As a Software Engineer at Globalstar, you play a pivotal role in developing and enhancing the software solutions that drive the company's innovative satellite communication services. Your contributions are vital not only to the functionality of products but also to the overall user experience and operational efficiency. The work you do directly influences how customers connect globally, managing critical communications for industries such as aviation, maritime, and emergency services. In this role, you'll be engaged in complex problem-solving and software development projects that require a keen eye for detail and a strong understanding of system architecture. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams, including hardware engineers and product managers, to create robust and scalable software solutions. This position offers an exciting opportunity to work on cutting-edge technologies, including 5G systems and satellite communication protocols, making it an ideal environment for those passionate about technology and innovation.
Phone Screen
reportedInitial discussion of your background and technical skills.
What to demonstrate
- Initial discussion of your background and technical skills
- Depth in 5G PHY Layer (physical layer)
How to prepare
- Be able to walk your CV end to end in two minutes, and say why this company specifically.
- Have your salary expectations, notice period and location constraints ready, and ask for the rest of the loop in writing.
Technical Assessments
reportedIncludes coding challenges and system design discussions.
What to demonstrate
- Includes coding challenges and system design discussions
- Depth in 5G PHY Layer (physical layer)
How to prepare
- Answer aloud and timed: How do you approach debugging a complex system?
- Answer aloud and timed: What experience do you have with SQL, and can you provide examples of queries you've written?
Onsite Interview
reportedMix of technical and behavioral interviews focusing on collaboration and problem-solving.
What to demonstrate
- Mix of technical and behavioral interviews focusing on collaboration and problem-solving
- Depth in 5G PHY Layer (physical layer)
How to prepare
- Answer aloud and timed: Explain the differences between synchronous and asynchronous programming.
- Answer aloud and timed: How would you design a messaging system for satellite communications?
PracHub editorial advice for the preparation topics above.
Tailor Your Responses
Customize your answers to reflect your experiences and how they align with Globalstar’s values. This demonstrates both your technical and cultural fit.
Practice Coding
Regularly solve coding challenges on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank to sharpen your skills and prepare for technical assessments.
Engage with Interviewers
Treat interviews as a two-way conversation. Ask thoughtful questions about the team and projects, showing your interest in the role and organization.
Be Honest About Your Experience
If you don’t know an answer, it’s better to be honest and explain how you would approach finding a solution rather than guessing.
Choose a category, try a prompt, then open its approach, worked solution or follow-up when you need it.
Explain the differences between synchronous and asynchronous programming.
Explain the differences between synchronous and asynchronous programming.
Approach
- Say what the runtime actually does before reasoning about the code.
- Name what is shared across threads and what owns each piece of state.
- Identify the window where an invariant is briefly untrue.
- Distinguish a value from a reference to it, and say which one you handed out.
Follow-up
- What happens if two callers reach this at the same time?
- Where could this allocate more than you expect?
Solve this algorithmic challenge: [Insert a specific problem, such as finding the shortest path in a graph].
Solve this algorithmic challenge: [Insert a specific problem, such as finding the shortest path in a graph].
Approach
- Restate the input: its shape, its size, and what is guaranteed about it.
- Name the brute-force solution and its complexity before improving on it.
- Choose the data structure from the access pattern, not from familiarity.
- State the target complexity and say which constraint rules the naive version out.
Follow-up
- How does this change if the input no longer fits in memory?
- What is the worst case, and how likely is it on real data?
Write a function to reverse a linked list.
Write a function to reverse a linked list.
Approach
- Restate the input: its shape, its size, and what is guaranteed about it.
- Name the brute-force solution and its complexity before improving on it.
- Choose the data structure from the access pattern, not from familiarity.
- State the target complexity and say which constraint rules the naive version out.
Follow-up
- How does this change if the input no longer fits in memory?
- What is the worst case, and how likely is it on real data?
What experience do you have with SQL, and can you provide examples of queries you've written?
What experience do you have with SQL, and can you provide examples of queries you've written?
Approach
- Name the grain you start from and join outward from it.
- Check whether any join is one-to-many before aggregating, or the sums inflate.
- Say which index the query would use, and what makes it unusable.
- Handle the rows that do not match: that is usually the actual question.
Follow-up
- How does the query change if that join becomes one-to-many?
- What happens to this when the table is ten times larger?
Keep soft-deleted accounts from blocking re-registration
app_user holds user_id, tenant_id, email CITEXT, password_hash (NULL for SSO principals), email_verified_at, auth_version, status ('invited','active','suspended','deactivated'), created_at, updated_at, deleted_at. Two live accounts for one address inside a tenant must be impossible, but an address freed by a soft delete must be reusable, and the same tenant may delete and re-register it repeatedly. Write the uniqueness DDL for PostgreSQL 16, then the equivalent for MySQL 8 where partial indexes do not exist, and say what each permits once three deleted rows already hold that address.
Approach
- Start from what is actually unique: not (tenant_id, email), but (tenant_id, email) among live rows. PostgreSQL says that directly — CREATE UNIQUE INDEX app_user_live_email ON app_user (tenant_id, email) WHERE deleted_at IS NULL. A full constraint over the same two columns burns the address permanently the first time someone deletes an account.
