Atlassian Software Engineer Interview Questions + Guide in 2024

Atlassian is an Australian-American enterprise software company that creates tools to improve team collaboration, project management, and software development processes. Their flagship products include Jira, Confluence, Bitbucket, Trello, and Jira Service Management.

Their software engineers work on exciting engineering challenges such as developing agile software, streamlining DevOps workflows, and addressing challenges related to remote collaboration.

The company offers competitive salaries and benefits and is known for its emphasis on employee wellbeing, making it an attractive workplace for engineers.

The following guide will overview the Atlassian software engineer interview process. It includes commonly asked interview questions and our handpicked strategies to boost your chances of landing your dream role.

In Atlassian’s words: “Instead of evaluating candidates based on their proficiency in a specific language, we’re looking for people with broad distributed engineering skills and experience with various languages.” Atlassian tests your critical thinking, computer science fundamentals, and learning agility via their interview rounds. Below are the main stages you can expect.

Step 1: Preliminary Screening

After you apply, a recruiter will contact you to assess your work experience and cultural fit. Be prepared for CV-based questions and study your past projects.

Step 2: Online Test

Software engineers may be required to pass an online coding assessment on HackerRank. This timed (100-minute) test will comprise 3 coding problems on strings and arrays. These questions are usually of Leetcode-level medium difficulty.

Step 3: General Interviews

You will next be invited to a series of interviews over video call, each about an hour long. There may be up to six interviews on:

1. Code design
2. Data structures
3. System design
4. Values

Here are some interview tips from Atlassian’s Careers page:

1. The goal of a coding interview is to not simply code but understand how you tackle a real-life problem.
2. We want to understand how you explore an issue—what questions you would ask, how you’d talk through constraints, who you might partner with for help, and which technologies you’d use.
3. The interview differs from a traditional technical interview as you can choose the language to code.
4. The interviewer may ask you to consider a new approach to test your learning agility.

Step 4: Team Interviews

After assessing your technical skills, you will be invited to chat with people on the team you’ve been selected for. You’ll speak to a senior manager and be asked a combination of behavioral and values questions. The interviewer will try to understand your career aspirations and how well you fit culturally within the team.

Software engineers should expect a range of questions on data structures, algorithms, systems design, and coding. The interview will focus on the real-world applications of these concepts, so be prepared to discuss how well your solutions scale.

Read on for our handpicked practice problems for the Atlassian software engineer interview. For best results, try answering the question yourself before looking at our hints or clicking on the solution!

1. Can you describe a time when you had to adapt to a significant change in a project or work environment?

This question gauges your adaptability, given the iterative nature of projects at Atlassian. You will be expected to pivot quickly, relying on customer and team feedback.

How to Answer

Use the STAR method of storytelling: Discuss the Specific situation you were challenged with, the Task you decided on, the Action you took, and the Result of your efforts.

Example

“In my previous role, our team was midway through developing a new feature for our project management tool when we received feedback from beta testers that drastically shifted our priorities. I organized a brainstorming session with the team to devise a new approach and communicated closely with our stakeholders to set realistic expectations. By embracing Agile methodologies, pivoted our strategy and delivered the feature that better met our users’ needs.”

2. Why do you want to join Atlassian?

Interviewers will want to know why you chose the software engineer role at Atlassian. They want to establish whether you’re passionate about the company’s culture and values or your interest is more opportunistic.

How to Answer

Demonstrate knowledge of Atlassian’s work, culture, and the opportunities that attract you to the company. Be honest and specific about how Atlassian’s offerings align with your career goals.

Example

“Working at Atlassian would give me a chance to be on a team that values innovation and promotes learning. I’m intrigued by Atlassian’s innovative approach to solving collaboration challenges and the opportunity to work with diverse teams.”

3. Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

Atlassian seeks candidates passionate about growing with the company, whether it’s advancing in technical expertise, leadership, or branching into new areas like product management or design.

How to Answer

Think about how your career goals align with Atlassian’s values and opportunities. Demonstrate an understanding of Atlassian’s mission and how your aspirations contribute to it—this shows the interviewer that you have researched the company.

