As a Software Engineer at TCG, you play a pivotal role in designing, developing, and maintaining the software solutions that power our products and services. This position is critical not only for delivering high-quality software but also for enhancing user experience and driving business growth. You will work on complex challenges that involve high scalability and intricate systems, contributing to projects that have a tangible impact on our clients and end-users. At TCG, the software engineering team is responsible for a range of products that leverage cutting-edge technologies to solve real-world problems. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams, including product management and design, to ensure our software aligns with user needs and business objectives. The role promises a dynamic environment where you will continuously learn and apply new skills to meet the demands of evolving technology landscapes. Candidates can expect a stimulating work atmosphere where innovation and teamwork are highly valued. You will be part of a culture that encourages problem-solving, creativity, and a commitment to excellence, making the position at both exciting and rewarding.
Phone Screen
reportedInitial call focusing on your background and motivations.
What to demonstrate
- Initial call focusing on your background and motivations
- Depth in Coding Exercises (Timed/On-the-Spot)
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.
Coding Exercise
reportedPractical assessment of your coding capabilities.
What to demonstrate
- Practical assessment of your coding capabilities
- Depth in Coding Exercises (Timed/On-the-Spot)
How to prepare
- Answer aloud and timed: What are the benefits of using design patterns in software development?
- Answer aloud and timed: Can you discuss the software development lifecycle and your experience with it?
Technical Phone Interview
reportedDeeper technical discussions and problem-solving exercises.
What to demonstrate
- Deeper technical discussions and problem-solving exercises
- Depth in Coding Exercises (Timed/On-the-Spot)
How to prepare
- Answer aloud and timed: Detail how you would approach debugging a complex software issue.
- Answer aloud and timed: Write a function to reverse a string in your preferred programming language.
Onsite Interview
reportedEngagement in technical discussions and evaluations, including behavioral questions.
What to demonstrate
- Engagement in technical discussions and evaluations
- Including behavioral questions
How to prepare
- Answer aloud and timed: Given a list of numbers, find the two that sum up to a specific target.
- Answer aloud and timed: Explain the time and space complexity of your solution.
PracHub editorial advice for the preparation topics above.
Practice coding under time constraints
Familiarize yourself with timed coding exercises to simulate interview conditions.
Understand TCG’s products and values
Research the company’s offerings and culture to tailor your responses and show alignment with their mission.
Prepare to explain your thought process
Interviewers value understanding your approach to problem-solving, so articulate your reasoning clearly.
Engage with interviewers
Treat the interview as a two-way conversation. Ask insightful questions to demonstrate your interest in the role and company.
Choose a category, try a prompt, then open its approach, worked solution or follow-up when you need it.
Write a function to reverse a string in your preferred programming language.
Write a function to reverse a string in your preferred programming language.
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?
Given a list of numbers, find the two that sum up to a specific target.
Given a list of numbers, find the two that sum up to a specific target.
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?
Explain the time and space complexity of your solution.
Explain the time and space complexity of your solution.
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?
How would you approach optimizing a slow-running piece of code?
How would you approach optimizing a slow-running piece of code?
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?
Provide an example of a data structure and explain its trade-offs.
Provide an example of a data structure and explain its trade-offs.
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?
Explain why the owner filter ignores the listing index
The only index on resource is (tenant_id, status, updated_at DESC, resource_id DESC). A new endpoint returns one user's resources across all statuses, newest created first: WHERE tenant_id = $1 AND owner_user_id = $2 ORDER BY created_at DESC LIMIT 20. On a tenant with 2M rows it takes 900 ms and EXPLAIN shows a sort above a large scan. Explain precisely why the existing index cannot serve it, give the index that can, and state which of these the new index still will not help: owner_user_id alone across tenants; the same query ordered by updated_at. PostgreSQL 16.
Approach
- Separate the two jobs an index does. For filtering, a composite btree is seekable only on a left prefix, so with no predicate on status the scan can at best range over tenant_id and test owner_user_id per row; PostgreSQL 16 has no btree skip scan to jump the unconstrained column.
- For ordering, the index is sorted by (status, updated_at) within a tenant and not by created_at, so the LIMIT cannot stop early: every matching row is read and then sorted. That is the 'Sort Method: top-N heapsort' line, and it is why the plan reads 2M rows to answer with 20.
