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Square Software Engineer Mock Interview

To help you prepare for a Software Engineer interview at Square, here are 30 interview questions and answer examples.

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Question 1 of 30

What do you feel are the critical principles of good software engineering?

This is a general question that asks you to characterize what makes a software program efficient and effective. Your ability to do this will help the interviewer at Square understand your qualifications for the position. Your answer should incorporate both the requirements for the job as stated in the job description and your previous experience writing code. You should limit your answer to two or three important principles and anticipate a follow-up question from the interviewer.

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Square Software Engineer Interview Questions & Answers

Below is a list of our Square interview questions. Click on any interview question to view our answer advice and answer examples. You may view six answer examples before our paywall loads. Afterwards, you'll be asked to upgrade to view the rest of our answers.

  • 1. What do you feel are the critical principles of good software engineering?

  • 2. Here at Square we encourage developing programs that can scale to accommodate our growth. What methodologies do you use to ensure that your program will scale?

  • 3. Can you describe what you know about object-oriented programming?

  • 4. Which design patterns do you use, and in what situations do you use them?

  • 5. In your opinion, what is the difference between computer software and a computer program?

  • 6. How would you explain cloud computing to someone at Square who doesn't have a technical background?

  • 7. What are some of the programming languages you are familiar with, and which ones do you prefer?

  • 8. Can you define black box testing and white box testing and discuss the differences between them?

  • 9. Square web developers are incorporating HTML5 in their most recent websites. Can you describe the functions of web workers in HTML5?

  • 10. What are the differences between blocking and non-blocking calls in the context of Node.js?

  • 11. Please describe a stack and the two operations it performs.

  • 12. What are the differences between an array and a stack?

  • 13. Please describe responsive design and the difference between fixed and fluid layouts.

  • 14. Here at Square, we have embraced Agile methodology. How experienced are you with the Agile software development process?

  • 15. Can you describe Square's software development life cycle as you understand it?

  • 16. Square is very proud of our products and the people who develop them. In your opinion, what distinguishes a great software engineer from an average one?

  • 17. What do you look for or check when reviewing another team member's code?

  • 18. Can you describe a tough software development problem you encountered in your last job and discuss how you solved it?

  • 19. How would you accelerate the response time of a website you created for us here at Square?

  • 20. Which do you prefer - a micro-service approach or a monolithic app?

  • 21. Walk me through the steps to build a single page application with multiple sections using the programming framework in which you typically work.

  • 22. How do you go about organizing CSS files, and why do you prefer this approach?

  • 23. Many Square Software Engineers prefer to program in Java. Can you describe how you would implement a linear search in JavaScript?

  • 24. How would you implement Dijkstra's Shortest Path using a programming language with which you are familiar?

  • 25. What process do you use to test and find bugs in an application you've developed?

  • 26. How do you go about addressing errors in your code?

  • 27. Describe the process you use to create a program from requirements definition to delivery.

  • 28. Walk me through your process for designing scalable applications.

  • 29. If hired by Square, can you estimate what portion of your day will involve coding and other activities you will perform when not coding?

  • 30. Here at Square, we value work/life balance and initiative. What personal software development projects have you worked on outside of work?