How to Crack Software Engineer Interviews in Bangladesh (2026)
Master the software engineer interview process at top Bangladeshi companies. Learn company-specific interview formats at bKash, Optimizely, Brain Station 23, Therap, and more with a 90-day preparation roadmap.
Table of Contents
The Interview Landscape in Bangladesh
Software engineer interviews in Bangladesh have evolved significantly over the past few years. As more multinational companies set up engineering offices in Dhaka and local companies raise their hiring standards, the interview process has become more structured at some organizations. Most top-tier companies now follow a multi-stage process that typically includes an initial screening, one or more technical rounds, and a final HR or behavioral interview.
Important: Interview Processes Are Not Set in Stone
One thing every candidate should understand is that the interview pattern varies a lot depending on the team you are interviewing for. Most companies in Bangladesh do not follow a strict, company-wide interview strategy. The number of rounds, the types of questions asked, and the overall format often change depending on the hiring manager, the team lead, and sometimes even the urgency of the hire. Two candidates applying to the same company for different teams can have completely different interview experiences. This is backed by documented candidate experiences on Tahanima's Blog, which has published over 90 recruitment stories from Bangladeshi tech companies, showing how the same company can run different processes across teams and time periods.
The processes described below are based on real candidate experiences and should be treated as representative examples rather than guaranteed formats. Use them to understand the general direction of what to prepare for, but always expect some variation.
The open-source repository interview-questions-bangladesh on GitHub, maintained by Tamim Ehsan, has 649 stars and documents interview experiences from 30+ Bangladeshi tech companies with over 350 questions and solutions. Combined with the 90+ recruitment stories published on Tahanima's Blog, these are the most comprehensive resources available for understanding what specific companies ask and how their processes are structured.
This guide breaks down the interview formats at major companies, the types of questions you should prepare for, and a practical preparation roadmap to help you land your target role.
Common Interview Formats
While each company has its own variation, software engineer interviews in Bangladesh generally follow a combination of these assessment types:
| Format | Description | Common At |
|---|---|---|
| Written / MCQ Test | Multiple-choice and short-answer questions on CS fundamentals: data structures, algorithms, OOP, databases, and operating systems | Therap, Brain Station 23, bKash |
| Online Coding Test | Timed coding challenges on platforms like HackerRank, assessing algorithm implementation and problem-solving under time constraints | Optimizely, Field Nation, bKash |
| Take-Home Assignment | A practical coding task given with a deadline (typically 2 to 7 days), evaluated on correctness, code quality, testing, and architecture | Optimizely, Cefalo, SELISE |
| System Design | Design a scalable system (e.g., internet banking backend, e-commerce platform) within a fixed time, discussing trade-offs and database design | Optimizely, bKash, Pathao |
| Technical Interview | Face-to-face or virtual discussion covering DSA, OOP, design patterns, project experience, and sometimes live coding | All major companies |
| HR / Behavioral | Cultural fit assessment, salary negotiation, career goals, and behavioral questions | All major companies |
Company-Specific Interview Processes
Understanding how specific companies structure their hiring process gives you a significant advantage. Here is what to expect at some of the most sought-after employers in Bangladesh, based on documented candidate experiences from sources including Tahanima's Blog and Glassdoor reviews.
Keep in mind that these processes are not fixed. As mentioned earlier, most companies do not enforce a single standardized interview pipeline. The team, the role, and even the time of year can influence how many rounds you go through and what gets asked. For example, Tiger IT follows a team-wise recruitment policy where the ML R&D team runs a completely different process from a web development team. At Brain Station 23, some candidates go through six stages while others skip certain rounds entirely. Treat the descriptions below as informed starting points, not guarantees.
Optimizely (Dhaka Office)
Optimizely's Dhaka office is a good example of how the interview process can differ significantly from one team to another within the same company. There is no single fixed pipeline that every candidate goes through. Some teams give a take-home assignment, while others skip it entirely. Some teams include a live coding session, while others do not. The number of rounds, the format, and the specific topics covered all depend on the hiring manager and the team's preferences. According to Glassdoor, the average process takes approximately 27 days with an interview difficulty rating of 3.5 out of 5, but individual experiences can vary widely.
