Revolut Software Engineer Interview Guide – Coding, System Design, and HackerRank Prep

Joining the engineering team means preparing for a fast-paced, high-impact Revolut software engineer interview, because once you’re in, you’re expected to ship production-ready code fast. As a software engineer at Revolut, you’ll help build and scale the company’s all-in-one financial super-app used by millions across the globe. Engineers are deeply embedded in product squads, where you’ll own features end-to-end—from architecture to deployment to monitoring. You’re not just writing code; you’re solving real business problems in production, often within days of starting a sprint. Revolut thrives on speed, autonomy, and engineers who don’t just execute but think critically about product and user experience.

Role Overview & Culture

If you’re preparing for the Revolut coding interview, expect to be tested on both algorithmic thinking and systems design, as well as your ability to write clean, production-grade code under time pressure. The bar is high because the pace is relentless—features are released weekly, and teams iterate based on live performance data. Engineers are trusted with big decisions early, and there’s little hand-holding. The team structure is lean, the scope is massive, and the responsibility is real. It’s a place for builders who want direct impact and are motivated by the speed at which great ideas can ship.

Why This Role at Revolut?

Revolut’s engineering org is built for scale—and for engineers who thrive in a hyper-growth fintech. With a remote-first setup, generous equity packages, and the opportunity to work on global products used by tens of millions, the upside is substantial. You’re not siloed—you’re part of cross-functional squads where bottom-up decision-making is the norm, not the exception. Engineers lead architectural choices, propose new tools, and shape product direction in a culture that prioritizes outcomes over hierarchy.

If you’re someone who loves clean code, real ownership, and solving problems that scale across continents, Revolut is more than a job—it’s a launchpad.

The Revolut software engineer interview process is fast, rigorous, and designed to assess both your coding skills and your ability to build scalable systems from day one. Here’s what a typical interview process looks like:

Recruiter Screen

This initial 15–20 minute chat sets the stage for your Revolut software engineer interview, focusing on your experience, tech stack alignment, and timeline. The recruiter also gauges culture fit and flags your profile to the hiring manager.

Online Coding / Live Coding Interview

You’ll complete either a HackerRank-style assessment or a revolut live coding interview using CoderPad. Expect to solve 2–3 algorithmic problems while explaining your thought process—clear communication is key in any Revolut live coding session.

System Design Interview

In the Revolut system design interview, you’ll architect a scalable solution (e.g., event tracking, rate-limiting, or chat systems) while justifying tradeoffs.

On-Site / Virtual Loop

This final stage typically includes multiple rounds: one focused on data structures and algorithms, one on system design, and one behavioral. The goal is to assess your ability to write clean code and collaborate cross-functionally in a typical Revolut coding interview setting.

Offer & Salary Discussion

If successful, you’ll receive written feedback within 24 hours and move into offer discussions. This includes equity, bonus, and base details tailored to level and location.

Revolut software engineer interviews cover a wide range of topics, including coding challenges, system design problems, language-specific questions, and behavioral assessments to evaluate both technical ability and cultural fit.

Coding & Algorithm Questions

Revolut coding interview questions often focus on real-world problem-solving and time-constrained logic. To succeed, candidates should drill core topics featured in Revolut challenges and prepare for formats similar to the Revolut Python interview or Python Revolut test.

1. Select a random number from a stream with equal probability using (O(1)) space

Use reservoir sampling for this classic streaming problem. It ensures each item seen has an equal probability of being chosen using constant memory. Familiarity with streaming data and randomized algorithms is essential. A solid test of statistical reasoning in revolut coding interview questions.

2. Format an array of words into lines of exactly max_width characters, distributing spaces evenly

Approach with greedy algorithms and careful space distribution logic. Handle corner cases like single-word lines and trailing spaces. This reflects real-life text formatting challenges in apps. This type of leetcode Revolut logic appears often in UI- and parsing-heavy problems.