- Derive the replacement from the access path — equality, equality, then the ordering column: CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY ON resource (tenant_id, owner_user_id, created_at DESC). The scan seeks to the (tenant, owner) range and walks 20 entries in order, so the Sort node disappears along with the row-read.
- Treat INCLUDE (title, status) as conditional, not free. An index-only scan still visits the heap for any row whose page is not marked all-visible, so on a table taking 1.2k writes/second the win depends on autovacuum keeping the visibility map current, and the wider index costs more on every insert.
Follow-up
- 90% of rows are status='active'. Would a partial index WHERE status = 'active' change your answer, and for which of the three queries?
- A dashboard runs this for 40 owners in one page load. What changes about the design?
Find version gaps and relay lag with window functions
outbox_event holds event_id, aggregate_type, aggregate_id, aggregate_version, event_type, payload, status ('pending','published','dead'), attempts, created_at, published_at. A projection is missing rows and you must decide whether the relay skipped events or the consumer dropped them. Write three queries over the last seven days: one listing every aggregate_id whose published aggregate_version sequence has a hole, one giving per-day counts with a running total, and one returning the newest published event per aggregate. For each, say where the window function is evaluated relative to WHERE and LIMIT. PostgreSQL 16.
Approach
- Gaps: compute lead(aggregate_version) OVER (PARTITION BY aggregate_id ORDER BY aggregate_version) in a subquery, then filter next_version <> aggregate_version + 1 in the outer query. Window functions are evaluated after WHERE, GROUP BY and HAVING and before the outer ORDER BY and LIMIT, so the predicate cannot sit in the same WHERE clause and PostgreSQL 16 has no QUALIFY.
- Say what the seven-day filter does to the answer: it truncates every partition, so the first row per aggregate has no predecessor inside the window and a hole spanning the boundary is invisible. Widen the window, or join to resource.version as the authority for the true maximum.
- Running total: SELECT date_trunc('day', created_at) AS d, count() AS n, sum(count()) OVER (ORDER BY date_trunc('day', created_at) ROWS UNBOUNDED PRECEDING). An aggregate inside a window call is legal because grouping runs before windowing. The grouping key is unique per row here so ROWS and RANGE agree, but write the frame anyway — over ungrouped rows with tied timestamps the default RANGE frame pulls in every peer row and the total jumps.
- Newest per aggregate: DISTINCT ON (aggregate_id) ... ORDER BY aggregate_id, aggregate_version DESC is the cheap PostgreSQL-only form when an index matches that order; row_number() OVER (PARTITION BY aggregate_id ORDER BY aggregate_version DESC) = 1 is the portable form and needs a subquery for the same evaluation-order reason as the gap query.
Follow-up
- Relay failover redelivers events. Does a duplicate break the gap query, and how would you detect one from this table alone?
- Turn the gap check into a continuous monitor rather than a query someone runs after an incident. What does it watch?
Explain the differences between relational and non-relational databases.
Explain the differences between relational and non-relational databases.
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 the principles of Object-Oriented Programming.
Describe the principles of Object-Oriented Programming.
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?
What are the benefits of using design patterns in software development?
What are the benefits of using design patterns in software development?
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?
Design a URL shortening service. What are the key components?
Design a URL shortening service. What are the key components?
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?
How would you approach scaling a web application to handle millions of users?
How would you approach scaling a web application to handle millions of users?
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?
Discuss the trade-offs between microservices and monolithic architecture.
Discuss the trade-offs between microservices and monolithic architecture.
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 strategies would you implement to ensure system security?
What strategies would you implement to ensure system security?
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?
Explain how you would implement user authentication in a web application.
Explain how you would implement user authentication in a web application.
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 new feature to implement. Outline your approach from conception to deployment.
You’re given a new feature to implement. Outline your approach from conception to deployment.
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 handle a situation where a critical bug emerges in production?
How would you handle a situation where a critical bug emerges in production?
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 how you would analyze user feedback to improve a software product.
Describe how you would analyze user feedback to improve a software product.
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?
What metrics would you track to evaluate the performance of a software application?
What metrics would you track to evaluate the performance of a software application?
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?
Detail how you would approach debugging a complex software issue.
Detail how you would approach debugging a complex software 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 TCG candidates report.