That said, here is a commonly reported flow for software engineer roles:
- • Stage 1: Screening Call. An introductory conversation with a recruiter or engineering manager to discuss your background, motivations, and the role. They also answer your questions about the position and company culture.
- • Stage 2: Take-Home Assignment or Live Coding (team-dependent). Some teams assign a practical take-home coding task that must be submitted via GitHub, with evaluation emphasizing correctness, efficiency, code quality, and comprehensive test cases. Past assignments have included problems like a T-shirt distribution optimization system and a task management reviewer assignment system. Other teams replace this with a live coding session where candidates solve problems in real time while sharing their screen. Some teams may skip this stage altogether and move directly to the onsite.
- • Stage 3: Technical Interview (1 to 2 hours). This is usually conducted online, though some teams may hold it in person. It typically includes a system design session (approximately one hour) followed by discussions on database design, SQL queries, networking fundamentals, OS concepts, OOP principles, design patterns, and project-related knowledge. A past system design question involved designing an internet banking backend covering account balance viewing, money transfers, utility bill payments, and transaction history. For specialized roles (such as security engineering), this stage can expand to multiple rounds with domain-specific assessments.
- • Stage 4: Culture Fit and Behavioral Interview. Most candidates go through a final round where all the team members from the hiring team are present. This round is less technical and more about behavioral fit. The team wants to see how you communicate, how you handle scenarios, and whether you would be a good addition to their working environment. Some teams fold this into the technical round, which is why some candidates report only 3 rounds, but most of the time it is a separate stage.
Optimizely is Great Place to Work certified in Bangladesh and offers benefits including flexible work arrangements, parental leave, and free office snacks.
View Optimizely jobs on BD Tech Jobs →bKash Limited
bKash, Bangladesh's largest mobile financial services provider with over 80 million registered users, typically conducts 3 to 4 interview rounds. According to Glassdoor, the average hiring process takes approximately 48 days with an interview difficulty rating of 2.8 out of 5:
- • Round 1: Written Test. Conducted in-person or online, covering algorithms, data structures, OOP concepts, and operating system questions.
- • Round 2: Technical Interview. Face-to-face or virtual evaluation of problem-solving abilities, system design thinking, REST API knowledge, CRUD operations, and database concepts. Real-time coding challenges are common.
- • Round 3: Engineering/Team Panel. A deeper technical examination conducted by team leads and managers, focusing on time and space complexity analysis, system design with OOP focus, and practical frontend/backend work.
- • Round 4: HR Interview (if applicable). Behavioral questions, compensation discussion, and career trajectory assessment.
Common coding problems reported by candidates include linked list duplicate removal, parenthesis validation, two-sum array problems, and linked list reversal. Database concurrency control, deadlock prevention, and normalization concepts are also frequently asked.
View bKash jobs on BD Tech Jobs →Brain Station 23
Brain Station 23 runs one of the most extensive hiring processes in Bangladesh through their annual Star Coder program, which can consist of up to six stages. However, the exact number and format of stages varies. According to multiple candidate experiences published on Tahanima's Blog (5+ stories), some candidates went through 4 stages while others experienced 5 or 6:
- • Stage 1: Online MCQ Exam (1 hour). A remote online test covering databases, basic OOP concepts, data structures, output tracing, and analytical abilities. According to one candidate, the questions covered basic concepts but answering all of them within the time constraint was the main challenge.
- • Stage 2: Onsite Written Exam (1.5 to 3 hours). A written assessment at the Brain Station 23 office. One documented format included 30 questions worth 100 marks: the written portion (55% marks) had two problem-solving questions, one algorithmic question, and three incomplete code snippets implementing data structures that candidates needed to complete; the MCQ portion (45% marks) covered OOP, databases, data structures, and output tracing. No internet access is allowed.
