Preparing for a Software Engineering Interview at L3Harris: Commonly Asked Questions and How to Ace Them

Interviewing for a software engineering role at L3Harris can seem daunting. As one of the largest defense contractors in the US, L3Harris recruits top technical talent to work on complex and critical systems. While the interview will be challenging, going in prepared can help you stand out. In this article we’ll look at some of the most common L3Harris software engineering interview questions and tips on how to nail your responses.

Overview of the L3Harris Software Engineering Interview Process

The interview process at L3Harris typically involves

• An initial phone screen with a recruiter reviewing your resume and experience. Be prepared to talk about your past projects and technology stack.

• A technical phone screen focused on algorithms and data structures. Brush up on topics like sorting, binary search trees, hash tables, and dynamic programming.

• An onsite interview which is 4-5 rounds of technical and behavioral questions. Come ready with stories that demonstrate teamwork, leadership, and problem solving skills.

• A system design round where you architect and design solutions to open-ended problems. Think through the constraints, tradeoffs, and project scope.

Throughout the process, L3Harris looks for software engineers who can write clean, maintainable code and have strong analytical and communication abilities.

Common L3Harris Software Engineering Interview Questions

Here are some of the most frequently asked interview questions for software engineers at L3Harris:

Technical Questions

Algorithms and Data Structures

• Explain how a hash table works and the big O runtimes of its operations. Know how to handle collisions and tradeoffs between hash tables and binary search trees.

• Implement common sorting algorithms like quicksort, mergesort, and heapsort. Analyze the time and space complexities.

• Given a large dataset, how would you search for a target value? Compare tradeoffs of binary search vs hash tables.

• Reverse a linked list iteratively and recursively. Know the pros and cons of each method.

Object Oriented Design

• Explain inheritance, encapsulation, polymorphism, and abstraction. Give examples of each.

• How would you design an abstract class? When is it appropriate to use inheritance and composition?

• How can you make a class extensible? What is the open/closed principle?

System Design and Architecture

• Design a URL shortening service like Bitly. Think through database schema, APIs, redirection service, etc.

• Scale the Twitter newsfeed to serve hundreds of millions of users. Focus on high availability and redundancy.

• Design a ride sharing service. Consider user profiles, map/location tracking, payments, etc.

Coding Problems

Expect coding challenges in your preferred language focusing on:

• Parsing and manipulating strings

• Implementing algorithms and data structures like trees or graphs

• Developing reusable object oriented components

• Optimizing performance and avoiding bottlenecks

Behavioral and Experience-Based Interview Questions

L3Harris also evaluates your experience and soft skills with questions like:

• Tell me about your experience developing complex software systems. What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?

• Describe a time you had a disagreement with your manager or team member. How did you handle it?

• How do you balance delivering features fast versus writing clean, maintainable code?

• Explain a situation where you had tight deadlines but faced multiple interruptions. How did you prioritize?

• Tell me about a time you took initiative even though it was outside your job description. Why was it important?

• What processes or tools have you implemented to increase software quality and velocity?

For behavioral questions, use the STAR method – give a Situation, Task at hand, Action you took, and the Result. This provides context and demonstrates how you’ve added value.

7 Tips to Ace the L3Harris Software Engineering Interview

With preparation, you can confidently tackle the L3Harris interview process. Keep these tips in mind:

1. Brush up on data structures and algorithms – Practice implementing staple algorithms like sorting, binary search, and traversals. Know the space and time complexity tradeoffs. LeetCode is great for practice.

2. Review system design fundamentals – Study up on designing scalable systems, object oriented principles, databases, caching, APIs, etc. Grokking the System Design Interview is a good resource.

3. Prepare stories from your experience – Have 5-8 stories that showcase achievements, overcoming challenges, leadership, teamwork, and problem solving. Tie them back to the role during behavioral questions.

4. Explain your thoughts clearly and concisely – Verbalize your approach with clarity and precision. Be articulate but concise in technical explanations.

5. Ask smart clarifying questions – It’s fair game to ask thoughtful questions to better scope the problem. This shows analytical skills.

6. Think through test cases – For coding and design problems, highlight test cases and edge cases. This demonstrates rigor and thoroughness.

7. Stay calm and confident – With solid preparation, you have every reason to be confident. Get good rest the night before and trust your abilities.

Preparing for software engineering interviews takes time, but staying focused on the key problem solving skills and techniques that L3Harris looks for will have you walking in ready to succeed. Do your homework on algorithms and design best practices, polish your behavioral stories, and walk through the interview with calm confidence. With the right preparation, you can land your dream software job at L3Harris.