3. Find the integer removed from list X to form list Y using O(1) space and O(n) time

Calculate sums or XOR to identify the missing number efficiently. The optimal space and time constraints make it a classic data-stream puzzle. It’s great for checking understanding of array properties. Perfect for revolut coding interview questions focused on performance.

4. Find the missing number from an array spanning 0 to n with one number missing

Use sum formula or XOR bit tricks. Emphasize constant space usage and mathematical intuition. This is a variation of a classic leetcode revolut problem. Good for demonstrating optimization over brute force.

5. Group linked events by timestamp buckets of 10 minutes

Implement this in Python using datetime arithmetic and hashing or bucketing strategy. Pay attention to rounding timestamps down and managing unordered input. This tests your ability to write production-ready time series logic. An example likely seen in a Revolut python interview with backend flavor.

6. Optimize memory usage in an online log processing system

Focus on caching, streaming, and bounded memory approaches. Discuss log volume assumptions and trade-offs between in-memory vs. on-disk processing. Strong concurrency and memory constraints are common in Python revolut test scenarios.

System Design & Architecture Questions

The Revolut system design interview questions typically assess how well you can translate vague product goals into scalable tech solutions. You may be asked to design a Revolut load balancer, so come prepared to discuss system requirements, sketch high-level architecture, map data flows, and explain how you’d scale the solution.

7. Design a classifier to predict the optimal moment for a commercial break in a video

Begin with defining what qualifies as an “optimal” moment—look at user engagement metrics or natural scene changes. Discuss how you’d label data and the feature extraction process. Then outline your training architecture and real-time inference plan. This maps directly to Revolut system design interview questions that emphasize low-latency predictions.

8. Describe the process of building a restaurant recommender on Facebook, including data acquisition and potential concerns

Start by outlining your sources: check-ins, reviews, and user connections. Cover model selection (collaborative vs. content-based) and explain trade-offs. Include scaling strategies like caching popular queries. It’s similar to designing a Revolut load balancer in that it challenges your ability to serve high-traffic, real-time responses.

9. Design a recommendation algorithm for Netflix’s type-ahead search feature

Think in terms of sub-100ms latency, trie-based index, and autocomplete logic. Incorporate personalization signals and consider ranking models. Focus on distributed indexing and caching layers. A great proxy for Revolut’s real-time fraud or payments detection pipelines.

10. Create a recommendation engine for rental listings using user demographics, interests, and property metadata

Blend structured and unstructured data using embeddings. Explain how you’d serve recommendations via APIs. Discuss model retraining frequency and feature engineering pipelines. This aligns with Revolut system design interview questions that involve profile-based banking product suggestions.

11. Design a Revolut load balancer

Start with core requirements: request distribution, fault tolerance, and sticky sessions. Use a reverse proxy with health checks and explain the hash-based or round-robin algorithm. Add layers like global routing or API gateway for redundancy. This question is often used to assess fundamental backend design skills.

12. Build a system to rate-limit user withdrawals in real-time

Explain different rate limiting approaches: token bucket, sliding window, leaky bucket. Discuss Redis as a distributed store for counters. Highlight consistency vs. availability trade-offs. This kind of question tests your readiness to secure banking endpoints.

13. Design a peer-to-peer payments ledger for RevolutDetail atomicity and consistency requirements. Use event sourcing or distributed logs like Kafka for record-keeping. Talk about database choice (PostgreSQL vs. Cassandra) and reconciliation workflows. A high-stakes example of Revolut system design challenges with financial accuracy requirements.

Language-Specific Questions (Java, Python)

Whether you’re preparing for Revolut Java interview questions or brushing up on Revolut Python answers, expect in-depth, language-specific discussions. Revolut sometimes pulls from community-sourced knowledge bases like respostas Revolut pyth or raspunsuri Revolut pyth, so it’s worth reviewing commonly asked syntax and runtime behavior topics ahead of time.