- • Stage 3: Day-Long Assessment. Candidates spend the entire day at the Brain Station 23 office. The day starts with team activities, after which candidates are divided into groups. Each group is assigned a task and mentored by a Software Engineer. The task requires designing a solution to a given problem using E-R diagrams, UAT diagrams, context diagrams, or flow charts. Individual members also receive specific problems to solve and are interviewed by their respective mentors. At the end of the day, each group presents their solutions while mentors closely monitor candidates throughout.
- • Stage 4: Technical and HR Interview. Questions cover the candidate's resume, university projects, research publications, and previous job experiences. Candidates are also given problems to solve and asked about their approach and time complexity. The HR portion covers background, interests, and preferred tech stack. The interview is language and stack specific.
- • Stage 5: Additional HR Interview (conditional). Not all candidates go through this. When it happens, it is a separate human resources evaluation covering cultural fit and expectations.
- • Stage 6: Client-Facing Interview (conditional). Some candidates are asked to conduct a real client-facing interview. This stage is not applicable for everyone and depends on the team the candidate is being considered for.
Therap (BD) Ltd
Therap (BD) Ltd, the Bangladesh subsidiary of US-based Therap Services LLC, follows a 3 to 4 stage selection process. Therap is one of the most documented companies for interviews, with 8+ candidate stories published on Tahanima's Blog:
- • Stage 1: Written Test. Conducted on paper at the Therap office (not on an online platform), covering Data Structures and Algorithms, Object-Oriented Programming, Databases, and general CS knowledge. Candidates solve problems on paper and can use any programming language as long as the logic is correct. This traditional paper-based format is unusual for a tech company and catches some candidates off guard.
- • Stage 2: Technical Viva. A face-to-face session conducted by the Bangladesh-based engineering team, covering data structures and algorithms, OOP concepts, database management, and operating system fundamentals. Typical DSA problems include stock trading profit maximization, array manipulation (moving zeros, reordering elements), string processing (anagram grouping, substring detection), linked list operations, binary tree comparisons, and rotated sorted array searching.
- • Stage 3: Second Technical Round (conditional). For certain roles, this round is conducted by the US-based team. Not all candidates go through this stage, and whether it happens can depend on the specific team hiring.
- • Stage 4: HR Viva. This round goes beyond typical compensation discussions. According to candidate experiences, Therap's HR round explicitly evaluates English communication skills, etiquette and professionalism, awareness of current affairs, personal background, and academic journey. It is more comprehensive than HR rounds at most other companies.
Therap organizes an annual Java festival with substantial prize money, and finalists receive a direct ticket to interview, skipping the initial screening stage. The company offers a 3 to 6 month paid probation period with training, health insurance, transportation, 14 days of paid leave, two annual festival bonuses, and Monday work-from-home flexibility with standard 9 AM to 5 PM hours.
View Therap jobs on BD Tech Jobs →Field Nation
Field Nation, founded by Mynul Khan, operates the largest IT field service marketplace in North America with over 7,000 customer companies and a 98% work order success rate. Their Dhaka engineering center in Uttara conducts multi-stage interviews described by candidates on Glassdoor as "thorough and challenging, but fair."
The process spans multiple stages covering algorithms, data structures, design patterns, and behavioral assessment. The engineering team is actively transitioning from a PHP/MySQL monolith to Node.js/TypeScript microservices on AWS with Kubernetes, so questions often touch on modern architecture patterns and cloud services.
View Field Nation jobs on BD Tech Jobs →Pathao
Pathao, Bangladesh's leading super-app with over 15 million app downloads and 350 million completed trips and orders, follows a 4-stage process. According to Glassdoor, the average hiring process takes approximately 21 days with an interview difficulty rating of 3.0 out of 5, and 90% of candidates reported a positive experience.
- • Stage 1: Initial Interview. An in-person session focusing on your resume, projects, and experience. The format is approximately 80% technical and 20% behavioral, with 3 to 4 engineers asking questions. For frontend roles, expect deep questions on JavaScript and React: context vs. state management, Zustand vs. Redux trade-offs, reducer functions, and useEffect hook behavior.
- • Stage 2: Take-Home Assessment. Candidates are given a practical project to complete within one week. A documented example is building a Trello-like dashboard with boards, columns, and drag-and-drop support. Bonus points are awarded for card reordering, persistent storage, OAuth login, and unit tests.
