Goldman Sachs Interview Process and Timeline for Software Engineers

You should be well-versed with the Goldman Sachs interview process to prepare strategically for its challenging interview rounds. The entire interview process aims to gauge your hands-on experience as a software engineer and ensure that only the most suitable software engineer is selected. You must give your best to crack the interview among an enormous number of applicants and slim acceptance rates. 

Goldman Sachs hires professional software engineers who can creatively collaborate, evolve, adapt to change, and thrive in a fast-paced global environment. You get an opportunity to create new businesses, transform finance, and explore new technical challenges while sharpening your core engineering skills. Read on to learn how you can nail your upcoming Goldman Sachs interview. 

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In this article, we will walk you through the complete Goldman Sachs interview process guide that'll help you closely understand what the process entails. Learn about what you can expect as a part of Goldman Sachs' interview process. 

Here's what we'll cover:

• About Goldman Sachs
• Eligibility criteria for Software Engineering at Goldman Sachs
• How to apply for Goldman Sachs Software Engineering jobs
• Goldman Sachs Software Engineering interview process timeline
• Goldman Sachs Software Engineering interview process
• Tips to ace the Goldman Sachs interview process
• FAQs on Goldman Sachs interview process

About Goldman Sachs

A leading global investment banking, securities, and investment management firm, Goldman is headquartered in New York. Marcus Goldman and Samuel Sachs founded it in 1869. Its main purpose revolves around advancing sustainable economic growth and financial opportunity. Goldman Sachs has its offices worldwide, with 26 located in the U.S.

Goldman Sachs seeks skilled software developers for various positions who can help build the next generation of finance systems while transforming how clients and internal teams conduct business. 

Eligibility Criteria for Software Engineering at Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs looks for skilled engineers and quantitative strategists skilled at cyber security, software engineering, and systems engineering. When you are preparing for the Goldman Sachs interview process, you must fit in the following eligibility criteria to bag a software engineer position:

• A bachelor's or master's degree in CS with 60% or 6.5 GPA and above without any running backlogs.
• You must possess strong fundamentals in distributed systems and databases.
• You should be well-versed in the design and analysis of algorithms.
• As a software engineer with a technical background, you should ace implementing programming languages and run-time systems.
• Knowledge of finance, stochastic calculus, and financial models can prove to be an added advantage for your software engineering role at Goldman Sachs.

How to Apply for Goldman Sachs Software Engineering Jobs

You will have to apply online by visiting careers at Goldman Sachs for engineers page: 

• When you visit this link, you must register with information such as your user name, password, and email address to create a new profile. 
• You will be directed to the main page after submitting your registration. 
• Once you have selected your role from the drop-down menu, i.e., New Analyst (for full-time entry-level applications) and Summer Analyst (for internship positions), you can click on the apply button to submit your application.

Goldman Sachs also allows you to apply to skillsets. So, with a single application, you will be considered by multiple engineering teams across different divisions who are looking for candidates with a specific skill set. 

Goldman Sachs asks you to include the statement of intent in your application. You will have 300 words to explain what makes you interested in the role and what distinguishes you from other applicants. The company recruiters claim that a real person reads every application. You should put your best efforts into creating a perfect resume and cover letter.

Goldman Sachs Software Engineering Interview Process Timeline 

You will have five to six interview rounds for software engineering positions at Goldman Sachs. Every round will last for 30 to 60 minutes. The entire Goldman Sachs interview process takes up to 54 days on average, according to research by Glassdoor. 

According to a poll by Indeed:

• 39% reported that the Goldman Sachs interview process takes over one month
• 27% said approximately a month
• 16% claimed that they were hired within two weeks

Continue reading for the complete Goldman Sachs interview process for experienced individuals.

Goldman Sachs Software Engineering Interview Process 

If you are an engineering graduate seeking an internship or an experienced professional, the following Goldman Sachs interview process will give you an insight into the entire process. You will have to appear for 5 to 6 rounds in the Goldman Sachs interview process, including:  

• Online or the Hackerrank round
• Coderpad round
• Telephonic round
• Technical round 1
• Technical round 2
• Technical round 3
• Technical round 4
• Technical-cum HR round

The Hackerrank Round for Engineers

The first online round will be on the Hackerrank platform. It usually consists of three sections, and you are allowed to switch between the sections. 

• CS section: It consists of programming questions and a few MCQs. It lasts for about 1 hour.
• ML section: For data engineers, there is a machine learning section for about 30 minutes that focuses on vital ML topics. For other software engineers, this section will be domain-specific.
• The Quants sections: It consists of general numerical aptitude questions running for about 1 hour.

The Coderpad Round 

The assessment takes 45 to 60 minutes.