- Keep case-insensitivity in the type or the index, never in the application: CITEXT as given, or UNIQUE (tenant_id, lower(email)) as an expression index where the extension is unavailable. A case-sensitive unique column is exactly how two accounts for one human appear.
- For MySQL 8 the predicate has to move inside the key: add a discriminator column that is a constant 0 while the row is live and is set to user_id on delete, with UNIQUE (tenant_id, email, deleted_marker). Live rows share the constant and still collide; deleted rows differ from each other and stop colliding.
- State the NULL variant and its dependency: leaving the marker NULL for deleted rows also works, because a unique index treats NULLs as distinct — true in MySQL, and true in PostgreSQL only under the default NULLS DISTINCT, which PostgreSQL 15 lets you reverse. Check the polarity against the three existing deleted rows: constant-on-live is what preserves the collision you want, and reversing it silently admits duplicate live accounts.
Follow-up
- A deleted account re-registers with the same address the next day. Do the old resource rows follow the new user_id, and how does the API keep the two principals apart?
- How do you honour an erasure request while resource_revision.actor_user_id still references this table?
What programming languages are you most comfortable with, and why?
What programming languages are you most comfortable with, and why?
Approach
- Clarify what is being asked and what a complete answer contains.
- State your assumptions explicitly before working the problem.
- Say what you would check first and why it is the highest-information step.
- Work from the requirement backwards to the design.
Follow-up
- What assumption would you test first?
- How would you know your answer was wrong?
Describe a challenging project you worked on and the technologies you used.
Describe a challenging project you worked on and the technologies you used.
Approach
- Clarify what is being asked and what a complete answer contains.
- State your assumptions explicitly before working the problem.
- Say what you would check first and why it is the highest-information step.
- Work from the requirement backwards to the design.
Follow-up
- What assumption would you test first?
- How would you know your answer was wrong?
How would you design a messaging system for satellite communications?
How would you design a messaging system for satellite communications?
Approach
- Fix the scope first: who calls this, how often, and what they do when it fails.
- Name the read and write paths separately; they rarely have the same bottleneck.
- Choose a partition key and say what query it makes expensive.
- State the consistency you need, and where you are willing to be stale.
Follow-up
- What breaks first when traffic grows ten times?
- How does this behave when that dependency is down for an hour?
What considerations would you have when designing a system for high availability?
What considerations would you have when designing a system for high availability?
Approach
- Fix the scope first: who calls this, how often, and what they do when it fails.
- Name the read and write paths separately; they rarely have the same bottleneck.
- Choose a partition key and say what query it makes expensive.
- State the consistency you need, and where you are willing to be stale.
Follow-up
- What breaks first when traffic grows ten times?
- How does this behave when that dependency is down for an hour?
Can you walk us through your thought process for a recent architecture decision?
Can you walk us through your thought process for a recent architecture decision?
Approach
- Fix the scope first: who calls this, how often, and what they do when it fails.
- Name the read and write paths separately; they rarely have the same bottleneck.
- Choose a partition key and say what query it makes expensive.
- State the consistency you need, and where you are willing to be stale.
Follow-up
- What breaks first when traffic grows ten times?
- How does this behave when that dependency is down for an hour?
You're given a project with a tight deadline. How do you manage your time and resources?
You're given a project with a tight deadline. How do you manage your time and resources?
Approach
- Clarify what is being asked and what a complete answer contains.
- State your assumptions explicitly before working the problem.
- Say what you would check first and why it is the highest-information step.
- Work from the requirement backwards to the design.
Follow-up
- What assumption would you test first?
- How would you know your answer was wrong?
How do you approach debugging a complex system?
How do you approach debugging a complex system?
Approach
- Establish what changed and when, before forming any theory.
- Pick a bisection that eliminates candidates whichever way it turns out.
- Check the instrumentation before believing the symptom.
- Separate the trigger from the cause; the deploy is rarely the bug.
Follow-up
- What would you look at first, and what would it rule out?
- How would you tell a cause from a coincidence here?
If a product fails during a critical operation, how would you troubleshoot the issue?
If a product fails during a critical operation, how would you troubleshoot the issue?
Approach
- Establish what changed and when, before forming any theory.
- Pick a bisection that eliminates candidates whichever way it turns out.
- Check the instrumentation before believing the symptom.
- Separate the trigger from the cause; the deploy is rarely the bug.
Follow-up
- What would you look at first, and what would it rule out?
- How would you tell a cause from a coincidence here?
Built from the rounds and topics Globalstar candidates report.
Prepare, practise & reflect
One practical outcome each day. Spend longer where you need it.
0 / 7 done01Map the Globalstar loop
- Write out the reported sequence: Phone Screen, Technical Assessments, Onsite Interview.
- For each round, write one sentence on what it is judging, from the description above, and mark the one you are least ready for.
Deliverable: A one-page map of the 3 reported rounds, with the weakest marked.
02Work 5G PHY Layer (physical layer)
- Spend the session on 5G PHY Layer (physical layer), which Globalstar candidates report being tested on.
