IBM · Phone screen → Onsite
In processSome Info About the IBM SWE Intern 2027 Process
People are already interviewing for IBM SWE Intern 2027. We do not have a full 2027 interview debrief yet, so these are real questions from candidates who interviewed for IBM’s 2026 intern and co-op roles.
Coverage: Software Developer Intern, Software Engineer Intern, SDE Intern, and Software Developer Co-op. Interviews took place from late 2025 through spring 2026. This post covers live interviews only, not the OA or recorded assessment.
The short version
Candidates have reported upcoming interviews in Austin, Cambridge, SVL, Tucson, and other locations. Many invites say 45-minute technical interview.
No candidate has shared a detailed 2027 interview debrief yet. The 2026 interviews were very different from team to team:
- Some were almost fully behavioral.
- Some were deep résumé interviews.
- Some included one coding problem.
- A few candidates had a second technical round.
- Several candidates got an offer after only one interview.
The safest plan is to know your résumé very well and still prepare for one easy-to-medium coding question.
Some coding questions candidates received last year
Two Sum
One Summer 2026 candidate spent about ten minutes talking about a past experience. The interviewer then asked them to solve Two Sum.
No extra constraint or follow-up was reported.
LeetCode Medium
One NYC candidate said the interview was technical-heavy and included a LeetCode Medium.
The candidate did not share the full problem, so we do not know the exact topic or constraints.
Those were the only clearly reported LeetCode-style live questions in this set. Most candidates did not receive live coding.
Some technical questions candidates received last year
JavaScript
- What is the difference between === and == in JavaScript?
The question came from a candidate’s full-stack project. The frontend used JavaScript, so the interviewer followed the résumé.
Object-oriented programming
- What are the four main principles of OOP?
- Explain abstraction.
- Explain encapsulation.
- Explain inheritance.
- Explain polymorphism.
Docker and Kubernetes
- What is Docker?
- Why would you use Docker?
- What is Kubernetes?
- What problem does Kubernetes solve?
The candidate only reported these as basic concept questions. No system-design follow-up was shared.
Project implementation
One candidate was given a project idea and asked:
- How would you build this?
- What components would you need?
- How would you start the implementation?
The candidate did not share the exact project, so it is not possible to reconstruct the full question.
AI and project experience
One panel focused heavily on the candidate’s AI experience.
The interviewers asked about projects on the résumé, what the candidate personally built, and how the technology was used.
Technical checks from the résumé
Several candidates said the interviewer picked technologies directly from their résumé and asked basic questions about them.
The point was not to solve a hard problem. It was to check whether the candidate had actually used the tools they listed.
Behavioral questions candidates received
These were directly reported:
- Why IBM?
- What does IBM stand for?
- How did you hear about this position?
- Are you familiar with the tech stack used in this role?
- Tell me about yourself.
- Walk me through your résumé.
- Tell me about one of your projects.
- What did you personally build?
- Why did you choose that technology?
- What was the hardest part of the project?
- Tell me about a difficult situation.
- Tell me about a time you worked with a team.
- What are your strengths?
- What are your weaknesses?
- What kind of work are you interested in?
- Why are you a good fit for this team?
15 candidate experiences for 2026 internship
01 — NYC: LeetCode Medium
Role: SDE Intern 2026
Result: Not shared
The candidate described the interview as technical-heavy.
They received one LeetCode Medium problem. They did not share the full question or say whether there was a separate behavioral section.
02 — Behavioral and résumé interview
Role: SDE Intern 2026
Result: Not shared
This candidate had no coding question.
The interview was behavioral, with questions about the candidate’s résumé and projects. They had prepared LeetCode, but did not need it.
03 — Austin: résumé deep dive
Role: SDE Intern 2026
Result: Offer
This candidate also received no coding question.
The interview was fully behavioral and résumé-based. The interviewer asked about projects and followed up on details.
The candidate’s main advice was not to exaggerate anything. If a technology is on the résumé, the interviewer may keep asking about it.
04 — Summer 2026: technical project discussion
Role: SWE Intern
Result: Not shared
The candidate said the interview was a mix of behavioral and technical questions.
There was no LeetCode. Most of the time was spent breaking down projects and past work. The interviewer wanted to make sure the candidate understood everything on the résumé.
05 — Summer 2026: Two Sum
Role: SDE Intern
Result: Not shared
The interviewer spent about ten minutes discussing one experience from the candidate’s résumé.
