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APPLE · STAFF SOFTWARE ENGINEER

Apple staff engineer interview

The staff and principal software engineer level at Apple is ICT5 / ICT6 and above, for staff, principal and senior staff engineers. The rounds at this level, how each one is scored, and the questions to practise first.

From public candidate reports and Apple's careers pages, checked November 2026. Processes vary by team. AlgoRung is not affiliated with Apple.

Track my Apple prep
Apple titleICT5 / ICT6 and above
ExperienceStaff, principal and senior staff engineers
Interviews after screeningAbout 7
System design roundYes

The Staff Software Engineer rounds, in order

  1. Hiring manager · 30 min

    After a short recruiter call, the hiring manager often does a technical deep dive on your past projects and asks 'Why Apple?'; some teams start with this call.

    At Staff Software Engineer: Strategy, influence without authority and the biggest bets you have made.

  2. Phone / recruiter screen · 45 min

    One or two live coding screens, usually medium or a domain task such as a thread-safe cache; some teams use a take-home instead or as well.

    At Staff Software Engineer: Frequently a hiring-manager conversation about scope and impact instead of pure coding.

  3. Coding (DSA) × 3 · 50 min

    Coding rounds focus on edge cases, defensive code and often concurrency, in the language the team uses (Swift, C++, Python, Java, Go).

    At Staff Software Engineer: One or two rounds, sometimes design-flavoured (build a small class with several methods). Coding is a bar to clear, not where level is decided.

  4. System design (HLD) · 60 min

    System design for mid and senior roles, often from a product angle (photo sync, push notifications); some teams now add an AI system design round.

    At Staff Software Engineer: Two rounds at many companies. Expected to handle ambiguity, cost, operations and cross-team trade-offs, and to change the design when the interviewer pushes.

  5. Team-specific round · 60 min

    A team-specific round: finding planted bugs in a large unfamiliar file, tracing a failing service, a project presentation, or SQL for data-heavy roles.

    At Staff Software Engineer: Presentations or deep dives on multi-quarter work that crossed teams.

  6. Behavioral · 45 min

    Conflict, failure, decisions with limited information and caring about the user; 'Why Apple?' can come up in any round.

    At Staff Software Engineer: Expected scope: org-wide impact, setting direction, hard trade-offs with leadership.

  7. Team match

    You interview for a specific team, so a calibration step can add weeks, and an offer still depends on headcount.

    At Staff Software Engineer: Staff packets get extra scrutiny on design and behavioral scope.

What Apple interviewers look for

Coding questions to practise for Apple Staff Software Engineer

One or two rounds, sometimes design-flavoured (build a small class with several methods). Coding is a bar to clear, not where level is decided.

Difficulty
Topic
7 questions
  1. LRU Cache Medium Design Data Structures also Amazon, Microsoft, Netflix +4
  2. Time Based Key-Value Store Medium Binary Search also Netflix
  3. Odd Even Linked List Medium Linked List also Adobe
  4. Valid Palindrome II Easy Arrays & Hashing also Meta
  5. Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock Easy Dynamic Programming also Amazon, Netflix, Walmart Global Tech
  6. Top K Frequent Elements Medium Heaps
  7. Valid Parentheses Easy Stack also Netflix

How the coding round is scored · The online assessment

System design at Staff Software Engineer

Junior and mid-level loops lean toward LLD and object-oriented design; system design starts around ICT3/ICT4 and goes deeper at ICT5+. Prompts often tie to Apple services (photo sync, messaging, push notifications) or the team's own infrastructure.

All Apple system design questions

Questions people ask

How many rounds are in the Apple Staff Software Engineer interview?

About 7 interviews after the screening: hiring manager, phone / recruiter screen, coding (dsa), system design (hld), team-specific round, behavioral, team match.

Is there a system design round for Apple Staff Software Engineer?

Yes. Junior and mid-level loops lean toward LLD and object-oriented design; system design starts around ICT3/ICT4 and goes deeper at ICT5+. Prompts often tie to Apple services (photo sync, messaging, push notifications) or the team's own infrastructure.

What coding questions does Apple ask at Staff Software Engineer?

The same question pool is used across levels; the bar rises with level. Most reported: LRU Cache, Time Based Key-Value Store, Odd Even Linked List, Valid Palindrome II, Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock.

What does Apple expect in coding rounds at Staff Software Engineer?

One or two rounds, sometimes design-flavoured (build a small class with several methods). Coding is a bar to clear, not where level is decided.

Staff Software Engineer interviews at other companies

Staff Software Engineer interview questions across all companies · Behavioral questions