Steampunk is a pioneering force in the Federal contracting sphere, recognized for introducing innovative solutions to clients in the Homeland, Federal Civilian, Health, and DoD sectors. As a Software Engineer at Steampunk, you will be instrumental in advancing our DevSecOps practice by developing APIs and integration capabilities that drive mission-critical outcomes for our clients. You will engage with cloud platforms, tackle cybersecurity challenges, and work within Agile environments to produce robust software solutions. If you are ready to contribute to meaningful projects and thrive in a collaborative setting, this guide will help you navigate the interview process and prepare for your potential role at Steampunk. Let’s get started with Interview Query!

Submitting Your Application

The first step is to submit a compelling application that reflects your technical skills and interest in joining Steampunk.Com as a Software Engineer. Whether you were contacted by a Steampunk 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 Steampunk 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 Steampunk Software Engineer 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 Steampunk 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 Steampunk’s software development practices, API integration, and cloud computing knowledge.

In the case of software engineering roles, take-home assignments regarding code quality, integration capabilities, and API development are incorporated. Apart from these, your proficiency in problem-solving, debugging, and software architecture may also be assessed during the round.

Depending on the seniority of the position, case studies and similar real-world 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 Steampunk office. Your technical prowess, including software development and API integration 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 Steampunk.

Quick Tips For Steampunk 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 Steampunk interview include:

• Understand Cloud Services: Steampunk highly values experience with cloud platform services (AWS, Azure, or GCP). Make sure you are well-versed in these technologies.
• Focus on Security: As a software engineer at Steampunk, you will need to ensure that systems are safe and secure against cybersecurity threats. Brush up on your knowledge of cybersecurity best practices and threat mitigation.
• Emphasize Communication Skills: Excellent written and verbal communication is crucial. Be prepared to convey complex technical ideas clearly to non-technical stakeholders.

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

• How would you explain what a p-value is to someone who is not technical? Explain a p-value in simple terms to a non-technical person, focusing on its role in determining the significance of results in experiments or studies.

• Write a function to simulate coin tosses with a given probability of heads. Create a function that takes the number of tosses and the probability of heads as inputs. The function should return a list of 'H' for heads and 'T' for tails, simulating the coin tosses.

• How much do you expect to pay for a sports game ticket considering the risk of a scalped ticket not working? Calculate the expected cost of attending a sports game if you buy a scalped ticket for $50 with a 20% chance of failure, requiring a $70 box office ticket as a backup.

• What is the probability of drawing three cards in increasing order from a shuffled deck of 500 cards? Determine the probability that each subsequent card drawn from a shuffled deck of 500 cards will be larger than the previous one.

• How do you calculate the average lifetime value for a SAAS company with given metrics? Given a SAAS product costing $100 per month, a 10% monthly churn rate, and an average customer lifespan of 3.5 months, calculate the formula for the average lifetime value.

• What metrics would you use to determine the value of each marketing channel? Given all the different marketing channels and their respective costs at Mode, a B2B analytics dashboard company, what metrics would you use to evaluate the value of each marketing channel?

• What would you do if friend requests are down 10% on Facebook? A product manager at Facebook informs you that friend requests have decreased by 10%. What steps would you take to address this issue?

• How would you improve Google Maps and measure the success of your improvements? As the PM on Google Maps, how would you improve the product? What metrics would you use to evaluate the success of your feature improvements?

• How do you calculate the average lifetime value for a SAAS company? For a SAAS company with a product costing $100 per month, a 10% monthly churn rate, and an average customer lifespan of 3.5 months, how would you calculate the average lifetime value?

• How would you analyze the churn behavior of Netflix users on different pricing plans? Netflix has two pricing plans: $15/month or $100/year. An executive wants you to analyze the churn behavior of users on these plans. What metrics, graphs, or models would you use to provide an overarching view of subscription performance?

• Write a Python program to check if each string in a list has all the same characters. Given a list of strings, write a Python program to check whether each string has all the same characters or not. Determine the complexity of this program.

• Write a function to determine if a string is a palindrome. Given a string, write a function to determine if it is a palindrome or not. A palindrome reads the same forwards and backwards.

• Create a function to simulate coin tosses based on a given probability of heads. Write a function that takes the number of tosses and a probability of heads as input and returns a list of randomly generated results representing the outcomes of coin tosses.

• Develop a function to perform bootstrap sampling and calculate a confidence interval. Given an array of numerical values, bootstrap samples, and size for a confidence interval, write a function to perform bootstrap sampling and calculate the confidence interval.

• Write a program to determine the term frequency (TF) values for each term in a document. Given a text document in the form of a string, write a program in Python to determine the term frequency (TF) values for each term in the document. Round the term frequency to 2 decimal points.

• What metrics would you use to track accuracy and validity of a spam classifier for emails? Assume you have built a V1 of the model. What metrics would you use to track its accuracy and validity?

• How would you evaluate and validate a decision tree model for predicting loan repayment? You are tasked with building a decision tree model to predict if a borrower will repay a personal loan. How would you evaluate if a decision tree is the correct model? How would you evaluate its performance before and after deployment?

• What is Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) in machine learning and its use cases? Explain the concept of LDA in machine learning. What are some practical use cases for using LDA?

• How would you design an ETL pipeline for unstructured video data? You are designing an ETL pipeline for a model that uses videos as input. How would you collect and aggregate data for multimedia information, specifically unstructured data from videos?

• How would you determine which search engine performed better and which metrics to track? You are working on building a better search engine for Google. After building it, how would you determine if it serves better results than the existing one in production? Which metrics would you track?

What is the average salary for a Software Engineer at Steampunk.Com?

Q: What does a Software Engineer at Steampunk do?

As a Software Engineer at Steampunk, you'll work with a dynamic DevSecOps team to develop APIs and integration solutions to help our clients achieve their missions. Responsibilities include understanding stakeholder needs, securing systems against cybersecurity threats, resolving technical problems, and mentoring junior team members.

Q: What qualifications do I need to apply for the Software Engineer position?

You need a BS Degree in an IT field or a BS in a non-IT field with 2 years of related IT experience. Additionally, you'll need U.S. citizenship and the ability to obtain a U.S. government Security Clearance. Candidates should have at least 3 years of experience with cloud platforms, Git SCM providers, programming or scripting languages, and integration technologies.

Q: What skills and technologies will I work with?

You'll work with cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or GCP, Git SCM providers such as GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket, and various programming or scripting languages. Preferred skills include experience with docker containers, Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines, API development, and automated testing frameworks.

Q: What makes Steampunk unique?

Steampunk is a Change Agent in the Federal contracting industry, bringing innovative solutions to clients in sectors like Homeland, Federal Civilian, Health, and DoD. As an employee-owned company, we invest heavily in our employees, fostering an environment where they can perform at their best and rewarding them for their contributions.

Q: How can I prepare for the interview?

To prepare for the interview, research the company and its projects, and practice common interview questions available on Interview Query. Ensure you are well-versed in the technologies and skills mentioned in the job description, and be ready to discuss your past experiences and problem-solving abilities.

If you want more insights about the company, check out our main Steampunk.com 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 Steampunk'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 Steampunk 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!