Google Senior Software Engineer Interview Experience — findBestAnagram, Three BQs, Downleveled from L5 to L4 After R1

Google·Software Engineer·Sep 2026
Technical ScreenSenior+In progressmedium

Coding: findBestAnagram

For details, see these two posts on LeetCode Discuss:

  • a Google L3/L4 phone screen post
  • Round 2 of a Google SWE II (L3) post

BQ:

  1. Conflict: Tell me about a time you have to compromise, and how will you act differently after it. Are you satisfied with the result? Did you do anything to make it happen later?
  2. Imagine you’re part of the Google Photos team, and your feature detects smiling faces in photos. How will you verify the correctness of the detection?
    (This is the first question under "Technical and Role-Related Questions" in a Googlyness frequently-asked-questions post on LeetCode Discuss.)
  3. Describe a great tech leader you’ve ever seen, and do you want to become him/her? How do you measure your way becoming such a great tech leader

6 YOE. After R1 I got downleveled from L5 to L4.

Published

Curated and edited by PracHub

Practice the questions from this interview

Tell Me About a Compromise: Outcome, Follow-Through and What You Would Change
How Would You Verify a Smiling-Face Detection Feature in Google Photos?
Describe a Great Tech Leader You Have Seen and How You Measure Growth Toward That

Discussion

Sign in to join the discussion. The author is notified of every comment.

Loading comments…

Interview at a glance

Company
Google
Role
Software Engineer
Level
Senior+
Rounds
Technical Screen
Outcome
In progress
Difficulty
medium
Interview date
Sep 2026
Questions from this interview
3 questions

Real Google interview experiences

First-hand reports from Google candidates — the rounds, the questions they were asked, and how it went.

All 137 Google interview experiences