Deloitte Software Engineer Interview Guide (2025) – Questions & Process

If you’re preparing for a Deloitte software engineer interview, you’re stepping into a space where cutting-edge technology meets real-world impact. In 2025, Deloitte’s software engineering teams are driving some of the most advanced digital transformation projects in the industry. Whether it’s building autonomous AI systems with their Zora AI platform, simulating environments through digital twins, or developing immersive experiences via spatial computing, the technical bar has never been higher—and the opportunities have never been more exciting. You’ll be expected to demonstrate strong fundamentals in coding, system design, and communication, all while showing that you can thrive in a collaborative, high-performance environment. Deloitte is not only hiring for current needs, but also for a future built on agentic AI, generative models, and intelligent automation.

Role Overview & Culture

As a Deloitte software engineer, you will architect and build enterprise-grade solutions that integrate cutting-edge technologies with real business needs. You will work across the full software lifecycle, from shaping technical requirements to deploying and optimizing cloud-native systems. Your daily work will involve writing clean, scalable code, collaborating with cross-functional teams, and leveraging tools like Azure, Kubernetes, and generative AI platforms to accelerate development and automate testing. Expect to engage in agile rituals, client discussions, and code reviews where your technical insight drives both quality and business outcomes. Deloitte’s engineering culture emphasizes rapid iteration, continuous learning, and AI-augmented development. You won’t just build software—you’ll shape outcomes through modern engineering and intelligent automation.

Why This Role at Deloitte?

If you’re asking yourself, is Deloitte a good company for software engineers?, the answer is a confident yes. You will find competitive compensation, global opportunities, and meaningful technical work that stretches your abilities. Deloitte offers a hybrid environment with the tools and freedom to thrive remotely while still engaging in collaborative, cross-functional teams. Whether you’re working on cloud transformation, AI solutions, or large-scale government systems, you’ll use modern tech stacks in real-world contexts. The structured growth path, wellness benefits, and emphasis on continuous learning mean your career is not just supported—it’s actively invested in. For engineers seeking both challenge and balance, Deloitte is a compelling and future-ready choice.

Deloitte’s software engineering hiring process is structured and competitive. Here’s a typical path for most candidates:

• Online Application & Recruiter Screening
• Online Assessment
• Technical Interviews
• Behavioral & Fit Interview
• Offer & Negotiation

Online Application & Recruiter Screening

The Deloitte Software Engineer application begins with an online submission through their careers portal, campus drives, or referrals. You’ll need a resume and academic documents—accuracy matters, so double-check before hitting submit. Once complete, expect an instant confirmation and the option to edit while the job remains open. If shortlisted, a recruiter reviews your profile, evaluating technical skills, academics, communication, and motivation. High-impact projects or internships help you stand out. For some roles, a quick screening call of 45 minutes follows, where you’re asked about your background and interest. If successful, you’ll move to the next round. Otherwise, your status will update in the portal.

Online Assessment

Once your application passes the recruiter screening stage, the next step is the Deloitte Online Assessment—a pivotal filter in the hiring pipeline. It evaluates both your technical foundations and problem-solving instincts in a high-stakes environment. The assessment typically includes 4 to 5 sections and features 65 to 67 questions, spanning from verbal reasoning to live coding. You’ll face algorithmic problems, core CS concepts, and logic puzzles designed to simulate challenges similar to those on real Deloitte projects. The test is fully proctored, so ensure you’re in a quiet, uninterrupted setting. Most candidates complete it in 60 to 90 minutes, though some regional variations may allow flexibility.

Technical Interviews

After successfully completing the online assessment, shortlisted candidates advance to the technical interview rounds, where Deloitte shifts focus from test-based evaluation to real-time problem solving and communication. These rounds are structured to simulate the kinds of technical and collaborative challenges you’ll face on actual Deloitte projects. You can expect 1 to 2 interviews, each lasting 20 to 40 minutes, depending on the role and level. Interviews may be conducted in person or virtually. The goal is to evaluate not just your coding ability and computer science fundamentals, but also how clearly you think, explain, and adapt under pressure—skills essential in Deloitte’s fast-paced, client-focused engineering environment.

Behavioral & Fit Interview

After demonstrating your technical skills, you’ll move into Deloitte’s Behavioral & Fit interview—a crucial step where your interpersonal strengths and cultural alignment take center stage. Deloitte places a high value on how well you collaborate, lead, adapt, and communicate, especially in client-facing or cross-functional teams. This round isn’t just about personality—it’s about proving you can thrive in Deloitte’s fast-paced, mission-driven environment. You’ll face real-world scenarios that test your ability to reflect, make decisions under pressure, and align with Deloitte’s core values. How you approach challenges and work with others is just as important as what you know technically.

