Jackpocket is the first mobile lottery app in the U.S., offering players a secure way to order official state lottery tickets like Powerball and Mega Millions via their smartphones. By modernizing the $300B global lottery market, Jackpocket is committed to providing a more convenient and responsible way to play the lottery.

As a Software Engineer at Jackpocket, you'll join an innovative and collaborative team dedicated to scaling tech infrastructure, enhancing consumer applications, and improving operational systems. Your role will involve developing new features, optimizing systems, and ensuring system stability and growth.

If you're ready to contribute strategically to a rapidly growing company, this guide on Interview Query will help you navigate the interview process and prepare effectively for your upcoming opportunities at Jackpocket. Let’s get started!

Submitting Your Application

The first step is to submit a compelling application that reflects your technical skills and interest in joining Jackpocket as a Software Engineer. Whether you were contacted by a Jackpocket 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 Jackpocket Talent Acquisition Team will make contact and verify key details like your experiences and skill level. Behavioral questions may also be a part of the screening process.

In some cases, the Jackpocket hiring manager stays present during the screening round to answer your queries about the role and the company itself. They may also indulge 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 Jackpocket Software Engineer role usually is conducted through virtual means, including video conference and screen sharing. Questions in this 1-hour long interview stage may revolve around Jackpocket’s systems, database management, and coding challenges.

In the case of software engineering roles, technical assessments involving coding assignments, system design, and problem-solving exercises are incorporated. Apart from these, your proficiency against concepts such as multi-threading, concurrency, and building resilient systems may also be assessed during the round.

Depending on the seniority of the position, case studies and similar real-scenario problems may also be assigned.

Onsite Interview Rounds

Followed by 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 the Jackpocket office. Your technical proficiency, including programming skills and 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 Jackpocket.

Quick Tips For Jackpocket 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 Jackpocket interview include:

• Familiarize Yourself with Elixir: Given that Jackpocket values experience in Elixir, ensure you're well-versed in this language and can demonstrate your proficiency.
• Understand Event-Driven Systems: Jackpocket looks for experience with event-driven systems like RabbitMQ or Kafka. Deepen your understanding and be prepared to showcase your knowledge.
• Highlight Experience with Scalable Systems: Emphasize your experience with building and managing highly scalable systems as this is a critical aspect of the role.

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

• Write a SQL query to select the 2nd highest salary in the engineering department. Write a SQL query to select the 2nd highest salary in the engineering department. If more than one person shares the highest salary, the query should select the next highest salary.

• Write a function to merge two sorted lists into one sorted list. Given two sorted lists, write a function to merge them into one sorted list. Bonus: Determine the time complexity.

• Write a function missing_number to find the missing number in an array. You have an array of integers, nums of length n spanning 0 to n with one missing. Write a function missing_number that returns the missing number in the array. Complexity of \(O(n)\) required.

• Write a function precision_recall to calculate precision and recall metrics from a 2-D matrix. Given a 2-D matrix P of predicted values and actual values, write a function precision_recall to calculate precision and recall metrics. Return the ordered pair (precision, recall).

• Write a function to search for a target value in a rotated sorted array. Suppose an array sorted in ascending order is rotated at some pivot unknown to you beforehand. Write a function to search for a target value in the array and return its index; otherwise, return -1. Bonus: Your algorithm's runtime complexity should be in the order of \(O(\log n)\).

• Would you suspect anything unusual about the A/B test results with 20 variants? Your manager ran an A/B test with 20 different variants and found one significant result. Would you consider this result suspicious?

• How would you set up an A/B test to optimize button color and position for higher click-through rates? 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 design this test?

• What steps would you take if friend requests on Facebook are down 10%? A product manager at Facebook reports a 10% decrease in friend requests. What actions would you take to investigate and address this issue?

• Why might job applications be decreasing while job postings remain constant? You observe that the number of job postings per day has remained stable, but the number of applicants has been decreasing. What could be causing this trend?

• What are the drawbacks of the given student test score datasets, and how would you reformat them for better analysis? You have data on student test scores in two different layouts. What are the drawbacks of these formats, and what changes would you make to improve their usefulness for analysis? Additionally, describe common issues in "messy" datasets.