- • Stage 3: On-Site Assessment (5 to 6 hours). A day-long hands-on session where you build a real application. A reported example involved building an e-commerce dashboard with CRUD operations using Nuxt.js (Vue-based), testing the candidate's adaptability to unfamiliar frameworks.
- • Stage 4: Final Interview. Discussion of your on-site performance, framework transition challenges, graph data structures and algorithms questions, and behavioral topics.
Cefalo Bangladesh Ltd
Cefalo, a Norwegian software company with a development center in Dhaka, takes an unusual approach by placing the behavioral interview before any technical assessment. According to a candidate experience documented on Tahanima's Blog, the process for trainee and junior positions typically has 3 stages:
- • Stage 1: Behavioral Interview with the Managing Director. This is conducted in English and covers personal background, motivation for choosing software engineering, passion for coding, family background, hobbies, career aspirations, knowledge about Cefalo, and academic performance (CGPA). The fact that this round comes first and is conducted by the MD shows how heavily Cefalo weighs cultural fit and communication skills.
- • Stage 2: Technical and Coding Assessment. Conducted on HackerRank, covering OOP concepts (e.g., encapsulation), programming fundamentals, and questions that may require selecting multiple correct answers. The technical stack evaluated includes Next.js, NestJS, Express.js, Node.js, React.js, and TypeScript.
- • Stage 3: Final Evaluation. Details of this stage vary by candidate and role. Referrals through university teachers and alumni connections are a common application pathway.
The typical hire pathway is Trainee Software Engineer for 6 months, followed by promotion to full-time Associate Software Engineer based on performance.
View Cefalo jobs on BD Tech Jobs →SELISE Digital Platforms
SELISE, a Swiss company with a large development center in Dhaka, is known for one of the most intensive single-stage assessments in the Bangladesh tech industry. Based on a candidate experience documented on Tahanima's Blog:
- • Stage 1: Initial HR Call. Conducted entirely in English, reflecting the company's emphasis on strong communication skills for client-facing work.
- • Stage 2: Full-Stack Development Task (6 hours, onsite). Candidates are invited to the SELISE office for a six-hour coding challenge where they build a complete full-stack website based on a requirements list. Two managers observe the candidate in real time, evaluating design choices, coding practices, and overall structure. This is one of the longest single-stage assessments among Bangladeshi companies.
- • Stage 3: HR Follow-up. A call to discuss work experience and availability. This also serves as another assessment of English communication skills, given the likelihood of direct client interactions.
- • Stage 4: Technical Interview. A fully theoretical round covering JavaScript fundamentals, Angular, .NET, OOP, SOLID principles, database concepts, and system design, along with discussions about prior work experience.
The process can move quickly when SELISE has immediate hiring needs. One candidate reported receiving a selection confirmation just two weeks after the final interview.
View SELISE jobs on BD Tech Jobs →Tiger IT Bangladesh
Tiger IT is a prime example of how interview processes vary by team. The company follows a team-wise recruitment policy, meaning there is no single standardized process across the organization. Based on a candidate experience for the Machine Learning R&D team documented on Tahanima's Blog, the process consisted of a single 3-hour online interview with three parts:
- • Part 1: CS and Programming Basics. Questions on operating systems (threads, multiprocessing), and language-specific concepts such as Python list comprehension, generators, and decorators. Initial questions were followed by scenario-specific supplementary questions.
- • Part 2: Problem Solving Test. The interviewers shared a Google Doc with six programming problems focused on data structures and algorithms, specifically graph theory and greedy techniques. The candidate solved them with screen sharing on, allowing interviewers to assess the solution approach in real time. Multiple supplementary questions about strategy and requested modifications followed.
- • Part 3: Domain-Specific Assessment. For the ML team, this covered core linear algebra (singular value decomposition, linear transformations, eigenvalues), ML theory (cross-entropy loss, expected values, conditional probabilities), and application topics (PyTorch, optimizers). Other teams would have different domain-specific questions.
