Coursera Software Engineer Interview Questions + Guide in 2024

Coursera is a leading global online learning platform dedicated to providing universal access to top-notch education. With over 118 million registered learners and partnerships with 300 prestigious universities and industry leaders like Google, IBM, and Duke University, Coursera offers diverse content ranging from courses and specializations to professional certificates and degree programs.

As a Software Engineer at Coursera, you will typically own the continuous integration and deployment processes. The role involves designing scalable systems, conducting A/B testing, monitoring APIs, and ensuring productivity tools for the engineering team. Their ideal candidates have expertise in Java, Spring, GraphQL, and other relevant technologies, with comfort for working in fast-paced environments following CI/CD practices.

For more preparation, delve into Interview Query’s resources to tackle the commonly asked Coursera software engineer interview questions, including coding challenges and behavioral questions typically encountered in the interview process.

The interview process usually depends on the role and seniority; however, you can expect the following on a Coursera software engineer interview:

Recruiter/Hiring Manager Call Screening

If your CV is among the shortlisted few, a recruiter from the Coursera Talent Acquisition Team will contact you and verify key details like your experiences and skill level. Behavioral questions, such as “Why do you want to work here?” and “What do you know about Coursera?” may also be part of the screening process.

In some cases, the hiring manager might also be present during the screening round to answer your questions about the role and the company. They may also indulge in surface-level technical and behavioral discussions.

The whole recruiter call should take about 30 minutes.

Initial Coding Challenge

After the initial recruiter call, you will receive a take-home coding challenge. The challenge typically involves algorithm and data structure problems that you might encounter on platforms like Interview Query. You have a significant amount of time to solve these problems, usually 24 hours to a weekend.

These coding challenges often include problems such as medium-level Leetcode questions and can vary from array manipulation tasks to designing system components like an election algorithm or a content sourcing system.

Technical Virtual Interview

Passing the initial coding challenge will present you with an invitation for the technical screening round. This round usually involves a video conference where you will tackle practical problems. The interviewer might not be too concerned about the time/space complexity but is looking for a practical, deployable solution.

Expect medium-level questions, often based on Leetcode. You might also be asked how to improve the implemented algorithms and to perform tasks like converting JSON to a dictionary and vice-versa.

Onsite Interview Rounds

If you advance past the technical virtual interview, you’ll be invited to attend multiple onsite interview rounds. This part of the process typically includes:

• A whiteboard coding session focused on algorithms, data structures, and system design.
• Additional technical interviews to assess your coding skills with live problem-solving.
• Behavioral interviews focusing on your past experiences and motivation to join Coursera.
• A potential system design interview where you may need to build scalable systems or implement features like a voting system.

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

1. Create a function find_bigrams to return a list of all bigrams in a sentence.

Write a function called find_bigrams that takes a sentence or paragraph of strings and returns a list of all its bigrams in order. A bigram is a pair of consecutive words.

2. Write a query to get the last transaction for each day from a table of bank transactions.

Given a table of bank transactions with columns id, transaction_value, and created_at, write a query to get the last transaction for each day. The output should include the id, datetime, and transaction amount, ordered by datetime.

3. Create a function find_change to find the minimum number of coins for a given amount.

Write a function find_change to find the minimum number of coins that make up the given amount of change cents. Assume we only have coins of value 1, 5, 10, and 25 cents.

4. Write a function to simulate drawing balls from a jar based on their counts.

Write a function to simulate drawing balls from a jar. The colors of the balls are stored in a list named jar, with corresponding counts of the balls stored in the same index in a list called n_balls.

5. Create a function calculate_rmse to compute the root mean squared error.

Write a function calculate_rmse to calculate the root mean squared error of a regression model. The function should take in two lists, one representing the predictions y_pred and another with the target values y_true.

6. How would you set up an A/B test for button color and position changes?

A team wants to A/B test changes in a sign-up funnel, such as changing a button from red to blue and/or moving it from the top to the bottom of the page. How would you set up this test?

7. Would you suspect anything unusual about an A/B test with 20 variants and one significant result?

Your manager ran an A/B test with 20 different variants and found one significant result. Would you think there was anything fishy about the results?

