Backend Developer Interview Process at FAANG+ Companies

Backend developers play a crucial role in managing the server-side of websites and applications. Their responsibilities range from designing code libraries and databases to server maintenance and security. Given the versatility that the role demands, backend development is amongst the highest-paying software engineering roles.

While it is true that there is heightened demand for backend developers in the tech world, answering tough and tricky backend developer interview questions at FAANG+ companies is no mean feat. The stiff competition makes it difficult even for engineers with tons of experience to make the cut.

This article will give you an idea about the backend developer interview process at FAANG+ companies. We’ll also look at some sample backend developer interview questions on coding and systems design.

If you’re a software engineer, coding engineer, software developer, engineering manager, or tech lead preparing for tech interviews, check out our technical interview checklist, interview questions page, and salary negotiation e-book to get interview-ready! 

Having trained over 9,000 software engineers, we know what it takes to crack the most challenging tech interviews. Since 2014, Interview Kickstart alums have landed lucrative offers from FAANG and Tier-1 tech companies, with an average salary hike of 49%. The highest-ever offer received by an IK alum is a whopping $1.267 Million!

At IK, you get the unique opportunity to learn from expert instructors who are hiring managers and tech leads at Google, Facebook, Apple, and other top Silicon Valley tech companies.  Our reviews will tell you how we’ve shaped the careers of thousands of professionals aspiring to take their careers to new heights. 

Want to nail your next tech interview? Sign up for our FREE Webinar.

If you’re wondering how to prepare for the backend interview, this article is for you! Let’s go ahead and look at the backend developer interview process at FAANG+ companies. We’ll also cover some sample backend developer interview questions to give you an idea of what to expect at technical interviews.

Here’s what we’ll cover in this article:

• Backend Developer Interview Process
• Backend Developer Interview Questions on Coding
• Backend Developer Interview Questions on Systems Design
• Tips to Nail Backend Developer Interviews at FAANG+ Companies
• FAQs on Backend Developers Interview Preparation

Backend Developer Interview Process

The Backend developer interview process at top companies fundamentally tests your coding and design skills. The process typically has three main rounds:

1. The Recruiter Screen
2. The Technical Phone Screen
3. The On-site Interview

The Recruiter Screen

In this round, you’re contacted by a recruiter from human resources. You’re asked basic questions about your professional experience, the reason for wanting to shift jobs, and your general backend skill-set. The idea of this round is to understand whether your professional profile meets the requirements of the role.

For this round, make sure you’ve updated your LinkedIn profile and resume. If your profile has exactly the information that recruiters are looking for, it can do you a word of good.

Check out the 7 Backend Developer Skills you must have to crack tech interviews.

The Technical Phone Screen

This is a remote interview round where you’re asked 1-2 coding problems in core data structures and algorithms. You’ll be asked to brute-force the problem solution and write error-free code. The hiring manager in this round closely observes your approach to problem-solving. The Technical Phone Screen typically lasts 30 minutes. You can also expect one or two theoretical questions on backend development.

Below are the important topics to prepare for the Technical Phone Screen round. 

• Arrays, strings, and linked lists
• Trees and graphs
• Recursion
• Sorting algorithms — quicksort, merge sort, heap sort, etc.
• Dynamic programming
• Graph algorithms, including greedy algorithms
  

Let’s look at some sample backend developer interview questions that are asked at the Technical Phone Screen round. 

1. Write a program to find the sum of the largest contiguous subarray for a given one-dimensional array.
2. Write a program to determine if a given Binary Tree is a Binary Search Tree or not. 
3. Write a program to connect identical nodes and count the number of leaves in a given Binary Search Tree T. 
4. Write a program to find the missing elements in an array, given that the elements follow a preset sequence. 
5. Write a program to find the largest kth element in a given 3-dimensional array.
6. Write a code to print a given 2-dimensional matrix in spiral form. 
7. For a given array of integers, write a program to find the first repeating element.

Learn How to Become a Backend Developer? Check the roadmap here.

The On-site Interview

Hiring managers in the On-site interview essentially evaluate your coding and design skills over 3-4 rounds. On-site interviews at FAANG+ companies typically have one coding round, one or two systems design rounds, and one behavioral round. Your performance in each of these rounds is evaluated before a hiring decision is made. Note that interviews for senior developer positions typically involve additional systems design and behavioral rounds.

Backend developer interview questions on the On-site rounds are around coding, systems design, and behavioral psychology. Let’s look at some sample backend interview questions asked in each of these rounds. 