Prepare, practise & reflect
One practical outcome each day. Spend longer where you need it.
0 / 7 done01Map the TCG loop
- Write out the reported sequence: Phone Screen, Coding Exercise, Technical Phone Interview, 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 4 reported rounds, with the weakest marked.
02Work Coding Exercises (Timed/On-the-Spot)
- Spend the session on Coding Exercises (Timed/On-the-Spot), which TCG candidates report being tested on.
- Write one worked example in Coding Exercises (Timed/On-the-Spot) and time yourself on it.
Deliverable: One timed worked example in Coding Exercises (Timed/On-the-Spot).
03Work Data Structures & Algorithms
- Spend the session on Data Structures & Algorithms, which TCG candidates report being tested on.
- Write one worked example in Data Structures & Algorithms and time yourself on it.
Deliverable: One timed worked example in Data Structures & Algorithms.
04Work Algorithmic Problem Solving
- Spend the session on Algorithmic Problem Solving, which TCG candidates report being tested on.
- Write one worked example in Algorithmic Problem Solving and time yourself on it.
Deliverable: One timed worked example in Algorithmic Problem Solving.
05Answer out loud: Technical / Domain Questions
- Answer aloud, timed: Explain the differences between relational and non-relational databases.
- Answer aloud, timed: Describe the principles of Object-Oriented Programming.
Deliverable: Spoken answers to 2 reported Technical / Domain Questions question(s), under time.
06Answer out loud: Coding / Algorithms
- Answer aloud, timed: Write a function to reverse a string in your preferred programming language.
- Answer aloud, timed: Given a list of numbers, find the two that sum up to a specific target.
Deliverable: Spoken answers to 2 reported Coding / Algorithms question(s), under time.
07Answer out loud: Behavioral / Leadership
- Answer aloud, timed: Describe a challenging project and how you handled it.
- Answer aloud, timed: How do you prioritize tasks when faced with tight deadlines?
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.
Can you discuss the software development lifecycle and your experience with it?
Can you discuss the software development lifecycle and your experience with 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?
Describe a challenging project and how you handled it.
Describe a challenging project and how you handled 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 faced with tight deadlines?
How do you prioritize tasks when faced with tight deadlines?
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?
Can you provide an example of how you handled conflict within a team?
Can you provide an example of how you handled conflict within 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?
What motivates you as a software engineer?
What motivates you as a software engineer?
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 stay updated with industry trends and technologies?
How do you stay updated with industry trends and technologies?
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?
Discuss a time when you had to pivot your approach mid-project.
Discuss a time when you had to pivot your approach mid-project.
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
Can you discuss the software development lifecycle and your experience with it?
- 02
Describe a challenging project and how you handled it.
- 03
How do you prioritize tasks when faced with tight deadlines?
- 04
Can you provide an example of how you handled conflict within a team?
How difficult is the interview process, and how much preparation time is typical?
The interview process can be challenging, often requiring several weeks of preparation. Candidates typically spend 2-4 weeks reviewing technical concepts, practicing coding problems, and preparing for behavioral questions.
TCG Software Engineer candidate reports ↗What differentiates successful candidates?
Successful candidates demonstrate a strong grasp of technical skills, effective communication, and the ability to work collaboratively within a team. They also show a genuine enthusiasm for the role and align well with TCG's values.
TCG Software Engineer candidate reports ↗What is the culture and working style like at TCG?
TCG fosters a collaborative and innovative culture where employees are encouraged to share ideas and learn from one another. Teamwork and open communication are emphasized, creating an environment where everyone can contribute to the success of projects.
TCG Software Engineer candidate reports ↗What is the typical timeline from the initial screen to an offer?
Candidates can expect the interview process to span several weeks, ranging from 2 to 6 weeks depending on scheduling and the number of interview rounds.
TCG Software Engineer candidate reports ↗Is remote work an option for this role?
TCG has embraced flexible work arrangements, including remote and hybrid models. Candidates should inquire about specific policies during the interview process.
TCG Software Engineer candidate reports ↗What topics does TCG test in interviews?
TCG interviews most often cover Coding Exercises (Timed/On-the-Spot), Requirements Gathering, Requirements Traceability Matrix (RTM), Project Management, and Data Structures & Algorithms. The exact emphasis depends on the specific role you apply for.
TCG 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.
- 01TCG 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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