What to Expect in the Technical Design Round for Bloomberg SWE Internship (Frankfurt)

Hi everyone,

As I prepare for my third-round interview for a Bloomberg Software Engineering internship at the Frankfurt office, I wanted to share my experiences and seek advice from those who have been through similar rounds. After successfully completing two technical coding interviews, I have now been invited for the “technical design” interview, which has me both excited and a bit anxious.

Understanding the Technical Design Round

According to the recruiter, the technical design round is described as a “technical discussion focused on a real-world problem,” aimed at assessing my technical communication and problem-solving skills from first principles. This raises several questions for me about what to expect and how to prepare effectively.

Key Areas to Focus On

Given that my background is primarily in coding with limited exposure to system or technical design interviews, I am unsure whether I should concentrate on:

• Large-scale system design: Understanding how to architect scalable systems.
• Object-oriented/class design: Focusing on designing classes and their interactions.
• API design: Creating and structuring APIs for effective communication between services.
• Hands-on coding: Whether I’ll be expected to write code during the discussion or just talk through my thought process.

Seeking Insights from Others

I’d love to hear from anyone who has interviewed for a Bloomberg SWE internship, especially those who have gone through the technical design round in Frankfurt or other European offices. Here are a few specific questions I have:

1. What type of questions did you encounter?

   • Did the interview involve drawing diagrams, designing classes, coding methods, or discussing scalability and fault tolerance?

2. How deep did the discussion go?

   • Were you expected to provide extensive detail on certain topics, or was it more of a high-level overview?

3. Any practical tips or example problems?

   • What resources or practice problems did you find helpful in preparing for this round?

4. Hindsight Advice:

   • Is there anything you wish you had known or prepared more rigorously for this round?

Preparing for the Interview

As I navigate this preparation phase, I plan to review fundamental concepts in system design, focusing on:

• Design Patterns: Familiarizing myself with common design patterns in software engineering, which could aid in structuring my responses.
• Scalability and Fault Tolerance: Understanding how to build systems that can handle increased loads and recover from failures.
• Real-World Scenarios: Practicing by designing solutions for common problems, like a URL shortener, a chat application, or a file storage system.
• Mock Interviews: Conducting mock interviews with peers to simulate the technical design discussion and get comfortable articulating my thought process.

Conclusion

As I prepare for this upcoming interview, I feel both excited and uncertain, given that this will be my first experience with a design interview. I am eager to hear from anyone who has insights or experiences to share, as it would significantly help me in my preparation. Thank you for your support, and I look forward to hearing from you!

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