Then they asked the candidate to solve Two Sum. The interview ran a little over time because they continued talking after the coding question.
06 — One 40-minute interview
Role: SWE Intern 2026, multiple locations
Result: Offer
There was only one interview.
The candidate described the time roughly like this:
- 30 minutes of behavioral questions
- Less than five minutes of technical questions
- Around ten minutes for the candidate’s questions
The technical part mainly confirmed that the candidate had used the tools listed on the résumé.
07 — San Jose Fall Co-op
Role: SDE Fall 2026 Co-op
Result: Offer
The interview lasted about 30 minutes.
Most of the technical questions came from the candidate’s résumé. The interview ended with behavioral questions.
There was only one live round. The offer came about ten days later.
08 — Fall Co-op: résumé and interests
Role: SDE Fall 2026 Co-op
Result: Rejected
This candidate also had a 30-minute interview.
They were asked about their résumé and technical interests. The conversation was relaxed and did not include a reported coding problem.
09 — Blitz interview followed by a technical round
Role: SDE Intern 2026
Result: Offer
The first interview was labeled a Blitz interview.
It lasted 30 minutes and focused on the résumé and behavioral questions.
The candidate later received a second technical interview. It lasted around 45 minutes, but the candidate did not share the questions.
10 — Pure behavioral interview
Role: SDE Intern 2026
Result: Offer
This candidate’s interview was fully behavioral.
There was only one live round. The candidate heard back with an offer about two weeks later.
They recommended knowing the résumé and preparing standard behavioral stories.
11 — Three interviewers, mostly behavioral
Role: SDE Intern 2026
Result: Offer
The interview included two senior managers and one long-term employee.
It was mostly behavioral. The candidate was asked about the résumé and past experience.
There was only one live round. The offer came four days later.
12 — Application Developer: basic IBM questions
Role: Application Developer Intern, Summer 2026
Result: Offer
Most questions were behavioral.
The candidate reported questions such as:
- Why IBM?
- What does IBM stand for?
- How did you hear about this position?
- Are you familiar with the required tech stack?
13 — SDE: explain how you would build a project
Role: Software Development Engineer Intern, Summer 2026
Result: Offer
The interview was mostly behavioral.
The main technical question asked the candidate to explain how they would implement a specific project.
The candidate did not share the exact project. After the interview, the recruiter went silent for a few weeks, but the offer still arrived.
14 — OOP, Docker, and Kubernetes
Role: Software Engineer Intern, Summer 2026
Result: No offer
The candidate received a mix of technical, résumé, and behavioral questions.
Technical questions included:
- What are the four principles of OOP?
- What is Docker?
- What is Kubernetes?
No live coding was reported.
15 — Technical résumé round, then situational interview
Role: IBM software internship, 2026 cycle
Result: Not shared
The technical interview was mostly based on the résumé, projects, and past experience.
One project used JavaScript on the frontend and C# on the backend. The interviewer asked:
- What is the difference between === and == in JavaScript?
A few hours later, the candidate received an invitation for a situational interview.
That round was behavioral. The questions followed the format:
- What would you do in this situation?
- How would you handle this problem?
What came up the most?
1. The résumé
This was the biggest pattern.
Be ready to explain:
- what the project does;
- what you personally built;
- why you chose the stack;
- one hard problem;
- one bug;
- how you tested it;
- what you would change now.
2. Behavioral questions
Prepare real stories about:
- failure;
- conflict;
- teamwork;
- learning something quickly;
- solving a difficult problem;
- taking ownership.
Do not use the same story for every question.
3. Basic technical questions
Review the tools already on your résumé.
If you list JavaScript, know JavaScript basics.
If you list Docker or Kubernetes, know what they do and why you used them.
If you list an AI project, be ready to explain the model, data, limits, and your own work.
4. One coding problem
Most candidates did not get live coding, but some did.
Practice enough that Two Sum or a normal LeetCode Medium will not surprise you.
Final checklist
☐ I can explain every project on my résumé.
☐ I know what I personally contributed.
☐ I can explain why I chose each technology.
☐ I have five different behavioral stories.
☐ I can answer Why IBM in a personal way.
☐ I reviewed the languages and tools on my résumé.
☐ I can explain OOP, Docker, and Kubernetes if they appear on my résumé.
☐ I can solve one easy-to-medium coding problem while talking.
☐ I am ready for either one interview or a second technical round.
Comments
0No comments yet — be the first to share what you know.