Offer & Negotiation

If you successfully complete all interview rounds, Deloitte’s Talent Acquisition team will extend an offer. The package includes base salary, performance bonus, and stock (for some locations), along with comprehensive benefits like medical coverage, wellness perks, and pension contributions. You’ll have an opportunity to discuss and negotiate details before signing. Compensation aligns with role level and location, and promotions follow a structured track. Once accepted, onboarding begins with access to Deloitte’s learning platform, mentorship assignments, and team introductions—preparing you for a smooth and supported transition into your new role.

Deloitte software engineer interview questions are designed to assess your technical skill, architectural thinking, and ability to work on real-world client-focused systems. Expect a mix of algorithm challenges, system design cases, and behavioral scenarios that test both your coding fundamentals and professional judgment.

Coding / Algorithm Questions

Deloitte SDE interview questions in this category focus on problem-solving, logic, and programming fluency using Python, SQL, or Java. You may encounter topics like data structures, dynamic programming, recursion, or database queries—often modeled after practical business use cases.

1. Given a dictionary with weights, write a function that returns a key at random with a probability proportional to the weights

To solve this, use Python’s random.choice() function with a list comprehension that repeats each key according to its weight. This creates a list where each key appears a number of times equal to its weight, allowing random.choice() to select keys with the desired probability.

2. Write a query to get the average commute time for each commuter in New York

To calculate the average commute time for each commuter in New York, use a subquery to determine the average time for each commuter by calculating the difference between start_dt and end_dt in minutes. Another subquery calculates the overall average commute time for all commuters in New York. The main query then performs a left join to combine these results, displaying the average commute time for each commuter alongside the overall average.

3. Write a Python function called max_profit that takes a list of integers, where the i-th integer represents the price of a given stock on day i, and returns the maximum profit you can achieve by buying and selling the stock.

To solve this problem, iterate through the list of prices while maintaining four variables: buy1, profit1, buy2, and profit2. buy1 tracks the lowest price encountered, and profit1 is the maximum profit from the first transaction. buy2 adjusts for the profit from the first transaction, and profit2 is the maximum profit from two transactions. The function returns profit2 as the result.

4. Given a list of tuples featuring names and grades on a test, write a function to normalize the values of the grades to a linear scale between 0 and 1.

To normalize grades, calculate the minimum and maximum grades from the list. Then, for each grade, apply the formula (grade - min_grade) / (max_grade - min_grade) to scale the grades between 0 and 1. This can be efficiently done using a list comprehension.

5. How to identify the top user who are likely to be friends with a specific user based on assigned weights for mutual friends, mutual page likes, and mutual post likes.

To determine a potential friend for John, calculate friendship points based on mutual friends and page likes, while disqualifying blocked users and existing friends. Use the given tables to identify users with the highest points, considering mutual friends add 3 points and shared page likes add 2 points. In the example, Alice is identified as the most suitable potential friend for John with 2 points.

6. Calculate the 3-day rolling average of steps for each user

To calculate the 3-day rolling average of steps for each user, use self-joins on the daily_steps table to align the current day with the two preceding days. Ensure that the rolling average is only computed when data for all three days is available, and round the result to the nearest whole number.

System / Product Design Questions

These Deloitte software developer interview questions explore how well you can model real-world systems, architect scalable platforms, and design data-driven services. You’ll be asked to structure tables, define relationships, and explain technical trade-offs—especially useful for mid-level and backend-heavy roles.

7. Design a notification system for a social media platform.

To design a notification system for a social media platform, you need to consider the backend architecture and data model. The system should efficiently handle user interactions, notifications, and updates, ensuring scalability and real-time performance. The data model should include tables for users, notifications, and possibly events, with relationships and constraints to manage the flow of notifications effectively.

8. How would you design the database and engineering system for a dynamic real-time sales dashboard?

To design a real-time sales dashboard for McDonald’s, the system should be divided into three sections: data source, processing engine, and dashboard. The data source involves integrating with POS systems or using a centralized backend to handle data processing. The processing engine can use an in-memory store to update sales figures, and the leaderboard dashboard can query a Redis cache to display real-time rankings. Reliability can be ensured with redundant instances and load balancing.

9. Design a database schema for a Yelp-like system

To design a database schema for a Yelp-like system, create tables for users, restaurants, and reviews. The user table should include user profiles and their information, while the restaurant table should store restaurant details. The review table will contain user reviews, linking to both the user and restaurant tables through foreign keys. This setup allows users to sign up, create profiles, and leave or update reviews on restaurants, with each user limited to one review per restaurant.

10. What would the table schema look like if we wanted to track how long each car took coming into San Francisco to enter and exit the bridge?

To track the time each car takes to cross the bridge, create a crossings table with columns for id, license_plate, enter_time, exit_time, and car_model_id. Additionally, a car_models table should be created with id and model_name columns to store car model information, using a foreign key relationship to link car models to crossings.

1. What might be the reason for the OLAP system’s performance, specifically when handling monthly and quarterly reports?

The performance issues in OLAP systems when handling monthly and quarterly reports can often be attributed to inefficient data aggregation processes, large data volumes, and complex queries that require significant computational resources. To mitigate these issues, one might consider implementing pre-aggregated data cubes, optimizing query performance through indexing, and ensuring that the data warehouse architecture is scalable and efficient.