14. Group a list of sequential timestamps into weekly lists starting from the first timestamp

Approach this with date arithmetic and slicing in Python. You want to iterate through the list while maintaining buckets that restart every 7 days. Pay attention to edge cases like timezone-aware timestamps or gaps. Commonly seen in revolut python answers for time-series processing.

15. Write a function that takes a sentence and returns a list of all its bigrams in order

Use simple iteration with zip or slicing. You can optimize further with generators. Revolut Python interview questions often use such problems to gauge clarity and conciseness in code.

16. Stem words in a sentence using the shortest root from a given dictionary

Construct a prefix tree (trie) for O(k) lookups. Highlight preprocessing and real-time performance. This is close to NLP preprocessing work done in Revolut Python services.

17. Write a function to return the top N frequent words and their frequencies from a paragraph

Use collections.Counter or a min-heap. Talk about edge cases like punctuation. A typical revolut python test scenario for log or message frequency analysis.

18. Explain how synchronized blocks and concurrent data structures differ in multithreading

Start by showing a use case for each: synchronized blocks for atomic code sections, concurrent structures for scalability. Include how ConcurrentHashMap avoids locks using buckets. Contrast safety vs. performance. Common in revolut java interview questions where thread safety meets system efficiency.

19. When would you prefer using a ThreadPoolExecutor over spawning threads manually?

Discuss thread lifecycle cost and how thread pools help reuse. Dive into sizing strategies and rejection policies. Mention real-world scenarios like Revolut’s backend services handling high load. Expect interviewers to assess your ability to scale backend Java microservices.

20. How does garbage collection tuning affect a high-throughput Java service?

Compare G1 vs. CMS vs. ZGC in latency-sensitive applications. Show trade-offs in pause time and heap management. Great for Revolut’s memory-heavy services like payment or ledger processing.

21. How would you use Spring Boot to build a RESTful service for payments?

Lay out controller, service, and repository layers. Emphasize annotations, dependency injection, and security (e.g., JWT). Common for backend API design under Revolut java interview questions.

Behavioural & Culture-Fit Questions

Revolut behavioral interviews emphasize cultural values like “team-first,” “never settle,” and “ownership.” Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your answers clearly, especially when sharing examples that show how you take initiative, handle feedback, or work across diverse teams:

22. Describe a situation where you challenged the status quo to improve a process

Use this to illustrate the “never settle” mentality. Maybe you identified inefficiencies in code review or deployment. Detail how you persuaded others and validated the improvement. Revolut rewards proactive changemakers.

23. How have you contributed to creating a team-first environment in a previous role?

Focus on mentoring, unblocking teammates, or amplifying others’ ideas. Talk about cross-functional collaboration or celebrating wins. “Team-first” is a foundational Revolut value that distinguishes collaborative engineers.

24. Tell me about a time you received tough feedback—how did you handle it?

A strong answer shows humility and growth. Explain how you implemented changes or followed up with your manager. Reinforces your emotional maturity and adaptability. Fits well with Revolut’s fast-moving, high-accountability culture.

25. Describe a time when you had to work with someone difficult or with a conflicting style

Set up the tension, explain how you managed expectations or communication differences, and show the resolution. STAR format is key here. Shows you can thrive in diverse, global teams.

26. Give an example of a time you pushed back against an unrealistic deadline

Speak to how you balanced assertiveness and compromise. Maybe you proposed a phased rollout or reduced scope. Revolut respects engineers who can communicate boundaries while staying solution-oriented.

27. How do you ensure you’re always growing in your role and not staying stagnant?

Mention self-driven learning, stretch projects, or how you seek feedback. Aligns directly with “never settle” and taking control of your development path. Great way to end the behavioral round on a strong, growth-oriented note.

To succeed in the Revolut software engineer interview, you’ll need to go beyond coding and prepare across several key areas, including time management, system design, and communication. Here’s a focused guide to help you prepare effectively:

Master Timed Coding Rounds

Revolut’s technical interviews typically include 45-minute coding challenges designed to test your speed, logic, and problem-solving under pressure. To prepare, focus on real-world data structures and algorithms (DS&A) problems using platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank. Look for practice sets similar to those found in the Revolut Python quiz, which often emphasize arrays, strings, hash maps, and sorting. Developing consistency in both accuracy and time management is key to succeeding in this round.

