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SALESFORCE · SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER (SDE 3)

Salesforce senior engineer interview

The senior software engineer (SDE 3) level at Salesforce is LMTS (Lead Member of Technical Staff), 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 Salesforce's careers pages, checked November 2026. Processes vary by team. AlgoRung is not affiliated with Salesforce.

Track my Salesforce prep
Salesforce titleLMTS (Lead Member of Technical Staff)
ExperienceSenior engineers with about 5 to 10 years of experience
Interviews after screeningAbout 5
System design roundYes

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

  1. Phone / recruiter screen · 30 min

    A recruiter screen on experience, notice period and expected pay.

    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. Online assessment · 75 min

    A proctored online test with two or three medium-to-hard problems.

    At Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3): Rare. Most companies replace it with a live screen for senior candidates.

  3. Coding (DSA) × 2 · 60 min

    Live coding where interviewers often require the optimal complexity before you start coding.

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

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

    Object and concurrency design, such as a connection pool, often starting with database and sharding questions.

    At Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3): Same as SDE 2 plus concurrency (two users booking the same seat) and a clean extension story.

  5. System design (HLD) · 60 min

    A deep-dive design round on failure handling, distributed transactions and rollout strategy.

    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. Hiring manager · 60 min

    An architecture walkthrough of your current system plus behavioral questions; for AMTS it includes a coding problem.

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

What Salesforce interviewers look for

Behavioral rounds are based on the Core values: Trust, Customer Success, Innovation, Equality, Sustainability. Questions for each one.

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

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

Difficulty
Topic
5 questions
  1. Trapping Rain Water Hard Arrays & Hashing also Amazon, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs +1
  2. Max Stack Hard Design Data Structures also LinkedIn
  3. Maximum Frequency Stack Hard Design Data Structures
  4. Min Stack Medium Design Data Structures
  5. Coin Change Medium Dynamic Programming also Google, Airbnb, Goldman Sachs

How the coding round is scored · The online assessment

System design at Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3)

AMTS and MTS loops are mostly coding plus CS fundamentals. SMTS adds a mixed HLD round. LMTS and above get separate LLD and HLD rounds with deep dives into distributed transactions and self-healing systems.

All Salesforce system design questions

Questions people ask

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

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

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

Yes. AMTS and MTS loops are mostly coding plus CS fundamentals. SMTS adds a mixed HLD round. LMTS and above get separate LLD and HLD rounds with deep dives into distributed transactions and self-healing systems.

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

The same question pool is used across levels; the bar rises with level. Most reported: Trapping Rain Water, Max Stack, Maximum Frequency Stack, Min Stack, Coin Change.

What does Salesforce 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