You should know that Goldman Sachs uses CoderPad as a tool to gauge your skills. This is a live coding round where you will have to share the screen with the interviewer so that you can both write and execute code while conversing via phone. You should also be prepared to answer a few questions on your code. Here are some examples of coding problems for this interview round:

• For a given array of non-negative numbers and a target value, your task is to return the length of the smallest subarray that has a sum greater than the target value.
• For a given array of students' marks in various subjects, your task is to find the maximum average of the student.

You will have at least two programming puzzles centering on data structures and algorithms such as array/list, linked list, queue, stack, hash tables, trees (binary), and graphs. 

You can choose your programming language from C++, C, Java, JavaScript, Perl, Python, and Scala, among others, for this coding round in the Goldman Sachs interview process. You must select the languages in which you are most proficient and also consider the one that is most relevant to the role for which you are interviewing. 

Telephonic Round 

If you perform well in the coding interview, you will have to appear for a Goldman Sachs phone interview process. The interviewer will ask questions on call to test your technical skills and gauge your understanding of related subjects, programming, system designing, and algorithms. 

Technical Rounds

If the telephonic round goes well, the company will invite you for an on-site technical Goldman Sachs software developer interview process. It has 3 to 4 face-to-face rounds with interviewers. 

They will question you regarding the facts and points mentioned in the resume in addition to your subject-based questions, usually including data structure, algorithms, operating system, networking, and more. These rounds aim at evaluating your in-depth knowledge in all aspects of domains related to the position you are applying for. You should be prepared for some coding questions too.  

Technical-cum-HR Round

The HR round is the final round and is less technical as it focuses more on behavioral and hypothetical questions. Some common questions for behavioral rounds are as follows: 

• Why do you want to be a part of the Goldman Sachs engineering department?
• Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years?
• How would you handle strict deadlines?

You can check out more behavioral questions here and practice answering them. 

Tips to Ace the Goldman Sachs Interview Process

You must demonstrate your excitement for the prospect of working with other great engineers in a fast-paced environment. Here are some tips to ace the Goldman Sachs interview process:

• You must frame your answers to reflect your passion for using technology to solve business problems and an innovative approach to finding better ways of doing things.
• You must practice coding problems for live-coding CoderPad and HackerRank rounds.
• Programming skills: Goldman Sachs hunts for software engineers with an in-depth conceptual understanding of at least one programming language, preferably Java, C/C++, Python, or JavaScript. You must demonstrate knowledge of APIs, Object-Oriented Programming, handling edge cases, multi-threading, testing, and front-end/back-end/full-stack development. 
• Data structures: If you get hired as a software engineer at Goldman Sachs, you will have to regularly design, implement, and manipulate complex data structures. Therefore, you must ace the interview questions on time and space complexities of libraries, and underlying data structures, including arrays, hash-tables, hash-maps, linked lists, heaps, graphs, stacks, binary trees, and queues.
• Software algorithms: You should get well-versed in the most appropriate algorithms to use with different data structures, such as recursion, binary search, dynamic programming, and sorting. 
• If applicable to your role, you should be prepared to speak about your understanding of probabilities and statistics, stochastic calculus or differential equations, and applied mathematics or physics.
• In the Goldman Sachs interview process, you must convey your ability to tackle ambiguous specifications and find efficient solutions without a brute-force approach.
• To outperform the competition, explain your thought processes and be ready to justify your choices during the coding sessions. 

FAQs on Goldman Sachs Interview Process

1. What topics are important for technical questions in the Goldman Sachs interview process?

You should be thorough with algorithms and data structures. If you are preparing for a senior software engineer position, you should focus more on system design questions in the technical rounds of the Goldman Sachs interview process. You must practice coding problems to nail the coding interview.

2. Where can I find the most anticipated practice questions for Goldman Sachs?

IK provides an updated list of the most anticipated practice interview questions for Goldman Sachs that will provide you with enough prep material and help you nail all the rounds of your upcoming Goldman Sachs interview process. 

3. How long does it take to get hired after the Goldman Sachs interview process?

The hiring process at Goldman Sachs can take a long time due to the high volume of applicants. It takes up to two months to finish the interview process and background check and be hired onboard. 

4. How long will Goldman Sachs on-site interviews take?

Your day of on-site interviews at Goldman Sachs will last between two and five hours. You must consult your on-site coordinator in advance to accommodate your timings accordingly if you have some other engagements scheduled for the same day.

5. How hard is it to get a job at Goldman Sachs?

You should know that the Goldman Sachs interview process is competitive. The company only accepts around 3%-4% of all job applicants. The interview rounds are challenging, especially due to negative marking. You get +5 for correct answers but -2 for incorrect ones. 

6. What is the average salary of an entry-level software engineer at Goldman Sachs?

The average salary of an entry-level software engineer is $122k annually at Goldman Sachs (levels.fyi). This includes the base salary and the bonus awarded.

Uplevel Your Goldman Sachs Interview Preparation

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