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      Software Engineer Interview

      Aug 10, 2017
      Anonymous employee
      San Francisco, CA
      Accepted offer
      Positive experience
      Average interview

      Application

      I applied online. I interviewed at Xero (San Francisco, CA) in Jan 2015

      Interview

      Standard interview process, you'll be given a problem to solve online within 45 min, then follow-up with a technical phone call. If you impress the interviewers, you'll be invited to onsite interviews. Onsite interviews will cover both algorithms, problem-solving, design, database, and culture-fit. My advice: Algorithms: The questions will most likely be standard but take note of the importance in writing clean code and test your implementation. You are expected to know Big-O notation, common data structures (hash table/dictionary, tree, stack, queue, arrays, list) and the interviewer would be impressed if you can point out the reason why you pick such algorithms or data structure. Design: Focus on solving real life problem using proper OOP. Define the classes, inheritance structure, the interfaces, and implementation clearly upfront. You don't have to know every design patterns but know the most common one won't hurt (Singleton, Strategy, Template Method, Bridge ..etc). Design for reusability and maintainability. Always ask questions to clarify the intent of the design exercise. Database question: Depending on your role, if front-end engineer then you may not need to go through this step. For backend engineer, you're expected to write proper SQL, able to design tables with properly E-R, understand cardinality (1-to-1, 1-to-many, many-to-many), aggregations. Some advanced questions may be about LOCKs, INDEXES, CTE. Always draw your ERD first, identify the columns of each table, write your SQL with such ERD then fine-tune them. Culture-fit: In general this session is to evaluate whether you are smart, you are fun and you are friendly to work with? Be sincere and professional, explain how you would solve a conflict, show that you are proactive and a valuable asset to the team.

      Interview questions [1]

      Question 1

      How to improve your SQL query?
      1 Answer
      11

      Other Software Engineer interview reviews for Xero

      Developer Interview

      Apr 30, 2026
      Anonymous interview candidate
      Melbourne
      No offer
      Neutral experience
      Difficult interview

      Application

      I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Xero (Melbourne) in Mar 2026

      Interview

      It takes too long. The questions are difficult. Also there is a behavior test, not sure whether this test is useful. The technical questions are good: Lead technical design and implementation of complex features and systems Write high-quality, maintainable code and automated tests Make pragmatic architectural and technical decisions that balance short-term delivery with long-term sustainability

      Software Engineer Interview

      Aug 24, 2025
      Anonymous interview candidate
      Auckland, Auckland
      No offer
      Negative experience
      Average interview

      Application

      I interviewed at Xero (Auckland, Auckland)

      Interview

      Coding assessments: Can be live or take-home. pair programming with a given codebase. Behavioral + teamwork: Interview with non-engineers (e.g., PMs) to probe how you work in teams, handle conflict, and resolve issues.

      Interview questions [1]

      Question 1

      Describe your past experience and practices
      Answer question

      Software Engineer Interview

      Aug 4, 2025
      Anonymous interview candidate
      Sydney
      No offer
      Positive experience
      Average interview

      Application

      I applied online. I interviewed at Xero (Sydney) in Jun 2025

      Interview

      There were 4 rounds. 1) Chat with internal recruiter to check your values, experience and aspirations. 2) Coding challenge: Test conducted on HackerRank. Not overly hard but wouldn't say its simple. The engineer overseeing the test (Cath) was a legend and made me feel at ease. 3) Execution & Cross-Functional Collaboration Discussion: Chat with someone from a non-engineering team. Expect questions around your way of working, challenges you've faced and how you resolve conflicts. 4) Culture Fit & Team Interview: 2 senior/lead engineers check if you fit their teams. Expect questions about your technical background, your exposure to the technologies these teams use and challenges you've face. Even though I didn't get the job I walked away having learned a lot and the feedback provided by the internal recruiter (Raisa) was very detailed and will help me in my future endeavours.

      Interview questions [1]

      Question 1

      Write a function that takes in 2 string. Return true or false if a condition is met.
      1 Answer
      2

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