The candidate applied through an internal referral from a classmate working at Tiger IT. This referral-based pipeline is common at the company. Note that a web development or systems team at Tiger IT may run a completely different process with different stages and different question types.
View Tiger IT jobs on BD Tech Jobs →Data Structures & Algorithms Preparation
DSA remains the foundation of technical interviews at most Bangladeshi software companies. Based on reported interview questions from the companies above, here are the most frequently tested topics:
| Topic | Frequency | Example Problems |
|---|---|---|
| Arrays & Strings | Very High | Two-sum, moving zeros, anagram grouping, substring detection |
| Linked Lists | High | Reversal, duplicate removal, finding pairs with target sum |
| Trees & Graphs | High | Binary tree comparison, BFS/DFS traversal |
| Sorting & Searching | High | Rotated sorted array search, custom sorting constraints |
| OOP & Design Patterns | Very High | Inheritance, polymorphism, shape hierarchies, SOLID principles |
| Database & SQL | High | Normalization, concurrency control, ERD design, complex queries |
Interview problems at companies like Therap and bKash are frequently sourced from LeetCode and GeeksforGeeks. A strong foundation in LeetCode Easy and Medium problems will cover the majority of what you encounter.
System Design Preparation
System design interviews are increasingly common at mid-level and senior positions. Companies like Optimizely, bKash, and Pathao actively test system design skills. Based on reported interview experiences, here are the types of system design problems asked:
Reported System Design Questions
- • Internet Banking Backend (Optimizely): Design a system covering account balance viewing, money transfers, utility bill payments, transaction history, and top N users by transaction volume. Bonus: promo code management and analytics.
- • High-Scale Financial System (bKash): Design systems that handle real-time financial transactions for 80+ million users with high availability and consistency.
- • Ride-Hailing Platform (Pathao-style): Design a system with real-time location tracking, driver matching, surge pricing, and multi-service support.
- • Full-Stack Project Presentation (Brain Station 23): Given a scenario, design the full solution including ERDs, wireframes, SQL queries, and present it to the panel.
Key Topics to Cover
- • Database design and normalization (SQL and NoSQL trade-offs)
- • API design (REST, GraphQL)
- • Caching strategies (Redis, CDN)
- • Load balancing and horizontal scaling
- • Message queues and event-driven architecture
- • Consistency vs availability trade-offs (CAP theorem)
The Competitive Programming Advantage
Bangladesh has a strong competitive programming culture, and many top companies value candidates with competitive programming backgrounds. The country has a notable presence in international programming contests:
- • ICPC World Finals: The ICPC Dhaka Site was established in 1997 with 18 teams from 11 institutions. It has since grown to 308 teams at the 2025 ICPC Asia Dhaka Regional. Bangladesh universities have sent teams to the World Finals nearly every year since 1998. BUET achieved its best result of 11th place at the 2000 World Finals (tied with Stanford) and later placed 19th in 2014. At the 2021 World Finals in Moscow, BUET HellBent became the Asia West champion and ranked 24th globally, while DU SwampFire ranked 33rd. Universities that have qualified for World Finals include BUET, SUST, University of Dhaka, Jahangirnagar University, North South University, East West University, AIUB, and BRAC University. The National Collegiate Programming Contest (NCPC) now draws approximately 1,100 teams from 117 universities in preliminary rounds.
- • Codeforces: Bangladesh has had over 8,400 users on Codeforces, making it the 4th largest country by user count on the platform (behind India, China, and Russia). The Bangladesh CP Server (BCS) Discord community has over 11,000 members and maintains standings for Bangladeshi programmers, including a top 100 list by max rating.
- • Toph: A Bangladeshi competitive programming platform founded in 2015 by Mahmud Ridwan, maintained by Furqan Software. It hosts 2,100+ problems, 450+ tutorials, and has processed over 1.9 million submissions. It partners with institutions including BUET, BRAC University, KUET, and North South University for hosting contests.
- • LeetCode: Widely used by Bangladeshi developers for interview preparation. Interview problems at companies like Therap and bKash are frequently sourced from LeetCode, making regular practice directly applicable.
