Joining APT: Engineering
Engineering Interview Questions
Since engineering candidates can come from a variety of different backgrounds, we try to choose the type of question that is most appropriate for each candidate.
Design / Programming Questions
This is the most technical category of questions you can expect. The focus here is to get a sense of how well you understand and apply engineering principles. Don’t worry about being familiar with a specific language or framework (Java vs. C#, MySQL vs. SQL Server, etc.); you can learn those when you get here. We are much more interested in how comfortable you are with object -oriented design, relational databases, and web development. You should be prepared to discuss specific design patterns, identify when one is more appropriate than another, draw class/entity/interaction diagrams, discuss data/object models, or other similar topics.
Algorithm Problems
Our algorithm questions simulate the common types of problem solving done here by APT engineers. In addition to gauging your ability to break a complex technical problem into its most basic components, we use these questions to evaluate how well you can articulate your ideas and respond to feedback. Be prepared to discuss why one approach may be more efficient than another and potential trade offs between simplicity and efficiency. While these questions are not as technical as our design / programming questions, you can expect to have to roll up your sleeves and write some pseudocode.
Logic / Quantitative Puzzles
"How many gas stations can a town support?" "Ten prisoners are distributed white and black hats..." Our logic / quantitative puzzles are not dependent on individuals stumbling upon a lucky observation to find the correct answer. Rather, we focus on questions that require a good degree of math, structured problem solving, and creative thinking. These problems seldom involve writing actual code but instead test how well a candidate is able to break a problem down and come up with simple and elegant solutions. Candidates should be ready to start drawing things out on paper or working through the problem on a white board.
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