8. Why might the average number of comments per user decrease despite user growth?

A social media company launched in a new city and saw a slow decrease in the average number of comments per user from January to March, despite consistent user growth. What are some reasons for this decrease, and what metrics would you look into?

9. What metrics would you use to determine the value of marketing channels for Mode?

Given all the different marketing channels and their respective costs at Mode, a company selling B2B analytics dashboards, what metrics would you use to determine the value of each marketing channel?

10. How would you find the mouse in a 4x4 grid using the fewest scans?

You have a 4x4 grid with a mouse trapped in one of the cells. You can “scan” subsets of cells to know if the mouse is within that subset. How would you figure out where the mouse is using the fewest number of scans?

11. What is the expected number of good ads rated by different types of raters?

1. Suppose we have 100 raters each rating one ad independently. What’s the expected number of good ads?
2. Now suppose we have 1 rater rating 100 ads. What’s the expected number of good ads?
3. Suppose we have 1 ad, rated as bad. What’s the probability the rater was lazy?

12. Write a function to simulate coin tosses with a given probability of heads.

Create a function that takes the number of tosses and the probability of heads as input and returns a list of randomly generated results (‘H’ for heads, ’T’ for tails).

Example 1:

tosses = 5
probability_of_heads = 0.6

Output:

coin_toss(tosses, probability_of_heads) -> ['H', 'T', 'H', 'H', 'T']

Example 2:

tosses = 3
probability_of_heads = 0.2

Output:

coin_toss(tosses, probability_of_heads) -> ['T', 'T', 'T']

13. Write a function to calculate the sample variance of a list of integers.

Create a function that takes a list of integers and returns the sample variance, rounded to 2 decimal places.

Example:

test_list = [6, 7, 3, 9, 10, 15]

Output:

get_variance(test_list) -> 13.89

14. What is the probability of rolling at least one 3 with dice?

1. What’s the probability of rolling at least one 3 with 2 dice?
2. What’s the probability of rolling at least one 3 given N dice?

15. What is the probability of finding an item on Amazon’s website given its availability in warehouses?

Given that the probability of item X being available at warehouse A is 0.6 and at warehouse B is 0.8, what is the probability that item X would be found on Amazon’s website?

16. How would you measure the difference between two credit risk models?

Given that personal loans are monthly installments, how would you compare the performance of two credit risk models over a specific timeframe?

17. What metrics would you track to measure the success of a new credit risk model?

Identify the key metrics to track to measure the success of a new credit risk model for personal loans.

18. What metrics would you use to track the accuracy and validity of a spam classifier model?

Assume you have built a V1 of a spam classifier for emails. Specify the metrics you would use to evaluate its accuracy and validity.

19. What are the key differences between classification models and regression models?

Explain the main differences between classification models and regression models.

20. When would you use a bagging algorithm versus a boosting algorithm?

Compare two machine learning algorithms and provide an example of the tradeoffs between using a bagging algorithm and a boosting algorithm.

21. What would happen when you run logistic regression on perfectly linearly separable data?

Describe the outcome of running logistic regression on a dataset that is perfectly linearly separable.

What is the average salary for a Software Engineer at Coursera?

How can I best prepare for the coding challenges and technical interviews?

To prepare effectively:

• Practice medium-level coding problems on platforms like Interview Query.
• Review fundamental algorithms and data structures.
• Brush up on system design principles and practice designing scalable systems.
• Get familiar with past experiences of Coursera interviews to know what specific areas might be tested.

What is the focus of the behavioral interview at Coursera?

The behavioral interview usually explores your motivations for joining Coursera, your past work experiences, and how you handle various work situations. Common questions include “Why Coursera?” and “What interesting projects have you worked on?” Be prepared to align your answers with Coursera’s mission and values.

Does Coursera provide feedback if I don’t move forward after an interview?

Many candidates have reported a lack of feedback post-interview. While this isn’t always the case, it’s a good idea to manage your expectations and focus on areas you can improve independently based on the interview experience.

Explore more about Coursera’s interview process and see how you can ace your interviews by checking our comprehensive Coursera Interview Guide. Dive into potential interview questions, gain key insights, and boost your preparation for roles such as software engineer.

With Interview Query, conquer each challenge with strategic guidance, boosting your knowledge and confidence throughout the process. Check out more company interview guides and feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Good luck with your interview!