cswork / libraryOpen practice workspace

Interview guides · Myriad Genetics

Myriad Genetics Software Engineer Interview Guide

Myriad Genetics Software Engineer interview guide: reported rounds, questions and how candidates describe the process.

The 60-second brief

As a Software Engineer at Myriad Genetics, you will play a critical role in bridging the gap between cutting-edge genetic science and life-saving healthcare technology. The software you build and maintain directly impacts clinical workflows, processing genomic data to deliver accurate, timely, and actionable insights to patients and healthcare providers. Whether you are working on patient-facing portals, laboratory information management systems (LIMS), or clinical platforms, your code has a direct bearing on human lives and clinical decision-making. This position is highly collaborative, requiring close integration with molecular biologists, genetic counselors, product managers, and UX designers. The scale and complexity of genomic data demand robust, highly performant systems capable of processing massive datasets securely and efficiently.

This guide is scoped to a Software Engineer candidate at Myriad Genetics.

Focus areas

  • Algorithmic Problem Solving
  • Data Structures & Algorithm Fundamentals
  • Behavioral Interviewing

The Myriad Genetics interview process

Myriad Genetics candidates report 4 rounds over 3-5 weeks. The stages below are what candidates describe, not a published process.

Recruiter Screen

Initial screening call with a recruiter to discuss your background and assess fit for the role.

What to demonstrate

  • Initial screening call with a recruiter to discuss your background and assess fit for the role
  • Depth in Algorithmic Problem Solving

How to prepare

  • Be able to walk your CV end to end in two minutes, and say why this company specifically.
  • Have your salary expectations, notice period and location constraints ready, and ask for the rest of the loop in writing.

Online Assessment

Candidates complete an online assessment or take-home coding challenge to demonstrate technical skills.

What to demonstrate

  • Candidates complete an online assessment or take-home coding challenge to demonstrate technical skills
  • Depth in Algorithmic Problem Solving

How to prepare

  • Answer aloud and timed: Implement a custom parser for a clinical data format (such as JSON or XML) and handle potential malformed inputs gracefully.
  • Answer aloud and timed: Solve a classic string manipulation or matrix-traversal puzzle under the guidance of an interviewer who may introduce real-time constraints.

Hiring Manager Screen

Interview with the hiring manager to further evaluate qualifications and team fit.

What to demonstrate

  • Interview with the hiring manager to further evaluate qualifications and team fit
  • Depth in Algorithmic Problem Solving

How to prepare

  • Prepare two projects you led end to end, each with the decision you owned and what it cost.
  • Have three questions about the team's roadmap and how success is measured in the first six months.

Panel Interview

Comprehensive virtual or on-site panel interview with multiple team members to assess technical and cultural fit.

What to demonstrate

  • Comprehensive virtual or on-site panel interview with multiple team members to assess technical and cultural fit
  • Depth in Algorithmic Problem Solving

How to prepare

  • Answer aloud and timed: Explain how you would design a scalable backend service to handle high-throughput genomic data ingestion.
  • Answer aloud and timed: How do you optimize a slow-running SQL query that involves multiple table joins and millions of patient records?

Where candidates lose points

Clarify compensation expectations early

To avoid misalignments at the offer stage, discuss your salary requirements during your initial recruiter screen. Ensure both parties are in agreement on the target compensation range before investing time in the technical rounds.

Prepare for collaborative coding

During live coding or pair-programming sessions, treat your interviewer as a teammate. Explain your thought process out loud, ask clarifying questions, and be receptive to their feedback or suggestions. They are evaluating how you collaborate, not just your ability to write code in isolation.

Brush up on database fundamentals

Do not neglect database design. Be ready to draw entity-relationship diagrams, discuss normalization, and explain how you would index tables to optimize query performance for large datasets.

Questions & practice

Write a function to detect if a linked list contains a cycle, and explain the time and space complexity of you

Medium · Coding & Algorithms

Write a function to detect if a linked list contains a cycle, and explain the time and space complexity of your approach.

Approach

  1. Restate the input: its shape, its size, and what is guaranteed about it.
  2. Name the brute-force solution and its complexity before improving on it.
  3. Choose the data structure from the access pattern, not from familiarity.
  4. State the target complexity and say which constraint rules the naive version out.