Example

“I see myself growing into a technical leadership role within Atlassian, ideally leading a team that contributes to developing innovative features. Over the years, I plan to deepen my expertise in cloud technologies and Agile methodologies, contributing to open-source projects and internal initiatives. By doing so, I aim to encourage my team members to use best practices, mentor junior engineers, and play a key role in launching features that meet the needs of Atlassian’s user base.”

4. Tell me a time when your colleagues disagreed with your approach.

Given that Atlassian’s products are designed to enhance collaboration, navigating disagreements is vital in contributing to the company culture and product development.

How to Answer

Describe a conflict in which you played a role in finding a mutually beneficial outcome. Highlight what you learned from the experience, showing your willingness to adapt and grow.

Example

“I once had a conflict with a co-worker over prioritizing project features. To resolve it, I set up a one-on-one to discuss our viewpoints and come to an agreement. We decided to consult with other team members and gather more user data to make an informed decision. This experience helped me appreciate the importance of empathy and flexibility in teamwork.”

5. Tell us about a time when you had to overcome a setback or failure. What did you learn from the experience?

Atlassian believes in rapid development and failing fast, and they look for engineers who can learn from failure and improve future work.

How to Answer

Choose a real setback from a relevant past project and emphasize the lessons learned from the experience. This will show that you have a growth mindset and are willing to take ownership of your mistakes.

Example

“In a past project, I missed a critical bug that affected a product launch. I took full responsibility, worked with the team to quickly resolve the issue, and initiated a post-mortem analysis to prevent future oversights. This incident taught me the importance of thorough testing and peer review, leading me to advocate for more rigorous QA processes.”

6. Given the root of a binary tree, how would you determine if it is a valid binary search tree (BST)?

This question evaluates your understanding of data structures. These concepts are crucial, given Atlassian’s emphasis on efficient data management.

How to Answer

Explain the strategy of using recursion or iteration to traverse the tree, ensuring each node follows the BST property. Mention the use of bounds to validate each node’s value within the permissible range as you traverse the tree.

Example

“I’d use a recursive function that checks whether each node’s value falls within an allowed range, initially set to negative and positive infinity for the root node. For each node, the function would recursively check the left subtree, ensuring all values are less than the current node’s value, and check the right subtree, ensuring all values are greater.”

7. Let’s discuss a scenario where an API is experiencing high traffic. How would you approach implementing a rate limiter in this context?

Software engineers should be able to design scalable systems to maintain the performance and reliability of their cloud-based services.

How to Answer

Outline a strategy that includes identifying key requirements such as the rate limit algorithm, deciding on a storage mechanism, and considering user experience. Highlight the importance of balancing system protection with providing a good user experience.

Example

“I would first determine the appropriate rate-limiting strategy based on our specific needs—such as a token bucket algorithm for its flexibility and smooth request distribution. I’d use a distributed cache like Redis to store rate-limiting counters or tokens. Each API request would decrement a token from the user’s bucket, with the bucket refilling at a predefined rate. If a user’s bucket is empty, the system should return a 429 status code, possibly with a ‘Retry-After’ header to inform the client when to retry. This approach ensures our API can handle sudden traffic spikes without compromising service quality.”

8. Implement the Fibonacci algorithm in three different methods: 1. recursively, 2. iteratively, and 3. using memoization.

The Fibonacci sequence is a classic problem in software engineering interviews. Atlassian needs to implement scalable solutions, and your approach to this problem will reveal how well you understand this.

How to Answer

Demonstrate your understanding of the trade-offs between simplicity (recursion), efficiency (iteration), and optimization (memoization). Explain how each approach can be used in different scenarios based on computational resources and execution time.

Example

“A recursive solution involves a function calling itself with a smaller subset of the problem until it reaches a base case. This method is straightforward but can lead to significant inefficiencies due to repeated calculations. The iterative approach calculates each Fibonacci number sequentially, starting from the base cases and building up to the desired number by looping from 0 to n. This method is more efficient as it doesn’t involve repeated calculations or deep call stacks. Memoization optimizes the recursive solution by storing previously calculated Fibonacci numbers in a data structure during the function’s execution. When the function is called again with the same input, it first checks if the result is in the storage to avoid recalculating, thus reducing the number of computations needed.”

