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GOOGLE · STAFF SOFTWARE ENGINEER

Google staff engineer interview

The staff and principal software engineer level at Google is L6 Staff, L7+ Senior Staff 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 Google's careers pages, checked November 2026. Processes vary by team. AlgoRung is not affiliated with Google.

Track my Google prep
Google titleL6 Staff, L7+ Senior Staff and above
ExperienceStaff, principal and senior staff engineers
Interviews after screeningAbout 5
System design roundYes

The Staff Software Engineer rounds, in order

  1. Phone / recruiter screen · 45 min

    One live data-structures-and-algorithms problem, sometimes two, in a shared doc with no code execution; a second screen is added only when the first gives too little signal.

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

  2. Coding (DSA) × 3 · 45 min

    Junior loops are mostly coding (about 3 rounds); senior loops drop to about 2 as design rounds take their place, and some prompts ask you to build a small class with several methods.

    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.

  3. System design (HLD) · 45 min

    An open-ended design round is standard from L5; staff candidates may get two and are expected to drive the discussion.

    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.

  4. Behavioral · 45 min

    The Googleyness and Leadership round uses STAR-style questions on ambiguity, conflict and learning; the 2026 pilot adds a technical talk-through of a past project.

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

  5. Team match · 30 min

    You talk with managers who have open headcount, both sides have to opt in, and this step now usually comes before the hiring committee review.

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

  6. Hiring committee

    A panel of Googlers who did not interview you reviews the full packet and decides hire or no-hire and the level, so passing the onsite does not guarantee an offer.

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

What Google interviewers look for

Behavioral rounds are based on the Googleyness and Leadership, plus the four hiring attributes: General Cognitive Ability, Role-Related Knowledge and Experience, Leadership, Googleyness. Questions for each one.

Coding questions to practise for Google 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
12 questions
  1. Implement Trie (Prefix Tree) Medium Tries
  2. Decode String Medium Stack also Microsoft
  3. Minimum Window Substring Hard Arrays & Hashing also Meta, LinkedIn, Oracle
  4. Word Ladder Hard Graphs also Amazon, LinkedIn
  5. Binary Tree Maximum Path Sum Hard Trees & BST also Amazon, Adobe
  6. Lowest Common Ancestor of a Binary Tree Medium Trees & BST also Meta, Netflix, Atlassian +1
  7. Course Schedule Medium Graphs also Amazon, Netflix, Uber +1
  8. Cheapest Flights Within K Stops Medium Graphs also Airbnb, Flipkart, Swiggy
  9. Longest Common Subsequence Medium Dynamic Programming
  10. Coin Change Medium Dynamic Programming also Airbnb, Goldman Sachs, Salesforce
  11. Maximal Square Medium Dynamic Programming
  12. Evaluate Reverse Polish Notation Medium Stack

How the coding round is scored · The online assessment

System design at Staff Software Engineer

Formal system design usually starts at L5. At L4, design ideas show up inside coding rounds, and staff candidates may get two design rounds. Prompts lean toward Google-scale products and infrastructure: Docs, Maps, YouTube, search and indexing, job scheduling.

All Google system design questions

Questions people ask

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

About 5 interviews after the screening: phone / recruiter screen, coding (dsa), system design (hld), behavioral, team match, hiring committee.

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

Yes. Formal system design usually starts at L5. At L4, design ideas show up inside coding rounds, and staff candidates may get two design rounds. Prompts lean toward Google-scale products and infrastructure: Docs, Maps, YouTube, search and indexing, job scheduling.

What coding questions does Google ask at Staff Software Engineer?

The same question pool is used across levels; the bar rises with level. Most reported: Implement Trie (Prefix Tree), Decode String, Minimum Window Substring, Word Ladder, Binary Tree Maximum Path Sum.

What does Google 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