11. Model a database for an airline company

To create a data model for an airline company, you need to design tables that capture information about airports, including their locations and whether they are hubs. The model should also allow for calculating the shortest paths between hubs through non-hub airports, with paths weighted by fuel demands. This involves defining tables with appropriate columns, primary keys, and foreign key relationships to represent the necessary data and relationships.

Behavioral & Culture-Fit Questions

Deloitte interview questions for software engineer candidates go beyond code to assess leadership, teamwork, and values alignment. In these behavioral rounds, you’ll answer scenario-based questions that reflect Deloitte’s emphasis on collaboration, adaptability, and client impact using the STAR method:

12. How do you handle situations where colleagues disagree with you?

At Deloitte, where collaborative problem-solving is key, being able to navigate disagreement constructively is essential. Use the STAR method to describe a time you acknowledged other perspectives, explained your reasoning clearly, and worked toward consensus. Emphasize how your approach maintained team cohesion while still moving the project forward.

13. Describe a data project you worked on. What were some of the challenges you faced?

In Deloitte’s client-focused environment, data projects often come with real-world constraints and changing requirements. Structure your answer around a project that involved stakeholder interaction, iterative development, and technical trade-offs. Highlight how you adapted to challenges, communicated updates, and delivered insights that informed business decisions.

14. Tell me about a time when you exceeded expectations during a project. What did you do, and how did you accomplish it?

Deloitte values initiative and client impact. Use the STAR framework to showcase a time when you identified an opportunity to go beyond the brief—perhaps by proposing an automation, adding a key visualization, or flagging a business risk others had missed. Conclude by highlighting the measurable value you delivered to the team or client.

15. What is your approach to resolving conflict with co-workers or external stakeholders, partially when you don’t really like them?

Deloitte emphasizes professionalism and the ability to work effectively with diverse teams and clients. Share an example where you navigated a tense dynamic by actively listening, focusing on shared goals, and staying outcome-driven. Demonstrate how you set personal feelings aside to preserve a collaborative work environment.

16. Have you ever received conflicting feedback from different people? How did you handle it?

Consulting environments like Deloitte often involve managing input from multiple stakeholders. Describe how you processed conflicting opinions by aligning feedback with project priorities and business objectives. Share how you followed up with clarifying questions, found a compromise, or made a decision grounded in data and client value.

Preparing for the Deloitte software engineering interview requires a deliberate and balanced approach across coding, systems thinking, and communication. Deloitte software engineering candidates are evaluated not just on how well they write code, but on how they solve problems, structure ideas, and collaborate under pressure.

Start with foundational programming—review common data structures and algorithms using platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank. Focus on time complexity, recursion, dynamic programming, and problem decomposition. SQL is also critical, especially for roles involving data or backend systems. You should be confident writing queries with JOINs, aggregations, and filtering logic. Beyond coding, study basic system design, even at the entry level. Being able to articulate how to design a scalable service or database schema is a major advantage.

If you are applying as a software engineer analyst Deloitte new grad, emphasize academic projects, internships, and your ability to learn fast. Lateral hires should focus on deeper system experience and real-world projects. Practice STAR responses for behavioral questions and rehearse explaining complex topics in simple terms.

Deloitte values clarity, curiosity, and technical ownership. The more you prepare in context—mock interviews, case-based questions, and storytelling around your experience—the more confident you’ll be during the actual process. Our AI Interviewer can help simulate the experience.

What Is the Average Salary for a Software Engineer at Deloitte?

Where Can I Read More Deloitte Software Engineer Threads on IQ?

You can find detailed interview stories, offer comparisons, and prep strategies from candidates who have gone through the Deloitte process on the Interview Query forums. Threads are sorted by role level and interview round, including insights from both technical and behavioral interviews. These community posts provide real-world context that complements formal prep guides.

Are There Open Deloitte Software Engineer Roles on Interview Query?

Yes! Check out the Deloitte software developer roles on Interview Query’s job board. You’ll find listings for software engineering positions at all levels, including backend, data, and cloud engineering. Whether you’re applying as a new grad or an experienced hire, roles are updated weekly with direct application links.

The Deloitte software engineer interview process is built to identify engineers who are technically sound, adaptable, and collaborative—qualities essential in a global consulting environment. Whether you’re preparing for your first campus interview or applying for a lateral role, mastering both technical and behavioral aspects is critical. This guide has covered everything from real Deloitte software engineer interview questions to prep strategies and role expectations. For deeper prep, explore the Python Learning Path tailored to Deloitte-style challenges.

If you’re looking for motivation, read this Success Story of Nathan Fritter. Finally, study Python Interview Questions to get a sense of patterns, difficulty, and interviewer expectations. Deloitte rewards clarity, resilience, and real-world problem solving. With the right preparation, you’ll be ready to stand out and succeed.