Companies like Therap explicitly reward competitive programming excellence. Their annual Java festival finalists receive a direct ticket to interview, bypassing the initial screening.
90-Day Preparation Roadmap
Here is a structured roadmap to prepare for software engineer interviews at top Bangladeshi companies. This plan assumes you have basic programming knowledge and can dedicate 2 to 3 hours daily to preparation.
Weeks 1 to 4: Foundations
- • Review core data structures: arrays, linked lists, stacks, queues, hash maps, trees, graphs
- • Practice 50+ LeetCode Easy problems across all data structure types
- • Study OOP principles: encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism, abstraction
- • Review SOLID principles and common design patterns (Factory, Observer, Strategy, Singleton)
- • Brush up on SQL: joins, subqueries, normalization, indexing
Weeks 5 to 8: Intermediate
- • Solve 60+ LeetCode Medium problems, focusing on arrays, strings, trees, and dynamic programming
- • Start system design fundamentals: read "System Design Interview" by Alex Xu
- • Practice database design: create ERDs for real-world scenarios (banking, e-commerce, social media)
- • Study networking basics: HTTP, TCP/IP, DNS, REST vs GraphQL
- • Review OS concepts: processes, threads, deadlocks, memory management
Weeks 9 to 12: Advanced & Mock Interviews
- • Tackle 20+ LeetCode Hard problems in your weaker areas
- • Practice full system design problems: design a payment system, ride-hailing app, or chat application
- • Do mock interviews with peers or on platforms like Pramp or Interviewing.io
- • Build or polish one significant side project that demonstrates clean code, testing, and deployment
- • Review the interview-questions-bangladesh GitHub repo for company-specific questions from your target companies
- • Prepare behavioral answers using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result)
Practical Tips from the Trenches
- • Do not assume the process is fixed. Even if you read about a company's interview process online, the actual experience might be different for your specific team or role. Talk to people who recently interviewed at the same team if possible, not just the same company. A backend team and a frontend team at the same company can run very different interviews.
- • Research the company's tech stack beforehand. Optimizely primarily uses Python and JavaScript. Field Nation is moving to Node.js/TypeScript. bKash uses Java and React. Therap relies on Oracle and Java. SELISE works with Angular and .NET. Tailor your preparation accordingly.
- • Communicate your thought process. Interviewers care as much about how you approach a problem as whether you get the right answer. Think aloud, ask clarifying questions, and discuss trade-offs.
- • Write clean, testable code. Companies like Optimizely explicitly evaluate code quality and test coverage in take-home assignments. Always include unit tests.
- • Do not memorize solutions. Focus on understanding patterns. Interviewers can tell when a candidate has memorized a solution without understanding the underlying approach.
- • Prepare questions for your interviewers. Ask about team structure, code review practices, deployment processes, and growth opportunities. This demonstrates genuine interest and helps you evaluate the company.
- • Follow up professionally. Send a brief thank-you message after your interview. It leaves a positive impression and keeps you top of mind.
Essential Resources
Problem Practice
- • LeetCode: The most widely referenced platform for interview problems in Bangladesh. Focus on the Top 150 Interview Questions collection.
- • HackerRank: Used by several BD companies for online coding assessments. Practice their Interview Preparation Kit.
- • Toph: Bangladesh-focused competitive programming platform with problems sourced from local university contests.
- • Codeforces: Excellent for building speed and handling tricky edge cases. Popular among Bangladeshi competitive programmers.
System Design
- • "System Design Interview" by Alex Xu (Volume 1 & 2)
- • "Designing Data-Intensive Applications" by Martin Kleppmann
- • ByteByteGo YouTube channel for visual system design explanations
Bangladesh-Specific
- • interview-questions-bangladesh (GitHub) for documented interview experiences from Bangladeshi companies including Optimizely, bKash, Therap, Brain Station 23, and many more
- • Tahanima's Blog with 90+ recruitment stories covering real interview experiences at companies like Therap (8+ stories), Brain Station 23 (5+ stories), Cefalo, SELISE, Tiger IT, DSi, Pathao, and dozens more
- • BD Tech Jobs for browsing current openings across all major companies
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