9. You’re working on a collaborative decision-making platform. How would you design a voting system for users to express their preferences?

This question reflects the interactive nature of Atlassian products and tests your understanding of UX/UI principles, data modeling, and real-time data processing.

How to Answer

Start by defining the voting system’s requirements, such as the need to support multiple voting methods and ensure data integrity and user authentication. Discuss your approach to database design for storing votes, user interface considerations for displaying options and results, and how you’d handle vote counting and changes in real time.

Example

“I’d design a versatile system that allows for various types of votes, accommodating the diverse needs of users. First, I’d ensure the database schema is flexible enough to store different voting types while maintaining relational integrity, such as linking votes to their respective users and decisions. On the front end, I’d implement a clear and intuitive UI, allowing users to easily select their preferred voting method. For real-time feedback, I’d use WebSocket for live updates of vote counts without requiring page refreshes. This system would also incorporate authentication checks to prevent unauthorized voting and ensure each user’s vote is accurately recorded and reflected.”

10. Let’s say you’re setting up the analytics tracking for a web app. How would you create a schema to represent client click data on the web?

Designing database schema relevant to tracking traffic flow will be part of your day-to-day work at Atlassian, so getting acquainted with similar design questions is a good idea.

How to Answer

Make sure your answer accounts for the practical application of this data, such as improving traffic management.

Example

“I’d create a schema that captures essential attributes of each click event. This would include a unique event ID, the timestamp of the click, user IDs to associate clicks with individual users, and details of the click event such as the page URL, element ID (e.g., button or link clicked), and the type of action (click, double-click, long-press). I would also include a JSON payload field for any additional contextual information relevant to the click, like the screen size or device type, to provide deeper insights into user behavior. For storage, I’d consider a NoSQL database if our data is highly variable or a traditional SQL database for strong schema enforcement.”

11. What happens when the same hashcode is generated for distinct keys?

Understanding how HashMaps handle collisions is crucial for designing efficient data structures and algorithms for Atlassian’s large-scale, high-performance applications.

How to Answer

Emphasize the importance of a well-designed hash function to minimize collisions and the impact of these strategies on performance and complexity.

Example

“When distinct keys generate the same hashcode, a collision occurs in the hashtable. To resolve this, one common method is chaining, where each bucket at a given index in the array stores a list of all entries (key-value pairs) that hash to the same index. If a collision happens, the new entry is simply added to the list in the same bucket. Another approach is open addressing, where a collision triggers a search for the next available slot according to a predefined sequence. While open addressing avoids the need for extra data structures, it can lead to clustering issues that degrade performance.”

12. Write a function to sum two strings together without directly converting them to integers.

Your ability to manipulate strings and understand numerical operations will be instrumental in developing and debugging Atlassian’s software products.

How to Answer

Explain the strategy of iterating over both strings from the end to the beginning, simulating the addition process digit by digit, much like how you would add numbers on paper. Highlight edge cases, such as different string lengths and leading zeros.

Example

“I’d start by initializing an empty result string and a variable to keep track of the carry, which is initially 0. Then, I’d iterate through both strings from the last character to the first, adding the numeric value of each digit (after converting them from their character representation) along with any carry from the previous step. If the sum of two digits plus the carry is greater than 9, we update the carry to 1 for the next iteration and subtract 10 from the result to keep it a single digit. Otherwise, the carry is set to 0. Since we’re adding the digits in reverse order, the final step is to reverse the result string before returning it.”

13. Can you walk me through your approach to designing a color picker system?

Given Atlassian’s focus on creating intuitive, user-friendly products like Jira and Confluence, the ability to design a color picker that is functional and aligned with the product’s design principles is essential.

How to Answer

Outline the user needs and scenarios for the color picker, then describe the UI components involved and how they interact. Emphasize considerations for accessibility and extensibility. Also, consider how you would integrate this component seamlessly into existing Atlassian product interfaces.

Example

“The system should include a hue selection slider, a saturation-brightness panel for fine-tuning, and an input field for direct color value entry. I’d ensure the UI is intuitive, with drag-and-drop selectors and real-time color preview, and accessible, supporting keyboard navigation and screen readers. The design would allow users to switch between color formats (HEX, RGB, HSL) to accommodate different user preferences. For integration with Atlassian’s products, I’d adopt the design language and components from the Atlassian Design System for consistency.”

