Delivery Hero Software Engineer Interview Questions + Guide in 2025

Delivery Hero is the world’s leading local delivery platform, dedicated to delivering a seamless experience to customers across a multitude of services and products around the globe.

As a Software Engineer at Delivery Hero, you will be tasked with designing, developing, and maintaining large-scale systems that support the company's expansive range of services. Your primary responsibilities will include crafting reliable and scalable applications, implementing cutting-edge solutions in a fast-paced environment, and ensuring the visibility of system KPIs through meaningful metrics and dashboards. You will work closely with cross-functional teams, collaborating on technical visions and strategies, and participating actively in code reviews and application debugging.

To excel in this role, you will need a deep understanding of JVM-based technologies, proficiency in algorithms, and experience in designing complex microservices architectures. Your ability to mentor and guide other engineers, along with your strong communication skills, will be key in promoting engineering excellence and driving technological improvements. Additionally, your familiarity with containerization, event-driven topologies, and the principles of agile development will enable you to contribute effectively to a dynamic and innovative team.

This guide aims to provide you with a focused approach to prepare for your Software Engineer interview at Delivery Hero, emphasizing the skills and knowledge areas that will set you apart as a candidate.

The interview process for a Software Engineer at Delivery Hero is structured to assess both technical skills and cultural fit within the company. It typically consists of several rounds, each designed to evaluate different aspects of your capabilities and experiences.

1. Initial HR Interview

The process begins with a phone interview with an HR representative. This conversation is generally friendly and informative, focusing on your background, skills, and motivations for applying to Delivery Hero. The HR representative will also provide insights into the company culture and the specifics of the role, including any limitations such as remote work policies.

2. Technical Interview

Following the HR interview, candidates typically participate in a technical interview. This may involve a live coding challenge where you will be asked to solve problems using a web-based IDE. The focus will be on your coding skills, understanding of algorithms, and ability to write clean, efficient code. You may also be asked to discuss time complexity and type annotations, so be prepared to articulate your thought process clearly.

3. System Design Interview

For more senior positions, a system design interview is included. In this round, you will be tasked with designing a system or architecture that meets specific requirements. This is an opportunity to showcase your understanding of large-scale systems, microservices architecture, and your ability to think critically about design patterns and software architecture.

4. Interview with the Hiring Manager

Next, you will meet with the hiring manager, who will delve deeper into your technical expertise and how it aligns with the team's needs. This interview may include discussions about your previous projects, your approach to problem-solving, and how you can contribute to the team's goals.

5. Bar Raiser Interview

The final round often includes a bar raiser interview, which is conducted by a member of an unrelated team. This interview typically involves another coding challenge, but it may also include behavioral questions to assess your fit within the broader company culture. The bar raiser is tasked with ensuring that the candidate meets the high standards set by Delivery Hero.

Throughout the interview process, candidates should be prepared for a mix of technical and behavioral questions, as well as live coding exercises that test their problem-solving abilities in real-time.

Now, let's explore the types of questions you might encounter during these interviews.

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

Understand the Interview Process

Delivery Hero's interview process typically consists of several rounds, including an HR interview, technical coding challenges, and interviews with senior developers and engineering managers. Familiarize yourself with this structure so you can prepare accordingly. Be ready for a bar raiser interview, which may involve coding challenges from a member of an unrelated team. This is an opportunity to showcase your problem-solving skills and adaptability.

Prepare for Live Coding Challenges

During the technical interviews, you will likely face live coding problems. Practice coding in a collaborative environment, as you may be using a web IDE with autocomplete features. Focus on algorithms and data structures, as these are crucial for solving problems efficiently. Make sure to articulate your thought process clearly while coding, as communication is key in these scenarios.

Brush Up on Relevant Technologies

Given the emphasis on JVM-based technologies and algorithms, ensure you have a solid understanding of these areas. Review design patterns, software architecture principles, and algorithms. If you have experience with Golang, Kafka Streaming, or microservices architecture, be prepared to discuss these topics in detail, as they are highly relevant to the role.

Emphasize Problem-Solving Skills

Delivery Hero values creative problem solvers. Be ready to discuss past experiences where you successfully tackled engineering challenges. Use the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method to structure your responses, highlighting your analytical thinking and ability to deliver solutions under pressure.

Showcase Your Team Collaboration Skills

Collaboration is a significant aspect of the company culture at Delivery Hero. Be prepared to discuss how you have worked effectively in teams, mentored others, or contributed to group projects. Highlight your communication skills and your ability to work in diverse, cross-cultural teams, as this aligns with the company's values.

Align with Company Values

Familiarize yourself with Delivery Hero's mission and values, particularly their commitment to diversity and inclusion. Be prepared to discuss how your personal values align with the company's culture. This will demonstrate your genuine interest in being part of their team and your understanding of their workplace environment.

Ask Insightful Questions

Prepare thoughtful questions to ask your interviewers. Inquire about the team dynamics, ongoing projects, or the technologies they are currently exploring. This not only shows your interest in the role but also helps you assess if the company is the right fit for you.

