American Airlines: Software Engineer Interview Guide

American Airlines is a global airline leader, providing comprehensive travel experiences to over 365 destinations with a commitment to operational excellence and customer satisfaction. The DFW-headquartered company is renowned for its dynamic work environment and robust career advancement opportunities.

As a Software Engineer at American Airlines, you will be part of the Governance as a Service product within the Cloud & Engineering Platforms organization. The role focuses on cloud governance, best practices in service management, and infrastructure automation, primarily within AWS or other cloud environments. Key skills include expertise in Python, cloud computing, DevOps, Agile methodologies, and CI/CD pipelines.

In this Interview Query guide, you’ll find insights into the interview process for the Software Engineer position at American Airlines, including the types of technical and behavioral questions you might encounter. Let’s dive in and help you prepare for your journey with American Airlines!

Submitting Your Application

The first step is to submit a compelling application that reflects your technical skills and interest in joining American Airlines as a Software Engineer. Whether you were contacted by an American Airlines recruiter or have taken the initiative yourself, carefully review the job description and tailor your CV according to the prerequisites.

Tailoring your CV may include identifying specific keywords that the hiring manager might use to filter resumes and crafting a targeted cover letter. Furthermore, don’t forget to highlight relevant skills and mention your work experiences.

Recruiter/Hiring Manager Call Screening

If your CV happens to be among the shortlisted few, a recruiter from the American Airlines Talent Acquisition Team will make contact and verify key details like your experiences and skill levels. Behavioral questions may also be a part of the screening process.

In some cases, the American Airlines software engineer hiring manager stays present during the screening round to answer your queries about the role and the company itself. They may also engage in surface-level technical and behavioral discussions.

The whole recruiter call should take about 30 minutes.

Technical Virtual Interview

Successfully navigating the recruiter round will present you with an invitation for the technical screening round. Technical screening for the software engineer role at American Airlines usually is conducted through virtual means, including video conference and screen sharing. Questions in this 1-hour long interview stage may revolve around object-oriented programming principles, data structures, and algorithms.

In the case of software engineering roles, coding challenges are common and may be conducted through shared online environments. Be prepared for technical problem-solving exercises that test your ability to write and debug code in real-time.

Onsite Interview Rounds

Following a second recruiter call outlining the next stage, you’ll be invited to attend the onsite interview loop. Multiple interview rounds, varying with the role, will be conducted during your day at American Airlines. Your technical prowess, including programming and system design capabilities, will be evaluated against the finalized candidates throughout these interviews.

If you were assigned take-home exercises, a presentation round may also await you during the onsite interview for the software engineer role at American Airlines.

Example of Interview Questions

Behavioral Questions: - How do you handle stress? - Tell me about a difficult project you had. - How do you deal with conflict with a coworker?

Technical Questions: - Design a program using OOP principles. - Solve a coding prompt they give you. - Write pseudo code to print out the Fibonacci sequence.

Quick Tips For American Airlines Software Engineer Interviews

You should plan to brush up on any technical skills and try as many practice interview questions and mock interviews as possible. A few tips for acing your American Airlines interview include:

• Be Thorough with OOP Principles: Many technical questions revolve around object-oriented programming principles. Ensure you understand and can articulate concepts such as inheritance, polymorphism, and encapsulation.
• Prepare for a Coding Challenge: Expect to solve coding problems using shared online environments or paired programming formats. Practice common algorithms and data structures.
• Showcase Your Problem-Solving Skills: During technical rounds, interviewers may challenge your design decisions. Be prepared to justify your approach and demonstrate your problem-solving abilities.

Typically, interviews at American Airlines vary by role and team, but commonly Software Engineer interviews follow a fairly standardized process across these question topics.

• Write a function knn to find the nearest data point to a given query point using Euclidean distance. Write a function knn which returns the nearest data point from a list of data points to a given query point. Use Euclidean distance as the similarity measure. For this task, consider ( k=1 ), meaning you only need to find the single closest data point. External libraries such as numpy and scikit-learn are not allowed.

• What factors could have biased Jetco's study on boarding times, and what would you investigate? Jetco's study showed the fastest average boarding times among airlines. Identify potential biases in the study and specify what factors you would investigate to validate the results.

• How would you design an incentive scheme for Uber drivers to target high-demand city areas? You are working on the Uber app. Design an incentive scheme that encourages drivers to operate in city areas where demand is high.

• How would you explain neural networks to kindergarten kids? You are invited to your kid's kindergarten, and the children ask about your work as a machine learning engineer. How would you explain neural networks to them in a simple and engaging way?

• Write a function knn which returns the nearest data point from a list of data points to a given query point. Use Euclidean distance as the similarity measure. For the purpose of this task, consider the scenario where ( k=1 ), meaning you only need to find the single closest data point.

Note: Using external libraries such as numpy and scikit-learn is not allowed.

Example:

Input:

```python data_points = [ [1, 2, 3], [4, 5, 6], [7, 8, 9] ]

querying_point = [1, 9, 7] ```

Output: python def knn(data_point: List[List[float]], query_point: List[float]) -> [4, 5, 6]

What is the average salary for a Software Engineer at American Airlines?

Q: What is the interview process at American Airlines like for a Software Engineer position? The interview process typically involves multiple stages, including an initial recruiter call, a behavioral interview, a technical interview, and then a panel interview. You might also go through a coding challenge and pair programming session. Be prepared to discuss your technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and past experiences.

Q: What kinds of technical skills and experience does American Airlines look for in a Software Engineer? American Airlines values experience with cloud computing (AWS or Azure), proficiency in programming languages like Python, and familiarity with DevOps and Agile methodologies such as SCRUM or Kanban. Skills in CI/CD, Kubernetes, and containerization are also desirable.

Q: How can I prepare for the technical interview at American Airlines? To prepare for the technical interview, you should practice common coding problems, review your understanding of object-oriented programming principles, and brush up on data structures and algorithms. Platforms like Interview Query can help you with relevant practice problems and mock interviews.

Q: What is the company culture like at American Airlines? American Airlines promotes a culture of inclusion and diversity, providing a dynamic work environment that values creativity and collaboration. The company supports continuous learning and growth, encouraging employees to bring their full selves to work and contribute to the company's success.

Q: What are some benefits of working at American Airlines? Employees at American Airlines enjoy a range of benefits, including travel perks, health benefits from day one, wellness programs, and a 401(k) program with employer contributions. Additional benefits include pet insurance, discounts on travel, and other amenities aimed at supporting your overall wellbeing and work-life balance.

Conclusion

Landing a Software Engineer position at American Airlines is a challenging but rewarding journey. The interview process is multifaceted, encompassing technical, behavioral, and situational questions to gauge your problem-solving skills and fit within the company culture. Despite the rigorous process, American Airlines offers an inclusive environment and extensive benefits, making it a desirable place to grow your career and explore new opportunities.

To get a leg up on your preparation, check out our main American Airlines Interview Guide, where we have covered many interview questions that could be asked. We’ve also created interview guides for specific roles you might be interested in, such as software engineer.

At Interview Query, we empower you to unlock your interview prowess with a comprehensive toolkit, equipping you with the knowledge, confidence, and strategic guidance to conquer every American Airlines interview question and challenge.

You can check out all our company interview guides for better preparation. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

Good luck with your interview!