BlackRock Interview Questions and Tips Crack to the Technical Rounds

If you’re looking for BlackRock interview questions to prepare for your upcoming BlackRock interview, this article is for you! We’ll look at BlackRock coding interview questions, systems design interview questions, and behavioral interview questions.

BlackRock is a giant investment management corporation with over $9 Trillion in assets under management. The company hires software engineers and developers to manage and power its many tech-oriented activities under investment management. The company offers lucrative salaries to its employees and an enriching work environment that encourages and rewards innovation, integrity, and performance.

As an investment management corporation, BlackRock uses advanced algorithms to automate and predict stock and market patterns. Applicants for software engineering positions at BlackRock must go through a technical interview process in which their coding and design abilities are assessed. BlackRock interview questions for software engineers mainly cover core data structures, algorithms, and core concepts in distributed systems design.

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Here’s what we will discuss in this article on BlackRock Interview Questions:

• BlackRock Technical Interview Process
• BlackRock Interview Questions for Software Engineers
• BlackRock Coding Interview Questions for Software Engineers
• BlackRock Systems Design Interview Questions
• BlackRock Behavioral Interview Questions
• Tips to Crack the BlackRock Technical Interview
• FAQs on BlackRock Interview Questions

BlackRock Technical Interview Process

The interview process for software engineers at BlackRock is very similar to software engineers at FAANG and tier-1 companies. There is a greater emphasis on coding than systems design at BlackRock’s technical interviews.

Here’s what the interview process looks like at BlackRock:

Recruiter Screen

This is the first round where a recruiter driving the recruitment (from the human resources perspective) for software engineers will get in touch with you to understand your general interest in the position. The recruiter will evaluate if your experience and skills are the right for the job.

You can expect common BlackRock phone interview questions on your role at previous organizations, compensation, and expectations from your new role at BlackRock. You will be invited to the next round if all of the parameters reviewed are satisfactory.

Technical Screen

The second round tests your programming skills. The recruiter asks a couple of easy questions on core data structures and algorithms. Your problem-solving skills are put to the test, as is your ability to produce error-free code by accurately accounting for time and space complications. If the hiring manager is satisfied with your effort, you’ll be invited to the BlackRock on-site interview.

On-site Interview

This is the final stage of interviews where your core programming skills, problem-solving skills, and ability to write complex algorithms are evaluated. The on-site usually consists of:

1. One coding round or two rounds for senior positions
2. One systems design round
3. One behavioral round

The coding round focuses on testing your ability to write and design algorithms. Problems asked are usually around core data structures. You could be asked to solve 1-2 coding problems in the On-site coding round.

The design round evaluates your ability to build scalable systems that can reach a huge section of users.

The behavioral round essentially tests your responses to work-related situations, personality characteristics, general attitude, soft skills, and experiences with previous companies.

BlackRock Interview Questions for Software Engineers

In this section, we’ll look at some BlackRock interview questions under coding, design, and behavioral rounds. We’ll go through some sample questions in each area, as well as the most important subjects discussed during the BlackRock technical interview.

BlackRock Coding Interview Questions

Coding interviews are a crucial part of the BlackRock interview process. Below are the vital topics under which BlackRock interview questions are asked:

• Sorting algorithms — quicksort, merge sort, heap sort, etc.
• Arrays, strings, and linked lists
• Recursion
• Trees and graphs
• Hash tables and queues
• Graph algorithms, including greedy algorithms
• Dynamic programming

Below are some sample BlackRock interview questions on coding asked at the BlackRock interview:

1. Given a string “S” containing a set of words, transform it to appear in the reverse order. One or more spaces separate words in s. (Solution)
2. Given an unsorted set of numbers from 1 to N with exactly two missing numbers, find those two missing numbers. (Solution)
3. You are given an array of integers, arr, of size n, analogous to a continuous stream of integers input. Your task is to find “K” largest elements from a given stream of numbers. (Solution)
4. Given a binary tree “T,” write a code to generate the mirror image of the tree. (Solution)
5. Given various coin types defining a currency system, find the minimum number of coins required to express a given amount of money. Assume an infinite supply of coins of every kind. (Solution).
6. Given a partially filled two-dimensional integer array, fill all the empty cells such that each row, each column, and each 3 x 3 subgrid (as highlighted below by bolder lines) has every digit from 1 to 9 exactly once. (Solution)
7. Given a sequence, return its next lexicographically greater permutation. If such a permutation does not exist, then return it in ascending order. (Solution)
8. a) Given A Graph, Build A New One With Reversed Edges b) Given a strongly connected directed graph, build a new graph with the same number of nodes but every edge reversed. This is also called transposing a graph. (Solution)
9. Implement an iterator over a binary tree with integer values. Your iterator will be initialized with the root node. 1. next() method must return the next number in the in-order traversal of the tree. 2. hasNext() method must return whether the next element exists. (Solution)
10. Given an integer array arr of size n, find all magic triplets in it. A Magic triplet is a group of three numbers whose sum is zero. (Solution)

Want to practice more BlackRock interview questions on coding? Check out our Problems Page to access a huge list of problems along with optimal code solutions.