Follow-up

  • How does this change if the input no longer fits in memory?
  • What is the worst case, and how likely is it on real data?

Given an array of integers, find two numbers that add up to a specific target value.

Medium · Coding & Algorithms

Approach

  1. Restate the input: its shape, its size, and what is guaranteed about it.
  2. Name the brute-force solution and its complexity before improving on it.
  3. Choose the data structure from the access pattern, not from familiarity.
  4. State the target complexity and say which constraint rules the naive version out.

Follow-up

  • How does this change if the input no longer fits in memory?
  • What is the worst case, and how likely is it on real data?

Implement a custom parser for a clinical data format (such as JSON or XML) and handle potential malformed inpu

Medium · Coding & Algorithms

Implement a custom parser for a clinical data format (such as JSON or XML) and handle potential malformed inputs gracefully.

Approach

  1. Restate the input: its shape, its size, and what is guaranteed about it.
  2. Name the brute-force solution and its complexity before improving on it.
  3. Choose the data structure from the access pattern, not from familiarity.
  4. State the target complexity and say which constraint rules the naive version out.

Follow-up

  • How does this change if the input no longer fits in memory?
  • What is the worst case, and how likely is it on real data?

Solve a classic string manipulation or matrix-traversal puzzle under the guidance of an interviewer who may in

Medium · Coding & Algorithms

Solve a classic string manipulation or matrix-traversal puzzle under the guidance of an interviewer who may introduce real-time constraints.

Approach

  1. Restate the input: its shape, its size, and what is guaranteed about it.
  2. Name the brute-force solution and its complexity before improving on it.
  3. Choose the data structure from the access pattern, not from familiarity.
  4. State the target complexity and say which constraint rules the naive version out.

Follow-up

  • How does this change if the input no longer fits in memory?
  • What is the worst case, and how likely is it on real data?

How do you optimize a slow-running SQL query that involves multiple table joins and millions of patient record

Medium · System & Database Design

How do you optimize a slow-running SQL query that involves multiple table joins and millions of patient records?

Approach

  1. Name the grain you start from and join outward from it.
  2. Check whether any join is one-to-many before aggregating, or the sums inflate.
  3. Say which index the query would use, and what makes it unusable.
  4. Handle the rows that do not match: that is usually the actual question.

Follow-up

  • How does the query change if that join becomes one-to-many?
  • What happens to this when the table is ten times larger?

Explain why the owner filter ignores the listing index

Medium · composite index · query plans · sort elimination

The only index on resource is (tenant_id, status, updated_at DESC, resource_id DESC). A new endpoint returns one user's resources across all statuses, newest created first: WHERE tenant_id = $1 AND owner_user_id = $2 ORDER BY created_at DESC LIMIT 20. On a tenant with 2M rows it takes 900 ms and EXPLAIN shows a sort above a large scan. Explain precisely why the existing index cannot serve it, give the index that can, and state which of these the new index still will not help: owner_user_id alone across tenants; the same query ordered by updated_at. PostgreSQL 16.

Approach

  1. Separate the two jobs an index does. For filtering, a composite btree is seekable only on a left prefix, so with no predicate on status the scan can at best range over tenant_id and test owner_user_id per row; PostgreSQL 16 has no btree skip scan to jump the unconstrained column.
  2. For ordering, the index is sorted by (status, updated_at) within a tenant and not by created_at, so the LIMIT cannot stop early: every matching row is read and then sorted. That is the 'Sort Method: top-N heapsort' line, and it is why the plan reads 2M rows to answer with 20.
  3. Derive the replacement from the access path — equality, equality, then the ordering column: CREATE INDEX CONCURRENTLY ON resource (tenant_id, owner_user_id, created_at DESC). The scan seeks to the (tenant, owner) range and walks 20 entries in order, so the Sort node disappears along with the row-read.
  4. Treat INCLUDE (title, status) as conditional, not free. An index-only scan still visits the heap for any row whose page is not marked all-visible, so on a table taking 1.2k writes/second the win depends on autovacuum keeping the visibility map current, and the wider index costs more on every insert.

