SAP Interview

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SAP Interview Process: Complete 2026 Guide

Interviewed at SAP in 2020 for a cloud platform engineer position. The process was different from typical Silicon Valley interviews – here’s what you need to know.

Overview

SAP is enterprise software at global scale. If you’ve worked at a large company, you’ve probably used SAP software. They’re transitioning from on-premise to cloud (SAP Cloud Platform), which creates interesting technical challenges.

The interview is less leetcode-heavy than FAANG, more focused on practical software engineering and understanding enterprise needs.

Interview Structure

Recruiter Screen (30 minutes):

  • Background discussion
  • Why SAP?
  • Salary expectations
  • Availability

Technical Phone Screen (45 minutes):

  • 1-2 coding problems (easier than FAANG)
  • Discussion of past projects
  • Some technical questions about your domain

My problem: “Design a simple caching system.” Straightforward.

Virtual Onsite (3-4 hours):

  • 2 technical rounds (coding + system design)
  • 1 hiring manager round
  • 1 cultural fit / team match round

Shorter than FAANG but thorough.

Technical Focus Areas

1. Practical Coding (Moderate Difficulty)

Expect real-world problems, not algorithm puzzles:

  • API design and implementation
  • Database query optimization
  • Data processing pipelines
  • Integration problems
  • Error handling and logging

Medium leetcode at most. Focus on clean, maintainable code.

2. Enterprise Software Knowledge

SAP cares about enterprise patterns:

  • Microservices architecture
  • API gateways
  • Authentication/authorization
  • Multi-tenancy
  • Data privacy (GDPR, etc.)

3. Cloud Platforms

Especially for cloud roles:

  • AWS/Azure/GCP knowledge
  • Containerization (Docker, Kubernetes)
  • CI/CD pipelines
  • Monitoring and observability

4. Database Skills

SAP has their own database (HANA), but general DB knowledge matters:

  • SQL proficiency
  • Database design
  • Query optimization
  • NoSQL understanding

Coding Interview Details

Round 1 – Implementation:

Problem I got: “Implement a REST API for a simple task management system with authentication.”

They wanted:

  • API design (endpoints, request/response format)
  • Code structure (controllers, models, etc.)
  • Authentication approach
  • Error handling
  • Testing strategy

More about software engineering than algorithms.

Round 2 – Problem Solving:

Problem: “Given log files from multiple servers, find all errors that occurred more than 5 times in the last hour.”

Required:

  • File parsing
  • Efficient data structures (hash map)
  • Time-based filtering
  • Handling large files

Practical problem you’d actually solve on the job.

System Design Interview

Question: “Design a multi-tenant SaaS application that can handle 10,000 enterprise customers.”

Key topics:

  1. Multi-tenancy:
    • Data isolation strategies
    • Schema per tenant vs shared schema
    • Performance considerations
  2. Security:
    • Authentication and authorization
    • Data encryption
    • Compliance (GDPR, SOC 2)
  3. Scalability:
    • Horizontal scaling
    • Database sharding
    • Caching strategies
  4. Operations:
    • Monitoring and alerting
    • Deployment strategy
    • Disaster recovery

They want to see you think like an enterprise software engineer, not just scale-focused.

Behavioral Interview

SAP values (they really emphasize these):

  • Customer obsession: Enterprise customers have different needs
  • Innovation: Moving from legacy to cloud
  • Collaboration: Large, distributed teams
  • Integrity: Handling sensitive business data

Prepare STAR stories about:

  • Working with stakeholders/customers
  • Handling ambiguity
  • Technical decisions with business impact
  • Team collaboration across time zones

Preparation Strategy

For Coding (2-3 weeks):

  • 30-50 leetcode easy/medium problems
  • Focus on implementation over tricks
  • Practice API design
  • Review error handling patterns

For System Design (2-3 weeks):

  • Study multi-tenant architectures
  • Learn about enterprise security
  • Understand cloud platforms
  • Review microservices patterns

For Behavioral (1 week):

  • Research SAP products and cloud strategy
  • Prepare examples of enterprise software work
  • Think about customer-facing experiences

Difficulty: 5.5/10

Significantly easier than FAANG (8-9/10), on par with mid-tier companies.

The technical bar is lower, but they expect maturity and enterprise software understanding.

Compensation (2024 data)

  • New grad: $100-120K base + $10-20K stock
  • Mid-level: $120-150K base + $20-40K stock
  • Senior: $150-200K base + $40-80K stock
  • Staff+: $200-280K+ total comp

Lower than FAANG but competitive for enterprise software. Good benefits (German company perks).

Culture & Work Environment

Pros:

  • Excellent work-life balance (40 hours/week or less)
  • Stable, established company
  • Global company, diverse teams
  • Good benefits (German company culture)
  • Interesting enterprise problems
  • Remote/flexible work options

Cons:

  • Slow pace (enterprise software cycles)
  • Lots of process and bureaucracy
  • Some legacy technology
  • Lower compensation than FAANG
  • Less “sexy” than consumer tech

Things That Surprised Me

  1. Global teams: Worked with people across 4 continents
  2. Process-heavy: More governance than I expected
  3. Customer focus: Direct interaction with enterprise customers
  4. Work-life balance: Actually respected, not just claimed

My Experience

The interview was straightforward. Coding problems were practical, not tricky. System design was about real enterprise concerns. Behavioral round focused on working in global teams.

Got the offer but compensation was lower than I wanted. Great for someone prioritizing work-life balance over maximum comp.

Tips for Success

  1. Emphasize enterprise experience: Working with large customers, compliance, security
  2. Show maturity: They want experienced engineers who can work independently
  3. Understand the business: SAP is about helping businesses run better
  4. Ask about cloud strategy: Transition from on-premise to cloud is big initiative
  5. Be ready for process: Enterprise software = more process than startups

Who Should Interview at SAP

Good fit if you:

  • Want excellent work-life balance
  • Enjoy enterprise software challenges
  • Value stability over rapid growth
  • Like working on global teams
  • Don’t need maximum compensation

Not a good fit if you:

  • Want cutting-edge consumer tech
  • Need FAANG-level comp
  • Prefer fast-paced startup environment
  • Don’t like process/bureaucracy

SAP is a solid choice for mature engineers who want to work on interesting enterprise problems without sacrificing personal life. Interview is fair and not overly difficult.

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