Keysight software engineer candidates describe a conversational process that mixes resume deep-dives, OOP and core CS questions, and some domain-specific topics, with experiences varying by team and level.
$111K
Avg. Base Comp
$139K
Avg. Total Comp
2-4 rounds
Typical Rounds
1-13 weeks
Process Length
Candidates describe Keysight software engineer interviews as conversational, with interviewers digging into what you personally built and why. One software engineer who received an offer said the first stage centered on specific contributions rather than resume bullet points. An internship candidate said the focus was on academic projects and hands-on experience with tools, including where and how they had actually used Docker.
Object-oriented programming is the most repeated technical theme. Candidates report questions on OOP principles, events and delegates, the five pillars of OOP, and OOP versus functional programming. Reports of coding are lighter than at many software employers. One engineer was asked data structure problems and encouraged to think aloud. Another got array and dynamic programming questions plus code snippets to trace for correct output, so reading code and predicting output is worth practicing.
Content varies by team. Reported topics include the OSPF routing protocol, Python dictionaries, machine learning pipeline architecture, Docker, operating systems, networking, Linux, C++ templates, Verilog and FPGAs. Ask your recruiter which stack and domain the team works in so you can focus your review.
Process length and rounds also differ. One candidate described four rounds over three months, including a phone screen, a job talk and a VP conversation. An internship candidate described about a week. Another candidate reported no response for over a month after interviewing, so follow up politely. Behavioral questions about strengths, weaknesses and motivation appear in several accounts.
Synthesized from 8 candidate reports by our editorial team.
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Featured question at Keysight Technologies
Select the 2nd highest salary in the engineering department
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| Merge Sorted Lists | |
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| Size of Joins | |
| Cyclic Detection | |
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| Append Frequency | |
| Find Duplicate Numbers in a List | |
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| Longest Increasing Subsequence | |
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| Precision and Recall | |
| Valid Anagram | |
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| Target Indices | |
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| Portfolio Platform Architecture | |
| Word Frequency | |
| Check Matching Parentheses | |
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| String Palindromes |
Synthesized from candidate reports. Individual experiences may vary.
Candidates report an initial call with HR or a recruiter. In one case it was a five-minute Teams chat, and in another a 30-minute screen. It typically covers relevant experience, fit, and basic behavioral questions such as strengths and weaknesses. One candidate also got a straightforward coding question.
Several candidates describe an interview focused on past work, with interviewers asking for specifics about what they contributed. One candidate described a one-hour job talk with team members that felt like a technical discussion rather than a formal presentation. Expect to explain projects in detail.
Candidates report conceptual and practical questions: OOP principles, events and delegates, data structures with optimizations, arrays, dynamic programming, and tracing code to check its output. Interviewers reportedly leave room to think aloud. Depth may vary by team and seniority, and live coding is not reported consistently.
Questions may depend on the team. Candidates report topics such as OSPF routing, Docker, Verilog, FPGAs, Python, ML pipelines, operating systems, Linux and C++ templates. Confirm the team's stack and domain beforehand so you can focus your preparation.
One candidate reports a 45-minute conversation with a VP that mixed technical questions with career goals. An internship candidate heard back relatively quickly, while another candidate heard nothing for over a month. Timelines appear to vary widely, so it may help to follow up with the recruiter.
