Software Engineering Fundamentals Questions

Covers core principles of how modern software systems are designed, built, and maintained. Topics include the separation between frontend and backend responsibilities, database selection and design, API design and contract thinking, architectural styles such as monolithic and microservice architectures, and cloud platform fundamentals. Candidates should understand nonfunctional requirements including scalability, performance, reliability, security, and maintainability, and be able to explain trade offs when choosing technologies and architectures. Expect discussion of component decomposition, deployment considerations, service communication patterns, and indicators that distinguish junior from senior engineering decisions.