SILAC Insurance Company is one of the fastest-growing insurance firms in the nation, based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Renowned for its innovative annuity products, SILAC is dedicated to helping individuals prepare for retirement. The company prides itself on its core values: Adaptability, Continuous Improvement, Transparency, Trust, Honesty, Integrity, Teamwork, Collaboration, Gratitude, and Compassion.
Joining SILAC as a Software Engineer involves working in a dynamic Scrum team alongside professionals from diverse fields to develop and maintain robust software solutions. The role entails transitioning a Python codebase to a C# .NET microservices architecture, emphasizing both individual contribution and technical leadership. If you are an expert in C# .NET with some Python knowledge and aspire to thrive in an inclusive, award-winning workplace, this guide is for you. Here you’ll find an insight into the interview process, common questions, and tips to ace your interview with SILAC.
The first step in applying for a Software Engineer position at SILAC Insurance Company is to submit a compelling application that accurately reflects your technical skills and interest in the role. Carefully review the job description and tailor your CV to meet the job requirements. Identification of specific keywords and crafting a targeted cover letter is advisable. Highlighting your relevant skills and work experiences will bolster your application.
If your CV is shortlisted, you will be contacted by a recruiter from the SILAC Talent Acquisition team. This call will primarily verify your technical experience and skill levels through detailed discussions and behavioral questions. The recruiter might engage in surface-level technical queries and assess your company's culture fit. Sometimes, a hiring manager might join the call to provide additional insights about the role and the company.
This initial call generally takes about 30 minutes.
Upon successfully passing the recruiter round, you will be invited to a technical screening interview. This stage typically involves a virtual video conference and screen sharing session, focusing on your understanding of CI/CD pipeline systems, container orchestration tools (such as Docker and Kubernetes), and Agile development methodologies. This session might also include specific questions related to traffic flow configuration, load balancers, certificate management, and message brokering.
A take-home assignment may also be included to assess your practical problem-solving skills. This could involve real-world scenarios relevant to SILAC Insurance Company's workflows and projects.
After passing the virtual technical interview, you will be invited for onsite interview rounds at the SILAC office. These rounds will involve multiple interviews that include technical deep dives, problem-solving sessions, and possible coding challenges. You might also be required to present your take-home assignment findings and engage in discussions about your approach and solutions.
The onsite interview rounds aim to evaluate your competencies in programming, database architectures, troubleshooting, and collaboration with cross-functional teams. These interviews will help determine your suitability for the role in a real-world work environment.
Just like many technical interviews, preparation for SILAC Insurance Company’s Software Engineer role is crucial. Here are a few tips for acing your interview:
- Brush Up on Your Skills: Practicing technical questions and mock interviews on platforms like Interview Query can significantly boost your confidence and readiness.
- Know the Company: Understanding the core values and technical ecosystem of SILAC Insurance Company helps in forming thoughtful responses related to company culture and work experience.
- Hands-On Practice: Being adept with containers, CI/CD pipelines, and microservices architectures is vital. Work on practical projects or scenarios similar to what the role might demand to refine your skills.
Typically, interviews at Silac Insurance Company vary by role and team, but commonly Software Engineer interviews follow a fairly standardized process across these question topics.
What are type I and type II errors in hypothesis testing? Explain the difference between type I errors (false positives) and type II errors (false negatives) in hypothesis testing. Optionally, describe the probability of making each type of error mathematically.
How would you select Dashers for Doordash deliveries in NYC and Charlotte? Doordash is launching delivery services in New York City and Charlotte. Describe the process for selecting Dashers (delivery drivers) and discuss whether the criteria for selection should be the same for both cities.
How would you improve Google Maps and measure success? As a PM on Google Maps, suggest improvements to the app. Identify the metrics you would use to evaluate the success of these feature improvements.
Why are job applications decreasing despite stable job postings? You observe that the number of job postings per day on a job board has remained stable, but the number of applicants has been decreasing. Analyze potential reasons for this trend.
How would you analyze the performance of a new LinkedIn feature without A/B testing? As a data scientist at LinkedIn, you need to evaluate a new feature that allows candidates to message hiring managers directly during the interview process. Due to engineering constraints, A/B testing is not possible. Describe how you would analyze the feature's performance.
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.
Develop 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 word that reads the same forwards and backwards (e.g., ‘reviver,’ ‘madam,’ ‘deified,’ ‘civic’).
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 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 deployment and after?
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's the probability that the second card 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? Explain the difference between type I errors (false positives) and type II errors (false negatives) in hypothesis testing. Bonus: Describe the probability of making each type of error mathematically.
How much do you expect to pay for a sports game ticket? You can buy a scalped ticket for $50 with a 20% chance of not working. If it doesn't work, you'll 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, and provide an example to illustrate the concepts.
SILAC Insurance Company is one of the fastest-growing insurance companies in the nation. We offer industry-leading annuity products to help individuals prepare for retirement and are committed to adaptability, innovation, and trustworthiness. We've continuously received awards for our product excellence and workplace culture, including various Regional and National Top Workplace Awards.
The core values include: - Adaptability & Continuous Improvement - Transparency & Trust - Honesty & Integrity - Teamwork & Collaboration - Gratitude & Compassion
You will design, implement, and maintain CI/CD pipeline systems, enhance reliability, performance, and availability of custom applications, and ensure the secure deployment and operation of mission-critical applications. You will also monitor and maintain various testing and production environments to facilitate security, testing, and system uptime.
SILAC offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes: - Medical, Dental, and Vision plans - 401(k) and ROTH retirement options - Pet Insurance - Parental Leave - Paid Time Off, including 10 paid holidays and birthday pay - Paid Volunteer Time - Tuition Reimbursement - Employee Assistance Program
The ideal candidate will have professional experience in Software Development and DevOps, expertise in Agile methodologies, proficiency with CI/CD tools, experience with container orchestration tools like Docker Swarm and Kubernetes, and possess excellent troubleshooting skills. A Bachelor's degree in a related field or equivalent experience is required, and familiarity with Tech stacks like Python, Django, C#, and .NET Core is a plus.
Explore a fulfilling career with SILAC Insurance Company, a groundbreaking leader in the insurance industry, known for its commitment to innovation, adaptability, and excellence in service. With our industry-leading annuity products and a vibrant, inclusive work environment, we stand out as the place where your skills will thrive and grow.
If you want more insights about the company, check out our main Silac Insurance Company 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 Silac Insurance Company'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 Silac Insurance Company 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!