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JPMorgan · Software engineer · Associate / Vice President

System design (Associate / VP)

Open-ended spoken architecture discussion

What they actually ask

The question shapes this round uses. Larpy does not read these out. It builds each one from your own resume, because the generic version is the one you have already rehearsed.

  • “Design a URL shortener.”
  • “Design a rate limiter.”
  • “Design a real-time stock-price ticker / market-data feed.”
  • “Design a trade / order-management or payment-processing system.”
  • “Design a scalable notification or messaging service.”
  • “Design a database schema for a given domain and discuss indexing and query trade-offs.”

What this round is judged on

  • Requirements · clarifies scope before designing
  • Decomposition · sensible components and data model
  • Scalability · reliability and scaling trade-offs
  • Critical thinkers · latency/consistency awareness (relevant to trading/real-time systems)
  • Compelling · explains and defends design choices clearly

Where this round sits

JPMorgan’s published process. Lime marks the stage this round runs.

  1. 01
    Explore and apply
  2. 02
    Recruiter screen
  3. 03
    On-demand recorded video interview
  4. 04
    Technical assessment (technology roles)
  5. 05
    Final round: behavioral and fit interviews
  6. 06
    Final round: technical conversationthis round
  7. 07
    Final round: live coding (technology roles)
  8. 08
    Decision
What happens in each stage›
Explore and apply
JPMorgan publishes a four-stage framework: Explore, Apply, Interview, Decision. It asks candidates to put achievements at the front of the resume 'using measurable data when applicable', and tells students to focus on no more than three summer internship applications. Internships run 10 to 12 weeks for undergraduates in their next-to-last year; full-time programs run 24 to 36 months.
Recruiter screen
A short live conversation on background, motivation and level fit. JPMorgan does not name it as a separate stage, describing the interview phase only as meeting several people across multiple rounds, and it is most consistent on experienced and lateral pipelines.
On-demand recorded video interview
JPMorgan publishes this format in its hiring FAQ: interviewing technology presents the questions and records your responses inside a designated timeframe, camera and microphone required, with business attire and a distraction-free environment recommended. There is no live interviewer and no follow-ups. It is one of the firm's three named assessment types, alongside structured live interviews and virtual skills assessments.
Technical assessment (technology roles)
JPMorgan's hiring FAQ describes technical assessments as standardised tests of job-relevant skills that take the form of online tests or live technical interviews. On software engineering pipelines this is the timed algorithmic coding round. Investment banking analyst candidates do not sit it.
Final round: behavioral and fit interviews
The stage JPMorgan describes as meeting several people across multiple rounds. This is the competency seat, aimed at the qualities the firm publishes: tenacious, critical thinkers, collaborative, compelling, high performers.
Final round: technical conversation
The spoken technical seat. For technology roles at Associate level and above this is system design; for investment banking analysts it is accounting, valuation and a DCF walk. Analyst-level engineering loops usually skip system design entirely.
Final round: live coding (technology roles)
A shared-editor coding seat inside the final round for software engineering candidates. Banking analyst candidates do not sit it.
Decision
JPMorgan reviews the whole application and contacts you with an offer if the match is there, and points candidates who miss toward other roles. Student applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and the firm says it cannot accelerate a decision for a competing offer.

Sources

Built from what JPMorgan publishes about its own process and from real interview data. No leaked question lists. The questions you get are generated against your own resume, so they are not from anyone else's interview.

  • companyJPMorganChase, How we hirejpmorganchase.com

    The four-stage process (Explore, Apply, Interview, Decision), 'We're interested in hiring the whole person, not just a set of skills', the advice to 'be yourself', the instruction to highlight achievements 'using measurable data when applicable', and the expectation of meeting several people across multiple rounds.

  • companyJPMorganChase, How we hire: frequently asked questionsjpmorganchase.com

    The published assessment types: 'structured live interviews, on-demand/recorded interviews, and virtual skills assessments.' The recorded-interview format (technology presents questions and records responses inside a designated timeframe, camera and microphone required, business attire and a distraction-free environment recommended). The technical assessment description (online tests, or technical interviews where you demonstrate skills live). The rolling review of student applications and the recommendation to focus on no more than three summer internship applications.

  • companyJPMorganChase, Students and graduatesjpmorganchase.com

    Program shapes: internships run 10 to 12 weeks and are offered to undergraduates in their next-to-last year; full-time programs run 24 to 36 months depending on the role.

  • datalevels.fyi, JPMorgan Chase Software Engineer levelslevels.fyi

    The engineering level ladder: Analyst, then Associate, Senior Associate and Vice President, with additional levels above.

Sources last checked . Hiring loops change, so this date is the honest limit on everything above.

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