Software Engineer Intern - Summer 2027
Posted Sep 30, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026
Likely interview questions for this role
Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.
About your past
Tell me about the most challenging project you've worked on. What was your part?
What they are checking: Whether they can take on meaningful work and explain their own contribution clearly.
Tell me about a time you got critical feedback on your code. What changed?
What they are checking: Coachability and whether they learn from reviews from a mentor.
Why are you interested in software engineering at a trading firm?
What they are checking: Genuine interest in the work and the markets, not just the internship's reputation.
What would you do
You're given a task and realize halfway that your approach won't scale. What do you do?
What they are checking: Whether they can change course and communicate early instead of pushing ahead with a bad plan.
How would you explain your code to a trader who doesn't program?
What they are checking: Whether they can work with non-engineers, since interns connect with traders and technologists.
About the work
Design a data structure that supports insert, delete and get-random in constant time.
What they are checking: Strong data structures knowledge, which the posting says is required.
Given an order book with bids and asks, how would you store it so you can quickly find the best price and update levels?
What they are checking: Whether they can apply data structures to a real trading problem with fast lookups and updates.
What's the time complexity of your favorite sorting algorithm, and when would you not use it?
What they are checking: Real understanding of complexity, not just memorized answers.
Explain the difference between a stack and a heap allocation, and why it might matter in fast code.
What they are checking: Basic understanding of memory, which matters in low-latency trading software.
Find the longest substring without repeating characters, and talk through your approach as you go.
What they are checking: Clear thinking out loud while solving a classic sliding window problem.
How do you test your code before you call it done?
What they are checking: Whether they have the habit of testing edge cases instead of trusting the happy path.
Practice this interview out loud.
Offer builds a real interview for this exact role at IMC Trading from your resume and this job description, asks the questions one at a time, and tells you what landed. The first one is free.
Practice this out loudThe full job description
As published by IMC Trading.