State Street software engineer candidates report resume and project deep dives, Java and tools questions, basic SQL, and for one candidate a design question on live banking data. Communication was often disorganized.
$133K
Avg. Base Comp
$165K
Avg. Total Comp
Not reported
Typical Rounds
Not reported
Process Length
Software engineer candidates who shared State Street experiences describe interviews where resume and project depth carry as much weight as coding fundamentals. One software engineer had a short video screen with two interviewers that focused on the resume, projects, languages, frameworks, Java, agile and past internship work. It felt more like a tools and experience check than a deep technical dive. Another had a 40 to 45 minute slot in which the interviewer jumped from basic loops to SQL queries and pressed on an embedded-systems background, so be ready to explain how your experience fits a software role.
Candidates in adjacent roles described broader technical sessions. One technology intern took an online assessment with aptitude questions and a choice of coding problems. The intern then wrote pen-and-paper code for linked lists, sorting, stacks and queues, discussed resume items such as Redis, RabbitMQ and JWT authentication, and answered SQL on employee and department tables. A software development engineer candidate expected a behavioral chat but got coding and then a system design question about giving bank agents a live feed of account activity for top users.
None of these candidates reported receiving an offer, and several described slow or unclear communication. Ask your recruiter what each round covers and who will interview you.
Synthesized from 9 candidate reports by our editorial team.
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Real interview reports from people who went through the State Street process.
I interviewed for State Street's internship program in late 2024, and the process moved pretty quickly — three rounds over the course of a single day. The first round was an online assessment on the HirePro platform with aptitude, logical reasoning, and grammar questions, plus a coding section where we had to choose one problem out of three options. Two were graph-related and one was a dynamic programming problem, so I had some flexibility there depending on what I felt strongest about.
The technical interview came next and lasted about an hour. It started with the usual — introduce yourself, walk through your projects — but then it got into the weeds pretty fast. The interviewer asked me to reverse a linked list and find the middle element, then we covered algorithm implementations like merge sort and selection sort, and I had to code up stacks and queues on pen and paper. Since I'd highlighted some more advanced stuff on my resume, we also talked through concepts like Redis, RabbitMQ, load balancing, rate limiting, and JWT authentication. It felt less like they were testing me on a single topic and more like they wanted to see the breadth of what I'd worked with. I also got hit with some database theory questions and then a SQL section where they gave me employee and department tables and kept asking me queries until I got stuck.
After I qualified for the HR round, that was pretty straightforward — about 45 minutes of just a casual discussion about background, family, and salary expectations. Nothing particularly intense there. Overall the process felt well-structured and fair, though the pen-and-paper coding under time pressure in that technical round was definitely where things got real.
Prep tip from this candidate
The pen-and-paper coding in the technical round is real — practice implementing linked list operations (reversing, finding middle), stack/queue implementations, and sorting algorithms by hand, not just on a computer. Also be prepared to discuss resume projects in depth, especially around systems concepts like caching, message queues, and authentication, since the interviewer will dive into those if you mention them.
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Synthesized from candidate reports. Individual experiences may vary.
One software engineer described a video screen with two interviewers that covered the resume, projects, languages, frameworks, Java, agile and internship work. Confirm the format and interviewers in advance, since this candidate heard nothing from the recruiter before the call.
One software engineer was asked about basic programming concepts such as for loops, then SQL queries, in a 40 to 45 minute slot. A technology intern reported linked lists, sorting, stacks and queues on pen and paper, plus SQL on employee and department tables, so prepare fundamentals broadly.
Several reports describe interviewers probing projects and resume claims. A software engineer with an embedded-systems background was questioned on how that experience translated to the role, and an intern was asked about caching, queues and authentication after listing them. Expect to justify technology choices and explain what you personally built.
A software development engineer candidate was asked to design a live account-activity feed for agents at a regional bank, after expecting a behavioral interview. Other candidates did not report this stage, so ask what each round will cover.
One software engineer received a rejection email about two months after the video screen. A software development engineer candidate heard nothing for weeks after the recruiter left, then got an automated rejection. Follow up politely and keep records of your communications with recruiters and hiring managers.
