Top 12 Paypal Software Engineer Interview Questions + Guide in 2024

PayPal has been the face of online money transfers since 1999, and a member of the Fortune 500 since 2016. This fintech company relies on software engineers to maintain their current success, and to develop new solutions for emerging opportunities.

The company’s high profile and strong employee benefits make PayPal a dream destination for software engineers. Many applicants, however, don’t make it far into the interview process. This guide can help you avoid this fate.

The information below will help you get familiar with the interview process, as well as the type of Paypal software engineer interview questions you may face when you apply for a Software Engineer position at PayPal.

The typical interview process for a software engineering job at PayPal comprises the five steps discussed below. However, some candidates may have different experiences, e.g., multiple interview rounds in one session. The process can last anywhere from a few days to over a month.

Application

You can apply directly when the company advertises an open software engineering position, or you can be contacted by an internal recruiter on platforms like LinkedIn or email. Some applicants may also be referred by existing employees at PayPal.

Online Assessment

This assessment will be on a platform such as Hackerrank or Karat. Candidates are given two or three questions, which they must complete within a set amount of time, typically one hour.

Phone Screening

Some candidates for software engineering positions at PayPal have had a phone screening early on. This screening is conducted to assess personality, behavior, and cultural fit.

Technical Interview (1 - 2 Rounds)

Technical interviews are used to test candidates’ coding skills, problem-solving abilities, and other technical job requirements. Expect questions on data structures and algorithms. You may also be given a problem statement and asked to code a solution. The interview may be either virtual or onsite.

Hiring Manager Interview

During this interview round, mostly behavioral and culture fit questions will be asked. Prepare to answer questions on previous roles, projects, motivations, salary expectations, and the information from your resume. Some technical questions may be asked during this interview as well.

1. Why do you want to work at PayPal?

The hiring managers will ask this question to establish your motivations for wanting to join the company, and whether your expectations for the Software Engineer position align with the role at PayPal.

How to Answer

Take this opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge of PayPal as a company, and of the software engineering role specifically. Talk about what you like about the role, how it aligns with your career goals, and how the company culture aligns with your values.

Example

“I once worked part-time in retail and I know the importance of having the right payment solutions. PayPal is that solution for many businesses today, to the tune of six billion transactions per quarter. This role will allow me to play a part in helping businesses solve the challenges they face when they need to get paid. I’ve also heard positive things about the work culture here and how the company prioritizes employees’ physical and mental well-being.”

2. What are closures in JavaScript?

This question tests your knowledge of coding using JavaScript. This is a necessary skill for Software Engineers at PayPal.

How to Answer

Define what closures are in the context of JavaScript and explain their importance.

Example

“Closures are used in JavaScript to enable inner functions to access the scope of an outer function. Closures are important because they ensure that JS functions can access all the data they need.”

3. Tell me a bit about your most recent job experience.

Interviewers ask this question to test how well your past experiences have prepared you for the software engineering role at Paypal.

How to Answer

Talk about the projects and responsibilities you’ve had in the past, focusing on the experiences that are relevant to the Software Engineer position. Show how these experiences align with the role at PayPal.

Example

“For the past year, I’ve been working as a junior Software Engineer at Bermuda Capital. I worked with the cyber security team to keep user data safe and identify gaps in the existing infrastructure that malicious actors could exploit. One of my key achievements was identifying a vulnerability introduced by the use of a deprecated software package.”

4. Are you actively interviewing with other companies?

This question can be asked during your Paypal Software Engineer interview because interviewers want to know if you’re genuinely interested in the role and industry, and also whether they need to move up their recruitment timeline in case there’s competition.

How to Answer

Answer the question honestly without oversharing. If possible, point out the common factors that made you consider both companies. Let the interviewers know why working for PayPal is a serious consideration for you.

Example

“I’m currently interviewing with one other fintech company. I was interested in both roles because they involve the development of new features to facilitate the use of AI. The role here at PayPal is exciting for me because it will give me opportunities to assume leadership roles on some projects, and I’ll have some of the best engineers contributing to my ideas.”

5. Why would you use a MySQL database over other options?

Software Engineers at PayPal will have multiple tools available to them. Hiring managers will want to know whether you employ a sensible system when picking one tool and excluding others.

How to Answer

Demonstrate that you were aware there were other options you could have worked with, but chose to work with a specific tool because it afforded some specific advantage. Avoid making negative comments about the alternatives you didn’t choose.

Example

“The company I’m working for is a non-profit. It was important to choose a DBMS that was secure and reliable, but also affordable due to the company’s limited funding.”

6. How do you make a class immutable in Java?

A hiring manager will ask this question to test your knowledge of the Java programming language, an important asset for a Software Engineer at PayPal.

How to Answer

State the general principles you would follow when coding, to ensure the contents of a class can’t be changed after it has been created.

Example

“I’d declare the class as final to ensure it can’t be extended. All fields would be private and made final, and no setter methods would be provided for any variable. Fields would only be initialized by a constructor performing a deep copy, and only cloned copies of objects would be returned.”

7. What is a data structure?

This question tests your knowledge of data structures, an important skill for a Software Engineer at Paypal, where efficient problem solving will be needed to solve complex issues.

How to Answer

Explain what data structures are and why they play an important role in the work done by software engineers.

