PRACTICE GUIDE GOLDMAN SACHS
Goldman Sachs Software Fundamentals: what the test is, and how to train for it
The Goldman Sachs software fundamentals screen is 2 questions in 30 minutes - about 15 minutes each - written in a code editor and run against tests you cannot see. There is no negative marking, so leaving an item blank gains you nothing over guessing.
Where it sits: Software fundamentals round. The practice sitting on this page runs the same item count, the same clock and the same marking rule, with questions generated by Outcry rather than taken from Goldman Sachs.
Outcry is not affiliated with Goldman Sachs and has no access to their assessment content. This guide describes an assessment format that candidates report publicly; the questions here are generated by Outcry and are not Goldman Sachs’s own.
What it screens
A global investment bank; this guide covers the Quantitative Strategist (Strats) track specifically, not the firm's other divisions.
- ✓Reading concurrent code and pointing at the defective line
- ✓Order-book data structures: what happens on a cross, a cancel, a partial fill
- ✓Algorithmic complexity chosen for the input sizes stated in the problem
- ✓Monte Carlo methods and when a simulation beats a closed form
Where it sits at Goldman Sachs
This section does not arrive on its own. It opens the paper, and the sitting around it runs 52 minutes and 12 items in total, with Math on the same continuous clock. Candidates who prepare only for this round tend to be caught by the pacing of the rest.
There is no going back. You answer or skip, and the next item loads, which means the decision to leave an item is final at the moment you make it.
The format
These are the numbers the Goldman Sachs sitting on this site runs on, matching the format candidates report.
| Questions | 2 |
|---|---|
| Time | 30 minutes |
| Per question | 15 minutes |
| Negative marking | No |
| Answer style | Code editor, run against hidden tests |
| Where it sits | Software fundamentals round |
What it tests, with a worked example
Every example below is generated by Outcry, drawn from the same question generators the timed drills run. None of them is Goldman Sachs’s.
Complexity that is actually graded
Hidden tests sized so the naive solution times out. A correct answer that is too slow scores the same as a wrong one.
Reading someone else's code
A diff or a function with a bug in it, and the question is where.
Example
Position is accumulated in a double and the code tests `if (position == 0.0)` to detect flat. What goes wrong?
- Comparing doubles is undefined behaviour
- The compiler removes the comparison
- 0.0 and -0.0 compare unequal
- Accumulated rounding leaves a residue, so the test is false when the book is flat
Answer Accumulated rounding leaves a residue, so the test is false when the book is flat
Adding and subtracting fills in binary leaves a residue around 1e-15. Compare against a tolerance, or hold size in integer lots and never in a double.
Language and systems detail
Memory, references, undefined behaviour and the things that bite in production.
Example
Frames: 3 Reference string: 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 5 0 0 1
A process makes the page references below against 3 free frames, using FIFO replacement. How many page faults occur?
- 9
- 2
- 3
- 4
Answer 3
FIFO evicts the oldest resident page regardless of use. Walking the string gives 3 faults and 9 hits over 12 references. The first 3 references are always faults because the frames start empty.
Numerical and data handling
Floating point, aggregation and joins on data that does not fit the obvious shape.
Example
x 12 22 7 18 23 5 17
What is the sample variance of the series above? Use the n-1 denominator.
Answer 49.8095238095238
The mean is 14.86. Squared deviations: 8.16 + 51.02 + 61.73 + 9.88 + 66.31 + 97.16 + 4.59 = 298.86. Divided by n-1 = 6 that is 49.81. The n denominator would give 42.69.
Edge cases
Empty input, one element, duplicates and overflow. The hidden tests always include them.
Probability behind the problem
Screens that look like coding questions and are really expectation questions.
Example
Var(X) = 9, Var(Y) = 2, Cov(X, Y) = 6. What is Var(5X + 3Y)?
- 51
- 243
- 423
- 333
Answer 423
Var(aX + bY) = a^2 Var(X) + b^2 Var(Y) + 2ab Cov(X, Y) = 25(9) + 9(2) + 30(6) = 225 + 18 + 180 = 423. The coefficients square, and the covariance term carries the factor 2.
What a good score looks like
On a paper of 2 questions with no penalty for a wrong answer, the only thing an unanswered question can do is cost you. Coding screens are usually pass-fail on hidden tests rather than scored, and candidates commonly report that a solution passing every correctness test still fails on a timeout. Treat full marks as solving every problem inside the complexity bound, not merely solving it.
How to train for it
- 01Write the edge cases into your own tests first. That is where the hidden ones live.
- 02Get the function signature exactly right before anything else. Return type and ordering are graded, and a correct algorithm behind a wrong signature scores zero.
- 03Practise without an autocomplete. The screens run in a bare editor, and the gap between writing code with help and without it is larger than most people expect.
TRAIN IT HERE
The drills that match each section
Concurrency Clash
Find the data race, name the fix - real C++ defect patterns, five levels.
Order Book
Matching-engine mechanics: crosses, cancels and partial fills.
Algorithm Lab
DP tables, Monte Carlo estimation and speed rounds at four difficulty tiers.
SIT THE FULL BATTERY
All the sections back to back on one clock, marked the way the real screen marks them, with a by-skill breakdown at the end. Included with any pass.
Also reported at Goldman Sachs
Common questions
- Is the Goldman Sachs software fundamentals test multiple choice?
- Code editor, run against hidden tests. You write and run code against tests you cannot see.
- How long is the Goldman Sachs software fundamentals test?
- 2 questions in 30 minutes, which is about 15 minutes each.
- Is there negative marking on the Goldman Sachs software fundamentals test?
- No. A wrong answer costs nothing beyond the mark you would have earned, so leaving an item blank is never better than guessing at it.
- How do I practise for it free?
- Every drill linked on this page is free to play, with no account, inside a daily run cap. Questions are generated fresh each run, so there is nothing to memorise between attempts. The full Goldman Sachs Strats HackerRank Battery sitting puts the sections back to back on one clock.