Backend Developer Interview Questions on Coding

Coding is an important part of backend developer interviews. Backend developer interview questions on coding are typically around algorithms and core data structures.

Here are some sample backend interview questions on coding.

1. Write a program to determine if a given Binary Tree is a Binary Search Tree or not. 
2. Write a program to connect identical nodes and count the number of leaves in a given Binary Search Tree T. 
3. Write a program to find the missing elements in an array, given that the elements follow a preset sequence. 
4. Write a program to find the largest kth element in a given 3-dimensional array.
5. Write a code to print a given 2-dimensional matrix in spiral form.

To check out more backend developer interview questions on coding, check out our Problems Page.

Backend Developer Interview Questions on Distributed Systems Design

Thorough knowledge of distributed systems is essential to execute your responsibilities as a backend developer. The On-site design round involves answering backend developer interview questions on systems design by articulating your thought process.

Let’s look at some backend interview questions on systems design to help you prepare for your interview.

Before that, here are the important topics to prepare for the interview:

• Network Protocols
• Database management
• Scalable systems
• Concurrency
• Caching 
• Sharding Techniques
• Loading
• Systems Design Case Studies
• API Modeling

Below are some sample backend developer interview questions on systems design.

1. What aspects will you consider while designing a code library to regularly update backend code?
2. What security aspects will you consider while designing a database for a scalable platform?
3. How would you go about designing a Chatbot service that leverages AI to provide users with information and notifications?
4. How would you go about designing an Application Programming Interface to enable two real-time applications to communicate with each other?
5. What do you understand by the CAP Theorem?
6. What do you understand by SQL Injection?
7. How would you go about performing versioning in API design? 

These Backend developer interview questions will give you an idea about what to expect at your backend interview. 

Prep Tips to Crack the Backend Developer Interview

This section will tell you exactly how to prepare for the backend interview. Let’s go ahead look at some excellent tips to help you answer tough backend developer interview questions and nail your next backend interview. 

1. Begin your interview prep early. It will take you a good 8-10 weeks to cover all the important coding and design concepts thoroughly. 
2. Practice Whiteboard coding for the On-site interview. 
3. Create a good project portfolio and list the important projects in the STAR format. Having an online project portfolio is the best way to go about it. 
4. While solving a coding or design problem, think out your solution aloud to give interviewers a window into your thought process. 
5. Update your LinkedIn profile and resume. Having the right keyword distribution in your profile is key to being discovered by LinkedIn’s Boolean algorithms. 
6. Practice mock interviews to tide over interview anxiety and strengthen your weak areas. The important thing here is to practice mock interviews with FAANG hiring managers and industry experts who are capable of giving you the right feedback. 
7. Enroll in a good interview prep course that can give you the right guidance and insight needed to crack tough technical interviews. 
   

Incorporating these above tips will help you answer backend developer interview questions to the best of your ability and land that dream offer in the process!

FAQs on Backend Developer Interview Process

Q1. How many backend developer interview questions on coding are asked in technical interviews?

At technical interviews, you're generally asked a total of 2-4 backend developer interview questions on coding. You can expect 1-2 coding problems in the Technical Phone Screen interview and 1-2 coding problems in the On-site coding round. 

Q2. What are the important coding concepts for backend developer interviews at FAANG+ companies?

The important concepts to prepare in order to effectively answer backend developer interview questions on coding include - linked lists, strings, arrays, sorting algorithms, recursion, hash tables, graphs, greedy algorithms, trees, and dynamic programming. 

Q3. How long should you spend preparing for systems design interviews?

To cover all the important topics in systems design, you should ideally spend at least two weeks preparing for the systems design interview. 

Q4. What is the acceptance rate for backend developers at FAANG companies?

FAANG companies have very low acceptance rates for software engineers. The average acceptance rate for backend developers is less than 2%. 

Q5. Are behavioral interview questions asked at backend interviews?

Yes, behavioral interview questions are an important part of the Backend interview process. They’re asked during the behavioral round of on-site interviews at FAANG+ companies.

Gear Up for Your Next Technical Interview

Are you getting ready for an upcoming technical interview? Register for our technical interview webinar.

At Interview Kickstart, we’ve trained over 9,000 engineers to land lucrative offers at the biggest tech companies. Our instructors, who are FAANG hiring managers, know what it takes to nail tough tech interviews at top technology companies.

Register for our FREE webinar to learn more.