14. Given two sorted lists, write a function to merge them into one sorted list. What’s the time complexity?

This question tests your algorithmic thinking and understanding of time complexity, fundamental skills for developing efficient, scalable software.

How to Answer

Explain the strategy of using two pointers to iterate through the lists, comparing elements and adding the smaller one to the new list until one list is exhausted, then appending the remainder of the other list.

Example

“I’d use a two-pointer approach, starting at the beginning of each list. If one list is exhausted before the other, I would append the rest of the remaining list to the new list. The time complexity of this function is O(n+m), where n and m are the lengths of the two lists because each element in both lists is visited exactly once.”

15. What is the difference between BFS and Dijkstra’s algorithms when looking for the shortest path?

Whether optimizing network traffic, improving database query performances, or enhancing user experience, knowing when and how to apply these algorithms can significantly impact system efficiency.

How to Answer

Focus on the main differences in terms of the type of graphs they operate on and their approach to finding the shortest path.

Example

“BFS is ideal for unweighted graphs, where the shortest path is defined by the smallest number of edges. It explores all neighbors of a node before moving on to the neighbors’ neighbors, ensuring the shortest path is found in a level-by-level manner. On the other hand, Dijkstra’s algorithm is designed for graphs with non-negative weights on edges. It calculates the shortest path based on the cumulative weight, using a priority queue to explore nodes in an order that prioritizes the shortest path to a node. While both aim to find the shortest path, Dijkstra’s can handle a broader range of problems due to its consideration of edge weights, making it more suitable for real-world applications where distances or costs vary.”

16. Write a Python function to return the maximum profit by buying and selling a stock.

Understanding how to maximize profit in a given scenario using algorithmic thinking is essential in many software engineering tasks, including financial analysis and data processing.

How to Answer

Explain the logic behind your approach, discussing how you track the maximum profit at each stage (after each buy and sell) and how the problem resembles optimizing decisions in a changing environment. Briefly mention the importance of efficient and scalable code.

Example

“In this function, I would use dynamic programming to keep track of the profits after each buy and sell action. The function iterates through each price, updating the potential profits. This approach ensures we consider the best possible outcome at each stage, which is crucial for optimizing profits in a dynamic setting like stock trading or managing real-time data.”

17. Recreate a given image as a webpage using HTML and CSS.

This exercise tests your ability to accurately translate visual designs into functional web pages, a fundamental skill for front-end development.

How to Answer

Analyze the given image to identify its structure and visual elements. Also, mention responsive design considerations.

Example

“I’d first lay out the HTML structure, identifying all major components like the header, navigation bar, main content area, sidebar, and footer. Each of these sections would be marked up using semantic HTML tags <header>, <nav>, <main>, <aside>, and <footer> to ensure the page’s accessibility and SEO friendliness. For the CSS, I’d set global styles such as the font family, base font size, and color palette. Then, I’d proceed to more specific styles for each section, using Flexbox or Grid layout to arrange sections as they appear in the image. For elements with special styling, like buttons or cards in the content area, I’d use CSS classes to apply styles like background color, padding, and borders. Throughout the process, I’d ensure the webpage is responsive by using media queries to adjust layouts for different screen sizes.”

18. Given a list of sorted integer lists, write a function to create a combined list while maintaining sorted order without importing any libraries or using sort functions in Python.

Software engineers need to understand concepts like merging sorted integer lists for applications like streamlining logistics and scheduling tasks.

How to Answer

Go through a step-by-step approach to merging lists while maintaining sorted order. Focus on how you iterate through each list, compare elements, and choose the smallest element at each step to add to the final merged list. Highlight the efficiency of your approach.

Example

“In my solution, I would maintain an array of pointers to track the current element in each list. At each step, I’d look for the smallest element in each list and add it to the merged list. This way, we effectively merge all lists while maintaining their sorted order. This approach is efficient because it minimizes comparisons and eliminates the need for an external sorting library. Each iteration involves only a comparison of the heads of the remaining lists.”

