket Data Center?”
Read reports →“When Jira Data Center uses a shared home directory, does it also have a local home directory? If yes, what kind of files are in it?”
Read report →“Could you define REST API and explain if it provides access to all data?”
Read report →“Given read-only access to all modifying I/Os targeting a block device as they occur, how would you implement point-in-time snapshots for the block device? The snapshots must not reside on the block device, and you cannot alter the block device's contents. Assume you are operating in user space. Feel free to assume any necessary resources, but clearly state your assumptions.”
Read report →“Could you explain read/write encoding/decoding in hard disk drive technologies?”
Read report →“What are the different strategies for setting up mirroring in BitBucket, and is this a supported configuration?”
Read report →Formats, difficulty and experience
Across all 25 WD interview reports.