Arista Networks software engineer candidates report an online or HackerRank screen, live coding on CoderPad or over SSH, and technical rounds heavy on C/C++ fundamentals, linked lists and BSTs, and networking basics for some teams.
$126K
Avg. Base Comp
$155K
Avg. Total Comp
3-4 rounds
Typical Rounds
Not reported
Process Length
Candidates describing Arista software engineer interviews most often point to low-level C and C++ fundamentals paired with classic data structures. Linked lists come up repeatedly: several people were asked to remove all nodes with a given value, including the case where the head matches, in some reports with a void return type or a Node** signature. Others report binary search tree work such as finding a minimum or previous node, plus stack implementations in C or C++ with follow-ups on elements without default constructors.
Expect questions below the algorithm level too. Candidates mention memory alignment, struct packing, pointers, printf behavior, signals, core dumps and gdb commands. String problems such as palindromes, anagrams and building one string from another's characters appear in a few accounts, and some screens use a HackerRank or online assessment first. Live rounds are described on CoderPad, over SSH with compiling in a terminal, or in a nano terminal, so practice writing and running code without a full IDE.
The mix varies by team and hiring channel. A few candidates, including some on networking-leaning paths, were asked about DHCP, ARP, Ethernet headers, ping and traceroute, and OSPF neighbor states and areas. Others report a resume deep dive, a hiring manager round, or a debugging exercise. One candidate was asked to code in Python for a role listed as C++/C, so prepare in the language named in the posting. Most reports in this set ended without an offer, though one candidate reports receiving one, so treat the details as individual accounts rather than a fixed format. Practice explaining your reasoning aloud, since interviewers in several accounts nudged candidates and asked about time and space complexity.
Synthesized from 53 candidate reports by our editorial team.
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Real interview reports from people who went through the Arista Networks process.
The part of my Arista loop I was least ready for was the bug-analysis challenge, so I'd spend some prep time on that. My process started with a recruiter phone screen where they walked me through the interview steps. The next stage was a coding challenge that opened with a brief intro conversation and then two problems. The first wasn't writing code from scratch. I was handed existing code with a bug and had to analyze it and work out what was wrong. I had spent most of my prep building solutions from zero, so I lost time just staring at the code before I figured out how to approach it. Reading unfamiliar code and talking through your reasoning is a skill worth practicing.
The second problem was a standard DSA question. It felt like typical coding-screen material rather than anything exotic, so the challenge was less about knowing a trick and more about moving efficiently and writing clean code after the first problem had already taken some of my focus. Nothing about the difficulty was unusually hard, but I felt the time pressure of working through two problems back to back.
I did not get an offer. I'd rather say that plainly than dress it up. If you're preparing for this role, the lesson I'd take is that the coding stage may not be a pure LeetCode-style round, so cover debugging as well as algorithms.
Prep tip from this candidate
Practice reading and debugging existing code out loud, not just writing solutions from scratch, since the bug-analysis challenge came before the DSA problem. Also drill easy-to-medium DSA problems under time pressure, because the coding stage moved quickly through two problems after an intro conversation.
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Topics based on recent interview experiences.
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Synthesized from candidate reports. Individual experiences may vary.
Candidates report a short recruiter or HR conversation, often by Google Meet, that covers work experience and how the interviews will be structured. It is typically general rather than technical, though one candidate describes it as a way to understand the role better.
Several candidates describe an online assessment or HackerRank problem before live interviews. Reports mention string manipulation problems, and one account describes timed multiple-choice sections on OS and CS fundamentals followed by DSA problems of rising difficulty. Whether you get this step may depend on the team and hiring channel.
Candidates report live coding in CoderPad, over SSH, or in a plain terminal. Problems typically involve linked lists, BSTs, stacks and strings, often in C or C++, with some debugging. Interviewers in several accounts gave hints and asked about complexity, so talking through your approach out loud may help.
A later technical round may go beyond coding. Candidates report questions on memory layout, signals, operating systems, and, on some teams, networking topics such as DHCP, ARP and OSPF. Several also describe a deep dive into resume projects, so be ready to explain past work and the concepts behind it.
Some candidates report a final interview with a hiring manager or two managers after the technical rounds, and one describes a combined technical and HR round for offer discussion. Not everyone reaches this stage, and several candidates report rejections after the first or second technical round, sometimes with little feedback.