BlackRock Systems Design Interview Questions

The Systems design interview at BlackRock essentially tests your ability to work with arbitrary, scalable systems.

Here are the important Systems Design topics under which BlackRock interview questions are asked:

• Sharding techniques, Caching and Loading
• Network Protocols
• Systems Design case Studies
• Concurrency
• API modeling
• Online Processing Systems

Below are some sample BlackRock interview questions on systems design:

1. How would you build a scalable investment system that gives information about various investments and current investment statuses?
2. How would you design a system notification service?
3. How would you go about designing a chatbot that also allows users to make payments and transactions?
4. How would you design a scalable real-time stock monitoring system?
5. How would you go about managing security risks for a scalable distributed system that has data of millions of users?

BlackRock Behavioral Interview Questions

Behavioral and soft-skills questions are asked to test your general attitude and specific traits of your personality. You can expect questions around challenging projects you’ve worked on in past organizations, crucial learnings from those projects, and questions around leadership and workplace conduct.

Below are some sample BlackRock interview questions around behavioral attributes:

1. Tell us about a time when you worked on a complex project where you had to learn new things/concepts and implement them.
2. Why do you want to work at BlackRock? What is the reason you wish to change your current job?
3. Tell us about the most challenging project that you’ve worked on?
4. How do you ensure to maintain a good work-life balance?
5. How do you manage stress in your personal and professional life?
6. What would you do if your superior made a wrong decision during a project? Would you trust their judgment?
7. Tell us about a time when you had to join a new team and quickly adapt.

Tips to Crack the BlackRock Technical Interview

These tips below will help you nail your BlackRock technical interview.

• Practice a minimum of 1-2 coding problems every day and classify patterns into patterns. Use these patterns to solve new problems. Practice BlackRock interview questions on a variety of coding concepts.
• Spend at least 7-9 weeks preparing for your interview. It will take you this long to cover all essential concepts in core structures and distributed systems design.
• Prepare for behavioral interviews and use the STAR method to structure your responses to behavioral questions. Don’t neglect to prepare BlackRock interview questions on workplace conduct, ethics, and past projects.
• Think aloud during the interview. That way, the hiring manager will get an understanding of your approach to problem-solving
• Practice mock interviews with industry experts. Note that only experienced and qualified professionals can give you the correct feedback. Hence, find the right resource for mock interviews.
• This 2-month coding interview prep course will give you everything you need to nail your BlackRock interview.

FAQs on BlackRock Interview Questions

1. What are the important coding concepts for the BlackRock Technical interview?

BlackRock interview questions on Core data structures and algorithmic concepts are the most common coding concepts that are asked in the BlackRock interview. In algorithms, you should be familiar with sorting algorithms, recursion, and popular graph algorithms, including Greedy algorithms. You should also be familiar with concepts in dynamic programming and master the basics of arrays, strings, and linked lists. Here’s a quick look at the topics:

• Arrays
• Strings, Linked Lists
• Recursion
• Hash tables and Queues
• Sorting algorithms
• Trees
• Graphs and Graph Algorithms
• Dynamic Programming

2. What are the essential areas to cover for BlackRock behavioral interviews?

BlackRock interview questions around behavioral attributes typically test your soft skills and the expanse of your professional experience. You’ll also be asked questions around workplace conduct, work-life balance, and your general attitude to workplace citations, where core attributes of your personality are tested.

3. How many coding interview rounds can you expect during the BlackRock on-site interview?

Depending on the seniority of the position, BlackRock’s On-site interview usually comprises 1-2 coding rounds. If you’re applying for an Individual Contributor role, there can be additional coding rounds.

4. How many behavioral interview rounds can you expect at the BlackRock interview?

The BlackRock technical interview usually has one behavioral round that takes place during the On-site interview. Questions asked are usually around workplace conduct, workplace attitude, professional situations, past projects, and work-life balance.

5. How many Blackrock interview questions are asked on coding?

BlackRock interview questions on coding are asked during the Technical Phone Screen and the On-site interviews. You can expect 1-2 BlackRock interview questions on coding during the Technical Phone Screen and 1-2 questions during the On-site interview.

Gear Up for Your Next Technical Interview

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