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GOLDMAN SACHS · SDE 1

Goldman Sachs SDE 1 interview

The SDE 1 (entry-level software engineer) level at Goldman Sachs is Analyst, for new grads and engineers with up to about 2 years of experience. The rounds at this level, how each one is scored, and the questions to practise first.

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

Track my Goldman Sachs prep
Goldman Sachs titleAnalyst
ExperienceNew grads and engineers with up to about 2 years of experience
Interviews after screeningAbout 5
System design roundYes

The SDE 1 rounds, in order

  1. Online assessment · 90 min

    An online test with two or three DSA problems; campus drives may add aptitude sections or a recorded video screen.

    At SDE 1: The main filter for new grads and campus drives. Expect two medium problems, sometimes one hard. Passing all test cases on both usually gets you to the next round.

  2. Phone / recruiter screen · 60 min

    A live coding screen with an engineer: one or two problems you must run and test, plus a short resume chat.

    At SDE 1: Usually one medium problem. Explain your idea before coding and test by hand at the end.

  3. Coding (DSA) × 2 · 60 min

    Superday DSA rounds, often with two interviewers: mostly medium problems with many follow-ups; Java internals (HashMap, garbage collection) are common.

    At SDE 1: The largest part of the loop: often three coding rounds. Medium problems, sometimes one hard. Correct, clean code and clear reasoning matter more than speed.

  4. Low-level design / machine coding · 60 min

    Class and schema design for a small system; concurrency follow-ups are frequent.

    At SDE 1: Object-oriented design with clear classes and responsibilities. Working code matters more than patterns.

  5. Hiring manager · 45 min

    Why you are switching, why this firm, situational questions, sometimes a DSA problem.

    At SDE 1: Motivation, learning, a project walk-through and sometimes CS fundamentals.

  6. Behavioral · 45 min

    An HR or behavioral round on ownership, deadlines, conflict and ethics scenarios.

    At SDE 1: Stories from internships, projects or your first job are fine. Show learning, ownership and teamwork.

What Goldman Sachs interviewers look for

Behavioral rounds are based on the Core values and business principles: Client Service, Partnership, Integrity, Excellence. Questions for each one.

Coding questions to practise for Goldman Sachs SDE 1

The largest part of the loop: often three coding rounds. Medium problems, sometimes one hard. Correct, clean code and clear reasoning matter more than speed.

Difficulty
Topic
14 questions
  1. Trapping Rain Water Hard Arrays & Hashing also Amazon, Microsoft, Salesforce +1
  2. LRU Cache Medium Design Data Structures also Amazon, Microsoft, Apple +4
  3. Decode Ways Medium Dynamic Programming
  4. Number of Islands Medium Graphs also Amazon, Microsoft, Meta +1
  5. Coin Change Medium Dynamic Programming also Google, Airbnb, Salesforce
  6. Container With Most Water Medium Arrays & Hashing also Microsoft
  7. Koko Eating Bananas Medium Binary Search also Amazon
  8. Burst Balloons Hard Dynamic Programming
  9. Kth Largest Element in a Stream Easy Heaps
  10. Kth Smallest Element in a BST Medium Trees & BST
  11. Top K Frequent Words Medium Heaps also Amazon
  12. Longest Palindromic Subsequence Medium Dynamic Programming also LinkedIn
  13. 0 - 1 Knapsack Problem Medium Dynamic Programming also Flipkart
  14. Implement Queue using Stacks Easy Stack also Walmart Global Tech

How the coding round is scored · The online assessment

System design at SDE 1

Analyst Superdays usually include an LLD round on classes, schema and concurrency. Associate and VP loops add HLD on finance-flavoured or high-throughput systems plus a resume deep dive. SQL and schema questions show up across levels.

All Goldman Sachs system design questions

Questions people ask

How many rounds are in the Goldman Sachs SDE 1 interview?

About 5 interviews after the screening: online assessment, phone / recruiter screen, coding (dsa), low-level design / machine coding, hiring manager, behavioral.

Is there a system design round for Goldman Sachs SDE 1?

Yes. Analyst Superdays usually include an LLD round on classes, schema and concurrency. Associate and VP loops add HLD on finance-flavoured or high-throughput systems plus a resume deep dive. SQL and schema questions show up across levels.

What coding questions does Goldman Sachs ask at SDE 1?

The same question pool is used across levels; the bar rises with level. Most reported: Trapping Rain Water, LRU Cache, Decode Ways, Number of Islands, Coin Change.

What does Goldman Sachs expect in coding rounds at SDE 1?

The largest part of the loop: often three coding rounds. Medium problems, sometimes one hard. Correct, clean code and clear reasoning matter more than speed.

SDE 1 interviews at other companies

SDE 1 interview questions across all companies · Behavioral questions