Palo Alto Networks Software Engineer interview questions and process

Updated · 14 sources

Hiring Pulse: where Palo Alto Networks candidates are right now

Dated status reports from public Reddit threads and anonymous PortLume reports, updated Oct 15. Not official Palo Alto Networks data.

  • 1 status reports in the last 7 days
  • Not enough data yet: median from final interview to a decision shows at 5+ people
  • Latest movement: 1 interview reported since Sep 18

Latest Palo Alto Networks hiring reports

Candidates rate the Palo Alto Networks Software Engineer interview Medium-Hard: Reports describe an online assessment followed by several interviews mixing DSA, high-level design, backend and DBMS depth, and a senior engineering leader round, with some candidates describing long waits and interviewers pushing hard on optimality. Reports describe 4 rounds, from Online assessment to Final round with engineering leadership.

Debrief your Palo Alto Networks interview free

No signup needed. See what likely went wrong in about 2 minutes.

Palo Alto Networks Software Engineer interview rounds

  1. Online assessment: Two easy-to-medium coding problems plus about 30 multiple-choice aptitude questions, reported for new-grad hiring.
  2. Interview 1: DSA, system design and backend fundamentals
  3. Interview 2: coding, SQL and past experience
  4. Final round with engineering leadership

Questions reported in Palo Alto Networks Software Engineer interviews

  1. Design a social media website (high-level design).
  2. Solve a straightforward string manipulation coding problem.
  3. Solve a medium-level coding problem using a hashmap.
  4. Write several SQL queries on a given schema.
  5. Explain DBMS and backend concepts, mainly REST APIs.
  6. Cover computer networks topics, starting from the basics.

Practise any of these with timed AI feedback and a full Palo Alto Networks mock: free account.

Palo Alto Networks Software Engineer interview: quick answers

How many rounds are in the Palo Alto Networks Software Engineer interview?

Public reports describe 4 rounds for the Palo Alto Networks Software Engineer interview: (1) Online assessment, (2) Interview 1: DSA, system design and backend fundamentals, (3) Interview 2: coding, SQL and past experience, (4) Final round with engineering leadership. Round 1: Two easy-to-medium coding problems plus about 30 multiple-choice aptitude questions, reported for new-grad hiring.

Is the Palo Alto Networks interview difficult?

Public reports put the Palo Alto Networks Software Engineer interview at Medium-Hard difficulty. Reports describe an online assessment followed by several interviews mixing DSA, high-level design, backend and DBMS depth, and a senior engineering leader round, with some candidates describing long waits and interviewers pushing hard on optimality.

Does Palo Alto Networks ask DSA?

Yes. Rounds that involve coding: Interview 1: DSA, system design and backend fundamentals, Interview 2: coding, SQL and past experience. Reports describe an online assessment followed by several interviews mixing DSA, high-level design, backend and DBMS depth, and a senior engineering leader round, with some candidates describing long waits and interviewers pushing hard on optimality.

Sources

Based on 14 public reports: YouTube (8), LeetCode Discuss (4), Blind (1), Glassdoor (1), last updated Oct 2026.

Compiled by Adarsh Sharma from public candidate reports. Unofficial guide: PortLume AI is not affiliated with Palo Alto Networks.

Already interviewed at Palo Alto Networks?

Debrief your Palo Alto Networks interview free

No signup needed. See what likely went wrong in about 2 minutes.

Last round at Palo Alto Networks is usually HR: Palo Alto Networks HR interview questions and answers.

Other roles at Palo Alto Networks

Software Engineer interviews at similar companies

More: all company interview guides · why candidates get rejected after the interview · rejection email decoder.

Featured on FoundrList

PortLume AI

Loading…