Northwestern Mutual Software Engineer Interview Guide

Northwestern Mutual is a trusted financial services company with over 160 years of history in providing financial security. The firm is committed to continuous innovation and growth, investing significantly in its people and technology to meet the evolving needs of its clients and financial advisors.

This guide is tailored to help you prepare for the Software Engineer position at Northwestern Mutual. The role involves collaborating with business partners, product owners, and engineering teams to build cutting-edge software solutions. Candidates will engage in front-end and back-end development, leveraging diverse technologies such as React/Redux, Node.js, AWS, and Kubernetes.

Explore the interview process, typical questions, and valuable tips to set you on the path to joining this dynamic team. Let's get you started on your journey to becoming a part of Northwestern Mutual!

Submitting Your Application

The first step is to submit a compelling application that reflects your technical skills and interest in joining Northwestern Mutual as a Software Engineer. Whether you were contacted by a 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 is shortlisted, a recruiter from the Northwestern Mutual Talent Acquisition Team will contact you 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 hiring manager will join 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 recruiter call typically takes about 30 minutes. However, there have been instances where candidates experienced delays and had to follow up multiple times without prompt responses.

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 usually is conducted through virtual means, including video conference and screen sharing. Questions in this 1-hour long interview stage may revolve around programming basics, problem-solving skills, and your experiences detailed on your resume.

In addition to this, the interviews sometimes include specific coding challenges or take-home assignments in various programming languages.

Onsite Interview Rounds

Following the technical screening, 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 Northwestern Mutual office or through virtual means if necessary. Your technical prowess, including programming and problem-solving capabilities, will be evaluated throughout these interviews. This is also an opportunity for the company to assess your cultural fit and how well you align with their values.

If you were assigned take-home exercises, a presentation round might also await you during the onsite interview for the Software Engineer role at Northwestern Mutual.

Quick Tips For Northwestern Mutual Software Engineer Interviews

• Brush up on any technical skills and practice answering resume-based questions. A few tips for acing your Northwestern Mutual interview include:
• Know Your Basics: Be prepared to answer standard programming questions, especially in languages like Java, JavaScript, and Python. Review key concepts of cloud infrastructure, containerization, and CI/CD pipelines as these are significant in their job descriptions.
• Be Ready for Behavioral Questions: Expect to answer questions about how you've overcome challenges and solved problems in previous roles. Northwestern Mutual values cultural fit, so be prepared to demonstrate your ability to work well in a team.
• Follow Up: Be proactive about following up if you haven't received a response. Timely and polite follow-up emails can sometimes make a difference in the interview process.

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

• What would you investigate to diagnose the discrepancy between weekly active users and email notification open rates? As a data scientist on the engagement team, the weekly active users metric is up 5%, but email notification open rates are down 2%. What factors would you investigate to understand this discrepancy?

• What are the top five metrics to track the health of Google Docs? If you are working on Google Docs and a product manager asks how the product is doing, what are the top five metrics you would start tracking to understand its health?

• How would you determine if allowing third-party interactions on Instagram's messaging system is a good idea? As a data scientist for Instagram's product team, a product manager proposes allowing interactions with other platforms and third-party businesses through the messaging system. How would you evaluate whether this change is beneficial?

• 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.

• Create a function get_ngrams to return a dictionary of n-grams and their frequency in a string. Write a function get_ngrams to take in a word (string) and return a dictionary of n-grams and their frequency in the given string.

• Write a function to determine if a string is a palindrome. Given a string, write a function to determine if it is a palindrome. A palindrome reads the same forwards and backwards.

• Write a query to find users currently "Excited" and never "Bored" with a campaign. Write a query to find all users that are currently "Excited" and have never been "Bored" with a campaign.

• Write a function moving_window to find the moving window average of a list of numbers. Given a list of numbers nums and an integer window_size, write a function moving_window to find the moving window average.

• What's the probability that the second card drawn from a shuffled deck is not an Ace? You have to draw two cards from a shuffled deck, one at a time. Calculate the probability that the second card drawn is not an Ace.

• What are type I and type II errors in hypothesis testing? In the context of hypothesis testing, explain type I errors (false positives) and type II errors (false negatives). Describe the difference between the two and provide the mathematical probability of making each type of error.

