Expedia Software Engineer Interview Guide (2026): Rounds, Questions, and Prep Plan

Expedia’s software engineering interview process has settled into a fairly predictable shape by 2026. The company still tailors the exact number of onsite rounds to the team (e.g., consumer‑facing product vs. backend infra), but the core structure—recruiter screen, technical phone, and a series of onsite or virtual loops—remains consistent across most engineering groups.

Recruiter Screen: What It Looks Like

The first conversation is usually a 20‑minute call with a technical recruiter. The goal is to verify basic fit and to gauge your interest in Expedia’s mission (travel, pricing, data‑driven experiences). Expect questions such as:

• Motivation: "Why Expedia?" – Highlight any travel‑related projects or data‑analytics work you’ve done.
• Background check: "Tell me about the most recent project on your resume." – Keep it concise and focused on impact.
• Logistics: Visa status, preferred work location, and availability.

A good outcome is a clear next step: a technical phone screen scheduled within a week.

Technical Phone Screen: Coding Under Time Pressure

The phone screen is typically a 45‑minute session with an engineer who shares a shared‑screen coding environment (e.g., CoderPad or an in‑house tool). You’ll solve one or two algorithmic problems, often drawn from classic categories:

• Arrays and strings (two‑pointer, sliding window)
• Hash tables / maps
• Recursion and backtracking
• Basic graph traversal (BFS/DFS) for short problems
• Simple dynamic programming (often "maximum subarray" style)

Evaluation criteria

1. Correctness – Does the solution handle edge cases?
2. Complexity – Can you articulate the time/space trade‑off?
3. Communication – Do you walk the interviewer through your thought process?
4. Coding style – Is the code clean and readable?

A practical tip: practice with a timer and narrate each step, as if you were explaining to a non‑technical stakeholder. Tools like Call Assistant can help you rehearse the narration and keep the story anchored to your resume.

Onsite/Virtual Loop: The Core Rounds

Most candidates face three to four rounds that may be conducted in a single day (onsite) or spread over a couple of video calls (virtual). The mix varies by team, but the typical composition is:

Coding Round Details

The coding round at the onsite level is usually a step up in difficulty. Problems may require you to integrate multiple concepts (e.g., a heap combined with a hash map) and to write production‑grade code (error handling, input validation). Interviewers expect you to:

• Clarify requirements before coding.
• Write a clean, modular solution.
• Discuss test cases and potential bugs.
• Optimize if the initial solution is sub‑optimal.

System Design Round Details

Design interviews are less about writing code and more about articulating a high‑level architecture. You’ll be given a prompt such as "Design a real‑time flight‑price alert service". The interviewer's goal is to see how you:

1. Gather requirements – Identify functional vs. non‑functional needs.
2. Define components – Sketch services, data stores, APIs, and message queues.
3. Address scalability – Talk about load balancing, caching, and partitioning.
4. Consider trade‑offs – Discuss consistency vs. availability, latency, and cost.

A simple way to structure your answer is to start with a high‑level diagram, then drill into each component, and finally discuss failure handling and monitoring.

Behavioral Round Details

Expedia uses the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) framework, but you should avoid labeling each part. Instead, tell a concise story that highlights:

• What the challenge was (e.g., a missed deadline due to ambiguous specs).
• Your role (lead developer, collaborator).
• What you did (set up a weekly sync, introduced a prototype).
• What happened (delivered on time, improved team morale).

Interviewers listen for cultural alignment: curiosity, ownership, and a bias toward action.

Timeline: What to Expect

• Day 0‑7: Recruiter screen and scheduling.
• Day 8‑14: Technical phone screen.
• Day 15‑21: Onsite/virtual loop (often a single day for onsite, or two days for virtual).
• Day 22‑28: Feedback and decision. Most candidates hear back within two weeks after the final round.

If you’re moving quickly, you may receive an offer within a month of the first contact.

Two‑Week Preparation Plan

Below is a focused schedule that covers the most common interview pillars. Adjust the timing based on your current comfort level.

Week 1: Fundamentals & Coding Speed

1. Day 1‑2: Review core data structures (arrays, linked lists, trees, hash maps). Write one‑line summaries of their time/space characteristics.
2. Day 3‑4: Solve three medium‑difficulty coding problems on a timed platform (e.g., LeetCode, HackerRank). After each, write a short paragraph explaining the approach.
3. Day 5: Conduct a mock phone screen with a peer. Record the session and note any moments where you hesitated.
4. Day 6‑7: Review any gaps (e.g., recursion, DP) and redo a couple of problems.

Week 2: System Design & Behavioral Stories

1. Day 8‑9: Pick two design prompts (e.g., "Design a travel recommendation engine" and "Design a rate‑limiting service"). Sketch high‑level diagrams on paper, then flesh out components.
2. Day 10: Practice a behavioral story using the STAR flow. Record yourself and listen for filler words.
3. Day 11‑12: Run a full mock loop (coding + design + behavior) with a senior engineer or mentor. Use Call Assistant to rehearse the behavioral answer aloud, ensuring you stay on topic.
4. Day 13‑14: Light review—skim notes, relax, and get plenty of sleep before the actual interview.

Sample Answers

Coding Explanation (45‑second snippet)

"I started by clarifying the input: a list of flight objects, each with a departure time and price. I chose a min‑heap because it lets me retrieve the cheapest flight in O(log n) time. I also kept a hash set to avoid duplicates. After building the heap, I pop the top element, check if it meets the user’s date range, and return it. The overall complexity is O(n log n) for heap construction, which is acceptable for the input sizes we discussed."

System Design Overview (90‑second snippet)

"For a real‑time price‑alert service, we’d start with a REST endpoint where users submit alerts. Those alerts get stored in a DynamoDB table keyed by user ID. A Kafka stream ingests live price feeds from our partners. A consumer service reads the stream, joins with the alert table, and evaluates the price condition. If the condition is met, we push a notification via SNS. To keep latency low, we cache recent prices in Redis. We also add a dead‑letter queue to capture failed alerts and a monitoring dashboard to track alert latency and error rates."

Behavioral Story (60‑second snippet)

"In my last project, the team was missing sprint goals because requirements kept changing. I took ownership of the communication gap. I introduced a weekly backlog grooming session where product owners clarified acceptance criteria, and I set up a shared Confluence page for real‑time updates. Within two sprints, our velocity improved by roughly 20 %, and the team reported higher confidence in the sprint commitments."

How to Practice This

1. Simulate the full loop – Pair with a peer and run a coding problem, a design sketch, and a behavioral story back‑to‑back.
2. Record and review – Use a phone recorder or Call Assistant to capture your narration; listen for clarity and pacing.
3. Iterate on feedback – After each mock, note one concrete improvement (e.g., ask more clarifying questions, add a caching layer) and apply it in the next run.

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FAQ

• Q: Does Expedia ever ask brain‑teaser puzzles?

  • A: In recent years, the interview focus has shifted toward practical coding and design. Brain teasers are rare and usually limited to a quick “think‑out‑loud” warm‑up.

• Q: How important is system design for junior roles?

  • A: Even for junior engineers, a short design discussion is common. Expect a simplified scenario and be ready to talk about basic components and trade‑offs.

• Q: What should I do if I’m stuck on a coding problem during the phone screen?

  • A: Verbally walk through your thought process, ask clarifying questions, and propose a brute‑force solution before optimizing. Interviewers value transparency over silence.

• Q: Are there any differences between onsite and virtual loops?

  • A: The content is largely the same; the main difference is the medium. For virtual loops, ensure a stable internet connection and a quiet environment, and use a shared‑screen tool that you’re comfortable with.