- Write one worked example in 5G PHY Layer (physical layer) and time yourself on it.
Deliverable: One timed worked example in 5G PHY Layer (physical layer).
03Work Satellite Systems Engineering
- Spend the session on Satellite Systems Engineering, which Globalstar candidates report being tested on.
- Write one worked example in Satellite Systems Engineering and time yourself on it.
Deliverable: One timed worked example in Satellite Systems Engineering.
04Work SQL
- Spend the session on SQL, which Globalstar candidates report being tested on.
- Write one worked example in SQL and time yourself on it.
Deliverable: One timed worked example in SQL.
05Answer out loud: Technical / Domain Questions
- Answer aloud, timed: What programming languages are you most comfortable with, and why?
- Answer aloud, timed: Describe a challenging project you worked on and the technologies you used.
Deliverable: Spoken answers to 2 reported Technical / Domain Questions question(s), under time.
06Answer out loud: System Design / Architecture
- Answer aloud, timed: How would you design a messaging system for satellite communications?
- Answer aloud, timed: What considerations would you have when designing a system for high availability?
Deliverable: Spoken answers to 2 reported System Design / Architecture question(s), under time.
07Answer out loud: Behavioral / Leadership
- Answer aloud, timed: Describe a time you faced a significant obstacle in a project. How did you overcome it?
- Answer aloud, timed: How do you prioritize tasks when working on multiple projects?
Deliverable: Spoken answers to 2 reported Behavioral / Leadership question(s), under time.
Expand any day for tasks and deliverables. Your progress is saved on this device.
Behavioural rounds judge the decision you made and what it cost.
Describe a time you faced a significant obstacle in a project. How did you overcome it?
Describe a time you faced a significant obstacle in a project. How did you overcome it?
Approach
- Pick a story where you made the decision, not one where you watched it.
- State the situation in two sentences and spend the rest on the reasoning.
- Give the blast radius: what could have broken, and what you measured.
- Name the disagreement and how you resolved it with evidence.
Follow-up
- What would you do differently if you ran that again?
- How did you know your change caused the improvement?
How do you prioritize tasks when working on multiple projects?
How do you prioritize tasks when working on multiple projects?
Approach
- Pick a story where you made the decision, not one where you watched it.
- State the situation in two sentences and spend the rest on the reasoning.
- Give the blast radius: what could have broken, and what you measured.
- Name the disagreement and how you resolved it with evidence.
Follow-up
- What would you do differently if you ran that again?
- How did you know your change caused the improvement?
Give an example of how you've worked effectively in a team.
Give an example of how you've worked effectively in a team.
Approach
- Pick a story where you made the decision, not one where you watched it.
- State the situation in two sentences and spend the rest on the reasoning.
- Give the blast radius: what could have broken, and what you measured.
- Name the disagreement and how you resolved it with evidence.
Follow-up
- What would you do differently if you ran that again?
- How did you know your change caused the improvement?
- 01
Describe a time you faced a significant obstacle in a project. How did you overcome it?
- 02
How do you prioritize tasks when working on multiple projects?
- 03
Give an example of how you've worked effectively in a team.
How difficult are the interviews at Globalstar?
The interviews are moderately challenging, focusing on both technical and behavioral aspects. Candidates should prepare thoroughly, especially in areas of coding and system design.
Globalstar Software Engineer candidate reports ↗What differentiates successful candidates?
Successful candidates typically demonstrate strong technical skills, effective communication, and a collaborative mindset. They align well with Globalstar’s values and show a genuine interest in the role.
Globalstar Software Engineer candidate reports ↗What is the culture like at Globalstar?
The culture at Globalstar is collaborative and innovative, emphasizing teamwork and continuous improvement. Engineers are encouraged to share ideas and contribute to projects across teams.
Globalstar Software Engineer candidate reports ↗How long is the typical interview process?
The interview process can take several weeks from initial screening to offer, depending on the role and team. Be prepared for multiple stages, including technical assessments and behavioral interviews.
Globalstar Software Engineer candidate reports ↗Are there remote work options for this position?
Yes, Globalstar offers remote work options for various engineering roles, allowing for flexibility while maintaining strong team collaboration.
Globalstar Software Engineer candidate reports ↗What topics does Globalstar test in interviews?
Globalstar interviews most often cover QA Engineering (General), 5G PHY Layer (physical layer), Programming for QA, Satellite Systems Engineering, and SQL. The exact emphasis depends on the specific role you apply for.
Globalstar Software Engineer candidate reports ↗Sources & methodology 3 sources ↗
No official company page is cited. Rounds and questions come from candidate reports and PracHub editorial material; each source shows the date it was read.
- 01Globalstar Software Engineer candidate reports ↗
Company-reported rounds, questions and FAQ.
Candidate reports · Accessed 2026-09-22 - 02PracHub Software Engineer practice ↗
PracHub practice material, not company-reported.
PracHub page · Accessed 2026-09-22 - 03PracHub preparation framework ↗
PracHub preparation guidance.
PracHub page · Accessed 2026-09-22
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