Cracking Google's Software Engineer Interview: Tackling Tree Distance & Dynamic Programming

Google | Software Engineer | Interview Experience

Interview Date: Early 2026
Result: Not specified
Difficulty: Not specified

Interview Process

The interview consisted of both coding and behavioral questions. For the coding part, I was asked to solve two problems on the spot: one involved tree traversal and the other focused on dynamic programming. I used the online coding platform to share my screen and write my code. The behavioral part included questions about my past projects and how I handled team conflicts. The interviewer was friendly and provided feedback during the coding problems, which helped me improve my logic on the fly. Overall, it was a great experience.

Technical Questions

  1. Tree Distance Sum Problem (Tree, DFS)
  2. Longest Increasing Subsequence (Dynamic Programming, Array)

Tips & Insights

Be prepared to discuss your past projects in detail and think through your coding problems out loud. The interviewers appreciate seeing your thought process and how you approach problem-solving.