• Is this a fair coin? You flip a coin 10 times, and it comes up tails 8 times and heads twice. Determine if the coin is fair based on this outcome.

• Write a function to calculate sample variance. Create a function that outputs the sample variance given a list of integers. Round the result to 2 decimal places. Example: Input: test_list = [6, 7, 3, 9, 10, 15] Output: get_variance(test_list) -> 13.89

• Is there anything fishy about the A/B test results with 20 variants? Your manager ran an A/B test with 20 different variants and found one significant result. Evaluate if there is anything suspicious about these results.

• How to find the median in (O(1)) time and space for a list with a majority element? Given a sorted list of integers where more than 50% of the list is the same repeating integer, write a function to return the median value in (O(1)) computational time and space. Example: Input: li = [1,2,2] Output: median(li) -> 2

• What are the drawbacks and formatting changes needed for messy datasets? You have data on student test scores in two different layouts. Identify the drawbacks of these layouts, suggest formatting changes for better analysis, and describe common problems in "messy" datasets. Example datasets:

• How would you evaluate whether using a decision tree algorithm is the correct model for predicting loan repayment? You are tasked with building a decision tree model to predict if a borrower will pay back a personal loan. How would you evaluate if a decision tree is the right choice for this problem?

• How would you evaluate the performance of a decision tree model before and after deployment? If you decide to use a decision tree model, how would you assess its performance both before deployment and after it is in use?

• How does random forest generate the forest, and why use it over logistic regression? Explain the process by which a random forest generates its ensemble of trees. Additionally, discuss why one might choose random forest over logistic regression for certain problems.

• When would you use a bagging algorithm versus a boosting algorithm? Compare the use cases for bagging and boosting algorithms. Provide an example of the tradeoffs between the two approaches.

• How would you justify the complexity of a neural network model to non-technical stakeholders? If asked to build a neural network model to solve a business problem, how would you justify its complexity and explain its predictions to non-technical stakeholders?

• 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. What metrics would you use to monitor the model's accuracy and validity?

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

Q: What does Jackpocket do?

Jackpocket is the first mobile lottery app in the U.S. that allows players to securely order official state lottery tickets via their smartphones. We aim to modernize the $300B global lottery market by making it more convenient, fun, and responsible for everyone.

Q: What is the primary role of a Software Engineer at Jackpocket?

As a member of Jackpocket's Fulfillment Tech Team, you will scale the company's systems while working on mission-critical initiatives. This includes ensuring system stability, implementing requirements, and contributing to the architectural evolution of Jackpocket’s platform.

Q: What qualifications are Jackpocket looking for in a Software Engineer?

We seek candidates with at least 2-8 years of experience in software engineering, depending on the role. Proficiency with Elixir, SQL, event-driven systems like RabbitMQ, and experience with scalable systems are essential. A strong understanding of functional programming and architectural design principles is also required.

Q: What is the compensation range for a Software Engineer at Jackpocket?

The base compensation for software engineering roles at Jackpocket ranges from $120,000 to $190,000 per year, depending on the specific position and level of experience.

Q: How can I prepare for an interview at Jackpocket?

To prepare for an interview at Jackpocket, research the company thoroughly and practice common interview questions using Interview Query. Review your technical skills and be prepared to discuss your past experiences and how they relate to the responsibilities of the position.

Unlock your next career opportunity by exploring what Jackpocket has to offer! Dive into the innovative world of mobile lottery with a team dedicated to modernizing a $300B global market. As a Software Engineer at Jackpocket, you'll play a pivotal role in scaling cutting-edge technologies and developing engaging new features that transform the lottery experience. Whether collaborating on backend systems or enhancing frontend user experiences, you’ll be at the forefront of mission-critical initiatives. If you’re eager to join a dynamic, rapidly growing company that values creativity, responsibility, and technical excellence, this could be the perfect fit for you.

If you want more insights about the company, check out our main Jackpocket Interview Guide, where we have covered many interview questions that could be asked. We’ve also created interview guides for other roles, such as software engineer and data analyst, where you can learn more about Jackpocket’s interview process for different positions.

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 Jackpocket software engineer interview question and challenge.

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

Good luck with your interview!