
AT&T software engineer candidates commonly describe a HackerRank assessment, a practical technical discussion, and behavioral conversations focused on engineering judgment and collaboration.
$115K
Avg. Base Comp
$140K
Avg. Total Comp
3-4 rounds
Typical Rounds
3-8 weeks
Process Length
AT&T Software Engineer candidates most consistently describe an assessment-to-interview flow that tests both coding fluency and how clearly they explain engineering decisions. Expect the online assessment to be a meaningful preparation target. Several candidates reported a roughly three-hour HackerRank format with about five questions, mixing LeetCode-style problems with REST/API or SQL material. Difficulty varied substantially: some found standard easy-to-medium problems, while others encountered harder dynamic-programming, graph, or permutation work.
Technical interviews were not described as algorithms alone. Candidates report live coding alongside Java/OOP fundamentals, code debugging, and practical prompts such as handling a loaded backend server or outlining a simple application. Be ready to narrate your reasoning, identify errors in existing code, and explain tradeoffs rather than only produce a finished solution. A few reports also include lightweight design questions, including database choices or feature architecture.
Behavioral conversations commonly covered teamwork, conflict, learning quickly, failure, technical strengths, and communication under pressure. Prepare specific examples that show how you collaborated and made decisions. The exact sequence varies across reports, so treat the recurring topics as preparation priorities rather than a fixed itinerary.
Synthesized from 7 candidate reports by our editorial team.
Had an interview recently?
Share your experience. Unlock the full guide.
Real interview reports from people who went through the AT&T process.
Share your own interview experience to unlock all reports, or subscribe for full access.
Sourced from candidate reports and verified by our team.
Topics based on recent interview experiences.
Featured question at AT&T
In which case would you use a bagging algorithm versus a boosting algorithm
| Question | |
|---|---|
| Unlimited Plan Abuse | |
| Stakeholder Communication | |
| Your Strengths and Weaknesses | |
| 2nd Highest Salary | |
| Merge Sorted Lists | |
| Prime to N | |
| Over-Budget Projects | |
| Hurdles In Data Projects | |
| Find the Missing Number | |
| Size of Joins | |
| Address Schema | |
| Retailer Data Warehouse | |
| Employee Project Budgets | |
| The Brackets Problem | |
| P-value to a Layman | |
| Average Quantity | |
| Google Maps Improvement | |
| Find the Index with Equal Left and Right Sum | |
| Sort Strings | |
| String Subsequence | |
| Real-Time Transaction Streaming | |
| Cyclic Detection | |
| Get Top N Frequent Words | |
| Append Frequency | |
| Groups of Anagrams | |
| Swapping Nodes | |
| Type-ahead Search | |
| Payments Received | |
| Longest Increasing Subsequence |
Synthesized from candidate reports. Individual experiences may vary.
Candidates commonly report a HackerRank-style assessment lasting about three hours and containing roughly five questions. Reported material includes data structures and algorithms, REST or HTTP/API questions, and occasionally SQL; difficulty ranges from approachable coding tasks to hard DP, graph, or permutation problems.
Candidates report technical discussions with one or two engineers that may combine easy-to-medium coding, Java or OOP concepts, debugging logical errors, and practical backend scenarios. Some also encountered a lightweight application or feature-design discussion, so explain reasoning and tradeoffs as you work.
Candidates report behavioral interviews with recruiters, managers, directors, or program leaders. Questions may cover conflict, teamwork, learning a system quickly, failure, technical strengths, automation, and impromptu communication; concise STAR examples fit the reported format.