Drill System Design Patterns

Even for non-senior roles, Revolut expects engineers to think in terms of scalable systems. You may be asked to design APIs, rate limiters, or message queues in a Revolut system design interview. Practice talking through trade-offs and drawing system diagrams, even if it’s just on a whiteboard or paper.

Review Past HackerRank Tests

HackerRank-style assessments are commonly used early in the process. Go back and review questions similar to those found under the Revolut HackerRank test, paying close attention to time complexity and edge cases. These tests often emphasize practical problem-solving over obscure algorithms.

Build Language-Specific Depth

Whether you’re applying with Python, Java, or another language, deepen your understanding of its nuances. For a Revolut Java interview or Revolut Python interview, prep cheat sheets that cover standard libraries, functional programming features, and concurrency patterns. Knowing your language inside out helps you code with confidence and speed.

Refine Your Communication Skills

Clear thinking and clear speaking go hand in hand during high-stakes interviews. Practice mock interviews with peers or on platforms like Interview Query to simulate LeetCode Revolut-style rounds. Getting real-time feedback not only improves your answers but also reduces interview-day nerves.

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

Does Revolut Ask a Lot of Java-Specific Questions?

If you’re applying as a Revolut Java developer, expect some Java-specific questions, especially related to concurrency, memory management, and collections. However, the majority of technical interviews focus on language-agnostic concepts like algorithms, system design, and problem solving. Knowing Java is helpful, but fluency in core data structures and patterns matters more. For backend roles, language flexibility is often valued over deep specialization.

Where Can I Practise Revolut-Style Python Quizzes?

To prepare for the Revolut Python quiz, head over to Interview Query’s Python Practice Sets that mirror the format and difficulty of actual interviews. These problems focus on string manipulation, hash maps, sorting, and logic puzzles that often appear in early screening rounds.

If you’re looking for quick review material, check out community discussions and shared Python Revolut answers that break down optimal solutions step-by-step. Practicing with time limits will help simulate the real challenge under pressure.

How Hard Is the System-Design Round Compared to Other Fintechs?

The Revolut system design interview is known for being more intense and product-driven than those at many other fintech companies. Instead of focusing solely on scalability or abstract architecture, Revolut often ties questions directly to user-facing features, like peer-to-peer payments, real-time notifications, or internal fraud monitoring systems.

Expect to justify trade-offs not just in infrastructure, but also in user experience, latency, and maintainability. Compared to other fintechs, the Revolut system design interview places more emphasis on shipping fast, making pragmatic decisions, and anticipating real-world edge cases under pressure.

Any Tips for the Android Interview Variant?

If you’re preparing for a Revolut Android interview, expect many of the same core components—coding, system design, and behavioral rounds—but tailored to mobile development. In addition to standard DS&A questions, you’ll likely be tested on mobile-specific architecture decisions, performance optimizations, and real-world UI debugging scenarios.

Be sure to brush up on Kotlin coroutines for async handling, Jetpack components (especially Navigation, ViewModel, and Compose), and best practices around modularization and dependency injection. Revolut values engineers who can think beyond the UI and design scalable mobile systems that integrate seamlessly with backend services.

The Revolut software engineer interview is designed for builders who thrive in fast-paced environments and want to see their code ship to millions within days. Whether you’re solving algorithm challenges, architecting scalable systems, or demonstrating ownership through behavioral questions, the process rewards candidates who combine technical depth with product intuition and autonomy.

To prepare effectively, study real-world coding problems, practice system design scenarios like a Revolut load balancer, and refine your answers using the STAR method for behavioral rounds.

For even deeper prep, explore the system-design and coding questions on Interview Query to see how top candidates structure their thinking under pressure.