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LINKEDIN · SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER (SDE 3)

LinkedIn senior engineer interview

The senior software engineer (SDE 3) level at LinkedIn is Senior Software Engineer, for senior engineers with about 5 to 10 years of experience. The rounds at this level, how each one is scored, and the questions to practise first.

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

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LinkedIn titleSenior Software Engineer
ExperienceSenior engineers with about 5 to 10 years of experience
Interviews after screeningAbout 6
System design roundYes

The Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3) rounds, in order

  1. Phone / recruiter screen · 30 min

    A recruiter call to confirm level and track (applications vs. infrastructure) and which skills the onsite will cover.

    At Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3): Often a coding problem plus questions about your past systems; some companies (Uber) use it to set your level.

  2. Coding (DSA) · 60 min

    The technical phone screen has one or two DSA problems with a main interviewer and a shadow.

    At Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3): Usually two rounds. Same difficulty, but interviewers expect quick, confident problem solving and production-quality code.

  3. Coding (DSA) · 60 min

    A traditional onsite coding round, often with two interviewers, where code quality and testing count.

    At Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3): Usually two rounds. Same difficulty, but interviewers expect quick, confident problem solving and production-quality code.

  4. AI-assisted coding · 60 min

    An AI-enabled round has replaced one traditional coding round; you are scored on prompt quality, checking the AI's output and production thinking.

    At Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3): Expected to plan the change, use the AI for routine parts, and catch its mistakes.

  5. System design (HLD) · 60 min

    System design, often product or backend style, such as typeahead.

    At Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3): One or two rounds that set your level. Expected to lead, size the system and go deep on two or three hard parts.

  6. Team-specific round · 60 min

    Technical communication: a no-code walkthrough of a past project's architecture, decisions and impact.

    At Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3): Project deep dives become central: scope, trade-offs and what you would do differently.

  7. Hiring manager · 60 min

    A behavioral and culture round on ownership, influence, career growth and handling hard migrations.

    At Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3): Technical leadership, mentoring, and how you choose what to work on.

  8. Hiring committee

    A committee decides hire and level, and team matching follows before the offer.

    At Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3): Down-leveling to SDE 2 is the most common surprise outcome.

What LinkedIn interviewers look for

Behavioral rounds are based on the Culture & values: We put members first, We trust and care about each other, We are open, honest and constructive, We act as One LinkedIn, We embody diversity, inclusion and belonging. Questions for each one.

Coding questions to practise for LinkedIn Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3)

Usually two rounds. Same difficulty, but interviewers expect quick, confident problem solving and production-quality code.

Difficulty
Topic
9 questions
  1. Max Stack Hard Design Data Structures also Salesforce
  2. Merge Intervals Medium Intervals also Netflix, Atlassian, Oracle
  3. Word Ladder Hard Graphs also Google, Amazon
  4. Serialize and Deserialize Binary Tree Hard Trees & BST also Amazon, Meta, Oracle
  5. Minimum Window Substring Hard Arrays & Hashing also Google, Meta, Oracle
  6. Kadane's Algorithm - Simple Medium Arrays & Hashing also Adobe
  7. Permutations Medium Recursion & Backtracking
  8. Longest Palindromic Subsequence Medium Dynamic Programming also Goldman Sachs
  9. Valid Word Abbreviation Easy Arrays & Hashing also Meta

How the coding round is scored · The online assessment

System design at Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3)

Mid-level and senior candidates get one HLD round, usually product or feed style. Staff candidates get design-flavored coding plus deeper architecture discussion, and the technical communication round tests how much scope they owned.

All LinkedIn system design questions

Questions people ask

How many rounds are in the LinkedIn Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3) interview?

About 6 interviews after the screening: phone / recruiter screen, coding (dsa), ai-assisted coding, system design (hld), team-specific round, hiring manager, hiring committee.

Is there a system design round for LinkedIn Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3)?

Yes. Mid-level and senior candidates get one HLD round, usually product or feed style. Staff candidates get design-flavored coding plus deeper architecture discussion, and the technical communication round tests how much scope they owned.

What coding questions does LinkedIn ask at Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3)?

The same question pool is used across levels; the bar rises with level. Most reported: Max Stack, Merge Intervals, Word Ladder, Serialize and Deserialize Binary Tree, Minimum Window Substring.

What does LinkedIn expect in coding rounds at Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3)?

Usually two rounds. Same difficulty, but interviewers expect quick, confident problem solving and production-quality code.

Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3) interviews at other companies

Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3) interview questions across all companies · Behavioral questions