19. Which data structures can be used for implementing LRU cache?

Given the dynamic nature of user interactions, a scalable LRU cache is vital for enhancing the responsiveness of Atlassian’s tools.

How to Answer Explain your particular choices. Discuss what operations are essential for the performance of an LRU cache and how these data structures facilitate them.

Example “The most efficient approach is to use a combination of a HashMap and a doubly linked list. The HashMap provides $O(1)$ access time to cache items, which is essential for quick retrievals. The doubly linked list maintains the items in the order of their usage. When the cache reaches its capacity and requires removing the least recently used item, the item at the tail of the list can be removed efficiently. This combination allows for constant time operations for adding, accessing, and removing items. This makes the HashMap and doubly linked list combination ideal in high-load systems.”

20. Create a function called pool_matching that accepts a list of candidates and matches pairs of them based on: 1. scheduled availability and 2. similar interests.

In the context of Atlassian, such a function could be used to organize collaborative projects or match support tickets with the most appropriate service agent.

How to Answer

Break the problem into manageable parts: Sort candidates by availability, then group them by interests. Mention the importance of efficient data structures for sorting and matching.

Example

“I would first organize candidates by their available time slots. Then, within each time slot, I’d group them by shared interests using tags or keywords. For each group with similar availability and interests, I’d match pairs or form small groups, prioritizing the closest matches. This process could be implemented using a combination of sorting algorithms and HashMaps for efficient matching.”

Here are some tips to help you excel in your interview:

Understand the Role and Responsibilities

Research the software engineer role at Atlassian you’re applying for. Understand its key responsibilities and the skills required; you can connect with current employees through LinkedIn for a better understanding.

Explore the specific role at Atlassian through our learning paths to understand how your skills align with this position’s requirements.

Visit Atlassian’s careers page for tips on preparing for the engineer interview.

Brush Up on Technical Skills

Revisit algorithms (graphs, trees, and sorts), data structures, system design principles, and coding techniques. Practice writing efficient, clean, and well-documented code. Remember that the focus is on assessing how you think rather than just your coding ability.

You can practice some cool engineering projects to bolster your resume.

Familiarize Yourself with Atlassian’s Business Model

Gain a deep understanding of Atlassian’s products, market challenges, and technology stack. Consider how your role might impact the business and think of ways you could contribute to solving real-world problems Atlassian faces.

Practice Problem-Solving and Behavioral Questions

Prepare for behavioral questions using the STAR method. Reflect on your past experiences and practice articulating them concisely.

Visit our interview questions section to familiarize yourself with behavioral questions. It offers a wide range of topics for you to practice structuring your responses effectively using the STAR method.

Try a mock interview to test your current preparedness for the interview process.

Prepare Questions for the Interviewer

Make a list of questions about Atlassian’s work culture, challenges, and expectations. This shows your interest and eagerness to engage with the company’s ethos and future goals.

What is the average salary for a software engineering role at Atlassian?

The average base salary for a software engineer at Atlassian is $125,315, making the remuneration competitive for prospective applicants.

Check out our comprehensive Software Engineer Salary Guide for more insights into the salary range of software engineers at various companies.

Where can I read more discussion posts on the Atlassian software engineer role on Interview Query?

Head over to our discussion board, where Interview Query members talk about their experiences. You can use the search bar and filter for software engineering posts.

Are there job postings for Atlassian software engineer roles on Interview Query?

We have listed Atlassian software engineer jobs you can apply for directly through our job portal. You can filter by location, company, and position to see similar roles relevant to your career goals and skill set.

Succeeding in an Atlassian software engineer interview requires solid technical skills and the ability to demonstrate your collaborative and critical thinking talents.

If you’re considering opportunities at other tech companies, check out our company interview guides. We cover a range of companies, including Google, IBM, and Apple.

For further data-related roles at Atlassian, explore our guides for data engineer, data scientist, and other roles in our main Atlassian interview guide.

The key to your success is understanding Atlassian’s culture of innovation and collaboration and thoroughly preparing technical and behavioral questions.

Check out more of Interview Query’s content, and we hope you land your dream role at Atlassian soon!