How to Prepare for Google Front-end Engineer Interview

Getting a job as a Google Front-end Engineer is an achievable goal with the right amount of preparation. A good front-end developer interview preparation strategy involves covering core Data structures and algorithms concepts, along with systems design fundamentals. Only those who adopt a comprehensive and robust front-end developer interview preparation strategy have a real shot at clearing Google’s coding interviews. It is also crucial to develop interviewing skills and behavioral skills to crack technical interviews for front-end engineering and other software engineering roles. 

If you are preparing for a tech interview, check out our tech interview checklist, interview questions page, and salary negotiation ebook to get interview-ready! Also, read Google Systems Design Interview Questions, Google Coding Interview Questions, and Google Interview Questions for specific insights and guidance on Google tech interviews.

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Let’s go ahead and look at what the ideal Google front-end developer interview preparation strategy looks like. We’ll also look at some tips to incorporate into your front-end developer interview prep strategy to give yourself the best chance at acing Google’s interviews. 

In this article, we’ll discuss:

• What Does a Google Front-end Engineer do?
• Google Front-end Engineer Vs. Backend Developer?
• What to Expect in Google Front-end Engineer Interviews?
• How to Become a Front-end Engineer at Google?
• Typical Google Front-end Developer Interview Structure
• Sample Google Front-end Developer Interview Questions 
• Google Front-end Developer Interview Preparation Tips
• FAQs on Google Front-end Developer Interview Prep 

What Does a Google Front-end Engineer Do?

To devise a solid Google front-end developer interview preparation strategy, it is extremely important to know what your responsibilities as a front-end developer at Google will look like. 

Expectations and responsibilities associated with the role often include:

• Analyzing design requirements
• Creating project plans
• Working across teams and being a great team player
• Documenting code
• Programming in multiple languages with a knowledge of data structures and algorithms
• Being skilled at HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and knowledge of web libraries and frameworks like AngularJS, Polymer, Closure, or Backbone
• Debugging websites 
• Suggesting technical solutions to boost scalability, maintainability, and efficiency
• Helping ensure all hardware and software works properly
• Handling stress well and Managing complex project details

Front-end Engineer Vs. Backend Developer?

While both need a background in programming and involve problem-solving and analysis, here are some differences between a Front-end and a Backend Engineer:

What to Expect at Google Front-end Engineer Interviews?

Knowing what to expect at Google’s front-end interviews is important while building a robust front-end developer interview preparation strategy. Coding questions asked in front-end interviews are relatively easier than questions asked in back-end interviews. Questions asked are in the easy to medium difficulty level on Leetcode.

You also need to brush up on systems design concepts such as network protocols, user interfaces, scalable applications, API modeling, object modeling, concurrency, loading, and caching.

You also need to display good domain knowledge as a Front-end Engineer. Be ready to answer any questions related to UI design, and popular front-end development tools.

Your front-end developer interview preparation strategy should include coding concepts, design concepts, front-end domain-specific concepts, and a dedicated focus on behavioral interviews.  

How to Become a Front-end Engineer at Google?

To ensure you nail the interview and land the Front-end Engineer role at Google, here are a few things you’ll need to do: 

• Build a strong front-end developer interview preparation strategy. Scout for resources online and get help if needed.
• Develop your skills in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Get some experience of using Angular/Polymer.
• Practice a number of data structures and algorithms problems. You will most likely encounter more problem-based questions than just specific front-end-related questions. 
• Be prepared to solve problems in an OOP language of your choice on a whiteboard just as you would in any other Google software engineering interview.
• Learn more about Google’s values and see how your experiences align with them.
• Practice answers to commonly-asked behavioral questions.

Topics to Prepare for a Google Front-end Engineer Interview

Knowing what topics to focus on is an important part of your front-end developer interview preparation. 

Your front-end developer interview preparation strategy should cover:

• Data structures and algorithms, with a focus on trees and graphs
• HTML, CSS, JavaScript concepts and implementation
• Systems design - scalable systems, databases, networks, and interfaces
• OOP concepts and their application in at least one language

Skills Required for Google Front-end Engineer Interviews

See below the skills that are required for a Front-end Engineer interview at Google: 

• HTML
• CSS
• JavaScript
• Angular/Polymer/Backbone/Closure
• C++/Java/Python
• Problem-solving in limited time
• UI Design, System Design

Typical Google Front-end Engineer Interview Structure

Your front-end developer interview preparation should start by understanding what the interview structure at Google is like. You can expect:

• A phone interview with the recruiter that includes basic questions on your professional profile.
• Three coding interviews that test your knowledge of data structures and algorithms as well as your domain expertise in front-end development.
• A systems design interview focused on front-end design.
• A behavioral interview that includes questions on workplace ethics, professional challenges, team coordination and cooperation, leadership, and work-life balance.

Understanding the interview process in detail can help you direct your front-end developer interview preparation in a purposeful manner. 

Sample Google Front-end Engineer Interview Questions 

To help you with your front-end developer interview preparation, we’ve compiled a list of sample Google front-end developer interview questions.

Behavioral:

1. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
2. What are your salary expectations?
3. Why should we hire you?
4. What can you contribute to this team?
5. What would you do on your last day on Earth before going to live in space?

Technical:

1. What is a closure, and how/why would you use one?
2. Explain the JavaScript module pattern. When would you use it?
3. Explain hoisting.
4. What is the width of an inverted binary tree?
5. How would you check if two binary trees are identical?

Take a look at some more Google Interview Questions here.

Google Front-end Developer Interview Preparation Tips

Here are some Google front-end developer interview preparation tips to help you ace your Front-end Engineer interview at Google: 

• Begin your prep at least 10 weeks before your interview and solve at least one coding problem in a day.  
• Expect questions on front-end specific tools/skills. Neatly highlight the tools you’ve used in the past on your resume. Expect conceptual questions on front-end development as well.
• Ask about the future career prospects of people who have previously worked in this role to see if it fits well with your plans for your future.
• Spend at least 2-3 weeks prepping for the systems design interview. Front-end developer interviews typically involve solving low-level systems design questions. 
• Spend at least a week prepping for your behavioral interview.

FAQs on Google Front-end Developer Interview Preparation

Q1. What is the average salary of front-end developers in Google?

The average front-end developer salary at Google is $110,240 per year.

Q2. Which are the most important concepts to prepare for Google’s front-end developer interviews?

While all coding concepts in core data structures and algorithms are important from an interview perspective, there’s more focus on trees, graphs, and graph algorithms at Google’s interviews.

Q3. Which are some important programming languages that you should cover in your front-end developer interview preparation?

As a front-end developer, it is important to be proficient in - i) JavaScript ii) HTML iii) CSS iv) Java/C++/PHP/Python.

Q4. How long should you spend preparing for the front-end engineer interview at Google?

You should begin your front-end developer interview preparation at least 10 weeks before your interview to cover all the important topics in coding and systems design and give yourself the best chance at acing the front-end interview.

Q5. What areas should a successful front-end developer interview preparation strategy cover?

A successful front-end developer interview preparation strategy should cover - core data structures, algorithms, dynamic programming, systems design, scalable systems, front-end domain concepts, and behavioral interview questions and answers.

Gear Up For Your Next Technical Interview

If you need help with your prep, join Interview Kickstart’s Front-end Engineering Interview Course — the first-of-its-kind, domain-specific tech interview prep program designed specifically for front-end developers. Click here to learn more about the program. 

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