• How much do you expect to pay for a sports game ticket with a 20% chance of failure? You can buy a scalped ticket for $50 with a 20% chance of not working. If it fails, you need to buy a box office ticket for $70. Calculate the expected cost and the amount of money you should set aside for the game.

• Is a coin that lands tails 8 out of 10 times fair? 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.

• What is the difference between covariance and correlation? Explain the difference between covariance and correlation. Provide an example to illustrate the distinction.

• What methods could you use to increase recall in product search results without changing the search algorithm? As a data scientist at Amazon, you want to improve the search results for product searches but cannot change the underlying logic in the search algorithm. What methods could you use to increase recall?

• What metrics would you use to track the accuracy and validity of a spam classifier model? You are tasked with building a spam classifier for emails and have built a V1 of the model. What metrics would you use to track the accuracy and validity of the model?

• How would you justify the complexity of a neural network model and explain its predictions to non-technical stakeholders? Your manager asks you to build a model with a neural network to solve a business problem. How would you justify the complexity of building such a model and explain the predictions to non-technical stakeholders?

• How would you evaluate and validate a decision tree model for predicting loan repayment? As a data scientist at a bank, you are tasked with building a decision tree model to predict if a borrower will pay back a personal loan. How would you evaluate whether using a decision tree algorithm is the correct model for the problem? How would you evaluate the performance of the model before and after deployment?

• When would you use a bagging algorithm versus a boosting algorithm? You are comparing two machine learning algorithms. In which case would you use a bagging algorithm versus a boosting algorithm? Provide an example of the tradeoffs between the two.

What is the average salary for a Software Engineer at Northwestern Mutual?

Q: What is the interview process like at Northwestern Mutual?

A: The interview process at Northwestern Mutual usually consists of multiple steps, beginning with a recruiter call that goes over your resume and basic information. This is followed by technical and behavioral interviews. You may also have a coding exam and multiple interviews with managers to evaluate your problem-solving capabilities and cultural fit.

Q: What are some typical interview questions I should expect?

A: You can expect a mix of behavioral and technical questions. Examples include: - "Tell me about a time when you solved a problem for a client." - "Why are you considering changing jobs?" - "What are your career goals for the next 5 years?" - Technical questions can range from Java and microservices to SQL and cloud computing.

Q: How does Northwestern Mutual emphasize cultural fit during the interview?

A: Northwestern Mutual places a significant emphasis on ensuring candidates are a cultural fit. Many interview stages involve behavioral questions designed to understand how you’ve handled past situations and how you align with the company’s values. Expect questions about teamwork, problem-solving, and your motivation for joining.

Q: What technical skills are important for the Software Engineer position at Northwestern Mutual?

A: Key technical skills include experience with JavaScript, NodeJS, Java, SQL, React, and various cloud platforms like AWS and Azure. Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines, unit testing, and container technologies like Docker and Kubernetes are also important.

Q: How can I best prepare for the technical interviews at Northwestern Mutual?

A: To prepare for the technical interviews, focus on mastering the skills listed in the job description such as Java, NodeJS, React, and SQL. Also, practice coding problems and review your past projects and experiences. Interview Query is a great resource for practicing interview questions and brushing up on key technical skills.

If you are aiming to become a Software Engineer at Northwestern Mutual, it's important to grasp both the company's expectations and the interview experience of other applicants. While some candidates have remarked on the occasionally slow and professional nature of the interview process, it's evident that Northwestern Mutual is deeply invested in finding candidates who align with its cultural values and technical requirements. Interview stages can range from initial standard questions about your resume to more in-depth technical and behavioral rounds involving coding exams, problem-solving discussions, and interaction with multiple managers and team members.

Northwestern Mutual's commitment to innovation and investment in its employees shines through in its comprehensive job posts, detailing the wide range of technologies you may work with and the supportive, growth-oriented environment you'd find yourself in. The company cultivates a blend of professional guidance, generous benefits, and a flexible working schedule, ensuring you have the tools and support to succeed.

For a deep dive into what to expect and how to prepare, explore our extensive Northwestern Mutual Interview Guide on Interview Query. Discover detailed interview questions, insights from other roles such as data analysts, and strategic guidance tailored to help you excel in your pursuit of a position at this industry-leading company. At Interview Query, we empower you with the resources to navigate and conquer your Northwestern Mutual interview challenges efficiently.

Good luck with your interview journey!