Bank of America · Primly Community

Bank of America software engineer interview process, full loop: what it actually looks like in 2026

remote_swe_42 · 5 replies

Went through the full BofA tech interview loop earlier this year for a senior backend role (Charlotte, hybrid). Took about 5 weeks start to finish. Here's the breakdown since I couldn't find a recent writeup when I was prepping.

Recruiter screen: 30 min with an internal tech recruiter. Mostly resume walk, why BofA, and comp expectations. She was upfront about the band, which I appreciated. No technical content here at all.

Online assessment (HackerRank): Two coding problems, 90 minutes. One was medium graph traversal, one was a string manipulation problem. No system design component at this stage. You have a strict timer and can't save partials, so don't start unless you have uninterrupted time.

First-round technical (video, 45 min): One engineer, started with a coding warm-up (array problem, easy-medium), then shifted into a design conversation about a past project. Not a formal system design interview, more of an architecture discussion about something on my resume. Felt informal.

Onsite loop (4 rounds, each 45-60 min): This is where it gets real. Round 1: Coding, two problems back-to-back. I got a sliding window problem and something involving binary trees. Round 2: System design. More below. Round 3: Behavioral. Heavy on their 8 core values (they call them the Responsible Growth principles). Expect STAR-style questions. Round 4: Team fit and culture with the hiring manager. More of a conversation than an interview.

Debrief timeline: 6 business days before I heard back. Offer came in day 9.

Overall, BofA's process is more structured than most fintechs but less intense than the FAANG loops I've been through. Coding difficulty is solidly LeetCode medium range. Behavioral prep matters a lot here, more than at purely product-tech companies.

Happy to answer specifics. I've got notes on what each round focused on.

5 replies

jp_newgrad

This is gold, thank you. Did they expect you to write working code or pseudo-code during the coding rounds? I always freeze on syntax under pressure.

remote_swe_42

Working code, in a language of your choice. They asked me to run it at the end of the round and walk through the output. Python worked fine for me. Comment your logic as you go, they respond well to that.

backend_bekah

The 6-business-day debrief timeline is pretty normal from what I've heard. BofA has a notoriously long approval chain for headcount. If you're waiting, don't read into the silence.

bootcamp_bri

Did you get any hint on whether they care about pedigree or just evaluate on the technical rounds? Asking as someone without a traditional CS degree.

remote_swe_42

Replying to bootcamp_bri: genuinely not sure. My recruiter never mentioned degree. The engineers I interviewed with focused 100% on the technical rounds. One of them was a bootcamp grad himself, he mentioned it in the intro.