Follow-up

  • 90% of rows are status='active'. Would a partial index WHERE status = 'active' change your answer, and for which of the three queries?
  • A dashboard runs this for 40 owners in one page load. What changes about the design?

Design a database schema to support a multi-tenant laboratory tracking system, ensuring strict data isolation

Medium · System & Database Design

Design a database schema to support a multi-tenant laboratory tracking system, ensuring strict data isolation between clinics.

Approach

  1. Fix the scope first: who calls this, how often, and what they do when it fails.
  2. Name the read and write paths separately; they rarely have the same bottleneck.
  3. Choose a partition key and say what query it makes expensive.
  4. State the consistency you need, and where you are willing to be stale.

Follow-up

  • What breaks first when traffic grows ten times?
  • How does this behave when that dependency is down for an hour?

Explain how you would design a scalable backend service to handle high-throughput genomic data ingestion.

Medium · System & Database Design

Approach

  1. Fix the scope first: who calls this, how often, and what they do when it fails.
  2. Name the read and write paths separately; they rarely have the same bottleneck.
  3. Choose a partition key and say what query it makes expensive.
  4. State the consistency you need, and where you are willing to be stale.

Follow-up

  • What breaks first when traffic grows ten times?
  • How does this behave when that dependency is down for an hour?

Describe your approach to designing a secure, role-based access control (RBAC) system for a clinical platform.

Medium · System & Database Design

Approach

  1. Clarify what is being asked and what a complete answer contains.
  2. State your assumptions explicitly before working the problem.
  3. Say what you would check first and why it is the highest-information step.
  4. Work from the requirement backwards to the design.

Follow-up

  • What assumption would you test first?
  • How would you know your answer was wrong?

Walk through the architecture of a distributed system that processes asynchronous tasks, such as generating PD

Medium · System & Database Design

Walk through the architecture of a distributed system that processes asynchronous tasks, such as generating PDF lab reports.

Approach

  1. Fix the scope first: who calls this, how often, and what they do when it fails.
  2. Name the read and write paths separately; they rarely have the same bottleneck.
  3. Choose a partition key and say what query it makes expensive.
  4. State the consistency you need, and where you are willing to be stale.

Follow-up

  • What breaks first when traffic grows ten times?
  • How does this behave when that dependency is down for an hour?

Debug and optimize an existing, inefficient block of code written in either Java or C#, ensuring it handles ed

Medium · Coding & Algorithms

Debug and optimize an existing, inefficient block of code written in either Java or C#, ensuring it handles edge cases correctly.

Approach

  1. Establish what changed and when, before forming any theory.
  2. Pick a bisection that eliminates candidates whichever way it turns out.
  3. Check the instrumentation before believing the symptom.
  4. Separate the trigger from the cause; the deploy is rarely the bug.

Follow-up

  • What would you look at first, and what would it rule out?
  • How would you tell a cause from a coincidence here?

Suggested practice checklist

Built from the rounds and topics Myriad Genetics candidates report.

Day 1 — Map the Myriad Genetics loop

  • Write out the reported sequence: Recruiter Screen, Online Assessment, Hiring Manager Screen, Panel Interview.
  • For each round, write one sentence on what it is judging, from the description above, and mark the one you are least ready for.

Deliverable: A one-page map of the 4 reported rounds, with the weakest marked.

Day 2 — Work Algorithmic Problem Solving

  • Spend the session on Algorithmic Problem Solving, which Myriad Genetics candidates report being tested on.
  • Write one worked example in Algorithmic Problem Solving and time yourself on it.

Deliverable: One timed worked example in Algorithmic Problem Solving.

Day 3 — Work Data Structures & Algorithm Fundamentals

  • Spend the session on Data Structures & Algorithm Fundamentals, which Myriad Genetics candidates report being tested on.
  • Write one worked example in Data Structures & Algorithm Fundamentals and time yourself on it.

Deliverable: One timed worked example in Data Structures & Algorithm Fundamentals.

Day 4 — Work Behavioral Interviewing

  • Spend the session on Behavioral Interviewing, which Myriad Genetics candidates report being tested on.
  • Write one worked example in Behavioral Interviewing and time yourself on it.

