Google 2026 New Grad SWE: R1, Onsite, and Team Match Timeline

Role: Software Engineer, New Grad
Result: Passed the interview loop and entered Team Match
Report time: February 2026
Application: Referral

Timeline

1. Completed the OA on October 25, 2025.
2. Completed R1 coding on November 13.
3. Completed R1 behavioral on November 25 after a reschedule.
4. Completed the onsite on January 6, 2026.
5. Submitted transcript and visa information on January 9.
6. Received the Team Match form on January 13.

R1 coding

The candidate received a graph problem and first thought of Union-Find. The interviewer asked for a different and “better” approach, then guided the discussion toward DFS.

The candidate did not finish the code but explained the complete approach and the implementation details they would need to handle. The original report did not preserve the graph's inputs, output, or exact task.

R1 behavioral

The interviewer asked eight or nine common behavioral questions. They did not push deeply into every story, but they repeatedly checked the candidate's specific actions and restated answers to confirm their understanding.

Onsite coding 1

The first onsite problem was a foundational Union-Find task. The candidate finished early and completed a dry run. The exact prompt was not preserved.

Onsite coding 2

The second session began with about ten minutes of conversation and behavioral questions.

The coding task was described only as a familiar object-oriented-design problem using a HashMap and sorting by frequency. A follow-up asked the candidate to return an item randomly in proportion to its frequency. The candidate completed the modification, but the source did not preserve the object's API or full input and output rules.