By following these tips and preparing thoroughly, you will position yourself as a strong candidate for the Software Engineer role at Delivery Hero. Good luck!

In this section, we’ll review the various interview questions that might be asked during a Software Engineer interview at Delivery Hero. The interview process will likely focus on your technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and your experience with software development methodologies. Be prepared to discuss your past projects, coding practices, and how you approach system design.

Technical Skills

1. Can you explain the principles of object-oriented programming and how you have applied them in your projects?

Understanding object-oriented programming (OOP) is crucial for software development. They want to see if you can apply these principles effectively in real-world scenarios.

How to Answer

Discuss the four main principles of OOP: encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism, and abstraction. Provide examples from your experience where you utilized these principles to solve problems or improve code maintainability.

Example

“In my last project, I used encapsulation to hide the internal state of objects and expose only necessary methods. This not only improved security but also made the code easier to maintain. For instance, I created a user class that encapsulated user data and provided methods for data access, ensuring that the internal representation was not exposed directly.”

2. Describe a challenging bug you encountered in your code and how you resolved it.

This question assesses your problem-solving skills and your approach to debugging.

How to Answer

Choose a specific example that highlights your analytical skills. Explain the steps you took to identify the bug, the tools you used, and how you ultimately resolved the issue.

Example

“I once faced a memory leak issue in a Java application. I used profiling tools to monitor memory usage and identified that certain objects were not being garbage collected. After analyzing the code, I found that I had inadvertently created circular references. I refactored the code to eliminate these references, which resolved the memory leak.”

3. How do you ensure the quality of your code?

Quality assurance is vital in software development, and they want to know your strategies for maintaining high standards.

How to Answer

Discuss your practices for writing clean code, conducting code reviews, and implementing automated testing. Mention any specific tools or methodologies you use.

Example

“I follow best practices for writing clean code, such as adhering to naming conventions and keeping functions small and focused. I also conduct regular code reviews with my team to catch potential issues early. Additionally, I implement unit tests and integration tests using frameworks like JUnit to ensure that my code behaves as expected.”

System Design

4. Can you walk us through your approach to designing a scalable microservices architecture?

This question evaluates your understanding of system design and scalability.

How to Answer

Outline the key considerations for designing microservices, such as service boundaries, data management, and communication protocols. Discuss how you would ensure scalability and reliability.

Example

“When designing a microservices architecture, I start by identifying the core functionalities and defining clear service boundaries. I use RESTful APIs for communication between services and implement a service registry for service discovery. To ensure scalability, I leverage containerization with Docker and orchestration tools like Kubernetes, allowing services to scale independently based on demand.”

5. What strategies do you use for monitoring and maintaining system performance?

Monitoring is essential for maintaining system health, and they want to know your approach.

How to Answer

Discuss the tools and metrics you use to monitor performance, as well as how you respond to performance issues.

Example

“I use tools like Prometheus and Grafana to monitor system performance metrics such as response times and error rates. I set up alerts for any anomalies, allowing me to respond quickly to potential issues. Additionally, I regularly review logs and performance data to identify bottlenecks and optimize the system proactively.”

Algorithms and Data Structures

6. How do you approach solving algorithmic problems?

This question assesses your problem-solving methodology and understanding of algorithms.

How to Answer

Explain your thought process when tackling algorithmic challenges, including how you break down problems and optimize solutions.

Example

“When faced with an algorithmic problem, I first clarify the requirements and constraints. I then break the problem down into smaller parts and consider different approaches. I often start with a brute-force solution to understand the problem better, then optimize it by analyzing time and space complexity. For example, when solving a sorting problem, I might start with bubble sort and then switch to quicksort for better efficiency.”

7. Can you discuss a time when you had to optimize an existing algorithm?

This question evaluates your ability to improve performance.

How to Answer

Provide a specific example where you identified an inefficiency in an algorithm and the steps you took to optimize it.

Example

“I worked on a project where we had a search algorithm that was running in O(n^2) time complexity. I analyzed the algorithm and realized that we could use a hash table to store previously computed results. By changing the approach to a hash-based search, I reduced the time complexity to O(n), significantly improving performance.”

Behavioral Questions

8. How do you handle conflicts within a team?

This question assesses your interpersonal skills and ability to work collaboratively.

How to Answer

Discuss your approach to conflict resolution, emphasizing communication and collaboration.

Example

“When conflicts arise, I believe in addressing them directly and openly. I encourage team members to express their viewpoints and facilitate a discussion to find common ground. For instance, during a project, two team members had differing opinions on the implementation approach. I organized a meeting where we could discuss the pros and cons of each approach, leading to a consensus that combined the best elements of both ideas.”

9. Why do you want to work at Delivery Hero?

This question gauges your motivation and alignment with the company’s values.

How to Answer

Express your enthusiasm for the company’s mission and how your skills align with their goals.

Example

“I am excited about the opportunity to work at Delivery Hero because of its commitment to innovation in the delivery industry. I admire the company’s focus on leveraging technology to enhance customer experience. My background in building scalable systems aligns well with your mission, and I am eager to contribute to projects that have a meaningful impact on users globally.”