Deliverable: One timed worked example in Behavioral Interviewing.

Day 5 — Answer out loud: Coding & Algorithms

  • Answer aloud, timed: Write a function to detect if a linked list contains a cycle, and explain the time and space complexity of your approach.
  • Answer aloud, timed: Given an array of integers, find two numbers that add up to a specific target value.

Deliverable: Spoken answers to 2 reported Coding & Algorithms question(s), under time.

Day 6 — Answer out loud: System & Database Design

  • Answer aloud, timed: Design a database schema to support a multi-tenant laboratory tracking system, ensuring strict data isolation between clinics.
  • Answer aloud, timed: Explain how you would design a scalable backend service to handle high-throughput genomic data ingestion.

Deliverable: Spoken answers to 2 reported System & Database Design question(s), under time.

Day 7 — Answer out loud: Behavioral & Role Alignment

  • Answer aloud, timed: Why do you want to work at Myriad Genetics, and how does your background align with our mission in precision medicine?
  • Answer aloud, timed: Describe a time when you had to collaborate with non-technical stakeholders (e.g., scientists, clinicians) to gather requirements for a complex feature.

Deliverable: Spoken answers to 2 reported Behavioral & Role Alignment question(s), under time.

Behavioural preparation

Behavioural rounds judge the decision you made and what it cost.

Why do you want to work at Myriad Genetics, and how does your background align with our mission in precision m

Medium · Behavioral & Role Alignment

Why do you want to work at Myriad Genetics, and how does your background align with our mission in precision medicine?

Approach

  1. Pick a story where you made the decision, not one where you watched it.
  2. State the situation in two sentences and spend the rest on the reasoning.
  3. Give the blast radius: what could have broken, and what you measured.
  4. Name the disagreement and how you resolved it with evidence.

Follow-up

  • What would you do differently if you ran that again?
  • How did you know your change caused the improvement?

Describe a time when you had to collaborate with non-technical stakeholders (e.g., scientists, clinicians) to

Medium · Behavioral & Role Alignment

Describe a time when you had to collaborate with non-technical stakeholders (e.g., scientists, clinicians) to gather requirements for a complex feature.

Approach

  1. Pick a story where you made the decision, not one where you watched it.
  2. State the situation in two sentences and spend the rest on the reasoning.
  3. Give the blast radius: what could have broken, and what you measured.
  4. Name the disagreement and how you resolved it with evidence.

Follow-up

  • What would you do differently if you ran that again?
  • How did you know your change caused the improvement?

Tell me about a time you disagreed with a technical decision made by a peer or manager. How did you resolve th

Medium · Behavioral & Role Alignment

Tell me about a time you disagreed with a technical decision made by a peer or manager. How did you resolve the conflict?

Approach

  1. Pick a story where you made the decision, not one where you watched it.
  2. State the situation in two sentences and spend the rest on the reasoning.
  3. Give the blast radius: what could have broken, and what you measured.
  4. Name the disagreement and how you resolved it with evidence.

Follow-up

  • What would you do differently if you ran that again?
  • How did you know your change caused the improvement?

Describe a challenging bug you encountered in production. How did you diagnose, mitigate, and prevent it from

Medium · Behavioral & Role Alignment

Describe a challenging bug you encountered in production. How did you diagnose, mitigate, and prevent it from recurring?

Approach

  1. Pick a story where you made the decision, not one where you watched it.
  2. State the situation in two sentences and spend the rest on the reasoning.
  3. Give the blast radius: what could have broken, and what you measured.
  4. Name the disagreement and how you resolved it with evidence.

Follow-up

  • What would you do differently if you ran that again?
  • How did you know your change caused the improvement?

How do you manage your workload and maintain focus when requirements for a project change mid-development?

Medium · Behavioral & Role Alignment

Approach

  1. Pick a story where you made the decision, not one where you watched it.
  2. State the situation in two sentences and spend the rest on the reasoning.
  3. Give the blast radius: what could have broken, and what you measured.
  4. Name the disagreement and how you resolved it with evidence.

Follow-up

  • What would you do differently if you ran that again?
  • How did you know your change caused the improvement?