Example

“Data structures are unique systems used to organize, process, retrieve, and store data. They are designed to improve the efficiency of these operations. A data structure is chosen based on its suitability for a specific type of task.”

8. What new ideas would you bring to PayPal from your experience?

An interviewer may ask this question to see if you have interesting ideas that would make you more of an asset to PayPal in your software engineering role.

How to Answer

Give an example of something that you figured out that helped to improve one or more aspects of your work. Ensure that it is an idea that solves a problem that is relevant to PayPal and the software engineering position.

Example

“Software engineering can be a highly stressful job. I started meditating after a few years as a software engineer and I found that this practice helped me to cope better during high-stress moments at work. I introduced some colleagues to the practice and a few continue meditating to this day.”

9. How can you ensure your code meets the coding standards of PayPal?

This type of question is asked to test if it will be easy for you to adopt the working standards used by other Software Engineers at PayPal.

How to Answer

Explain what standards you currently use when coding and why you adopted them, but show that you’re willing to make the necessary changes to align your coding practices with the team’s.

Example

“I currently follow software-specific coding conventions with minor changes necessitated by the industry I work in. When I had to adopt a new coding standard in the past, I went through the guidelines provided by the team and also evaluated existing code from team members. I trust these methods, plus a linter on my IDE, would help me to adopt the coding standards at PayPal too.”

10. Are you familiar with build systems?

This question tests your understanding of build systems and their importance to your work as a software engineer. The software engineers behind complex software systems like PayPal need such solutions to make their jobs easier.

How to Answer

Explain what build systems are and, perhaps, an example of where you have used a build system in the past.

Example

“Build systems transform the source code into executable binaries. They are a vital part of large software systems where attaining different outputs can require very different lengthy processes. At my previous job, we used the Apache Ant software for this purpose.”

11. Given a string, write a function to determine if it is palindrome or not.

This type of question is asked to test your understanding of basic algorithmic concepts and your ability to implement them in code.

How to Answer

Describe your approach to solving algorithmic problems and highlight your understanding of the specific problem at hand. Emphasize your ability to write clear, efficient, and correct code, and show how you ensure the correctness of your solutions through testing and validation.

Example

“To determine if a word is a palindrome, I typically use a two-pointer approach where one pointer starts at the beginning of the string and the other at the end. By comparing characters at these positions and moving the pointers towards the center, I can efficiently check for palindrome properties. For example, the function is_palindrome starts by initializing two pointers and then iterates through the string, comparing corresponding characters. If any mismatch is found, the function returns False. If no mismatches are found, the function returns True. This approach ensures that the solution is both efficient and easy to understand.”

12. Given two sorted lists, write a function to merge them into one sorted list.

This question tests your understanding of algorithm design, specifically merging sorted lists, and your ability to implement efficient solutions in code. In data science interviews, demonstrating your grasp of algorithms and time complexity is crucial.

How to Answer

Explain the algorithmic approach you would take to merge two sorted lists and the associated time complexity. Highlight your understanding of the process, such as using the merge function of merge sort, and provide a clear explanation of the steps involved.

Example

“To merge two sorted lists, I use a method that efficiently combines them into a single sorted list. This involves initializing two pointers at the beginning of each list and an empty list to store the merged results. By comparing the elements at the pointers and appending the smaller element to the result list, we ensure the merged list remains sorted. The time complexity of this approach is O(n1 + n2), where n1 and n2 are the sizes of the input lists. For example, the function merge_list traverses both input lists, appending the smaller elements to the merged list until all elements from both lists are included.”

Making the right preparations for your software engineering interview at PayPal is a great way to set yourself up for success. Try the steps below before the big day rolls around.

Get Familiar With the Company and the Specifics of the Role

Answering interview questions will be easier if you’re familiar with PayPal as a company, as well as the specifics of the role you’re applying for. You’ll be able to tailor your responses to show how you are a good match for both the role and the company.

Interview Query’s community on Slack can help you find out more about the role of Software Engineers at a company like PayPal.

Do Practice Questions

Software engineering practice questions will familiarize you with the types of questions you can expect to be asked during your PayPal interview.

You can try out many questions on Interview Query that software engineers are typically asked, including some tailored to software engineering roles at PayPal.

Have A Few Examples Ready

Having relevant examples from your experience helps when answering scenario-based questions. These examples add context and help to showcase your skills and experience to interviewers.

Interview Query gives you access to coaching services where you can be assisted in identifying great examples that you can use during your PayPal Software Engineer interview.

Try a Few Mock Interview Sessions

The dynamics of an interview can throw off even the most experienced candidates. Mock interviews can help you craft better responses and boost your confidence too.

Are you interested in finding out what it’s like to interview for other roles at PayPal? Check out our main PayPal Interview Guide. You can also find other interview guides for specific positions at PayPal including data analyst and machine learning engineer.

If you want to craft a resume that’s even better for the role, try out some project ideas from our ‘15 Impressive Python Projects for Your Resume That You Can Use.’ Our extensive list of software engineering questions and solutions can also help with your interview preparation.

For software engineers who love fintech, getting a job at PayPal would be a landmark achievement. At Interview Query, we hope both this guide and our other resources can help you hit this milestone and in answering your upcoming Paypal software engineer interview questions.