NatWest – Software Engineer (B7) Interview Experience
Team-Based Role (Referred Application)
NatWest Group is one of the leading commercial and retail banking groups in the UK. It offers a wide range of investment and payment products. Recently, I interviewed for the WOW Software Engineer (B7) role as a Backend Engineer.
The process consisted of 3 rounds:
- Machine Coding Round
- Technical Discussion Round
- HR Round
Here’s a detailed breakdown 👇
Machine Coding Round (Hands-On Microservice Enhancement)
A Git repository link to clone an existing microservice. A requirement to add a REST outbound call in the service layer.The response from that call had to be mapped into a predefined structure.
What I Did
- Cloned the repository.
- Understood the project structure and application flow.
- Implemented the outbound REST call in the service layer.
- Mapped the response to the required DTO structure.
- Ensured the application was running successfully.
- Validated the happy-path scenario.
I completed the working implementation in about one hour, ran the application, and demonstrated the expected output.
Beyond the Happy Path
After completing the core requirement, I also discussed potential improvements:
- Input validation handling
- Exception-handling strategy
- Handling external service failures
- Logging best practices
- Retry and fallback mechanisms
- Improving code structure for maintainability
Key takeaway: Completing the task is important — but explaining production-level improvements makes a strong impact.
Technical Discussion Round
This round focused on my real-time experience and the concepts mentioned in my resume.
Topics Covered:
☕ Java Concepts
- OOP principles
- Collections framework
- Exception handling
- Multithreading basics
- Memory management
- Spring Boot fundamentals
🧩 Microservices Architecture
- Service communication patterns
- REST vs asynchronous communication
- Inter-service dependency handling
- Resilience patterns
📨 Kafka
- Producers and consumers
- Consumer groups
- Offset management
- Message ordering
- Error-handling strategies
🏗️ SOLID Design Principles
- Real-life examples of applying each principle
- How SOLID improves maintainability
- Refactoring legacy code using SOLID
🔄 Saga Architecture
- Orchestration vs choreography
- Distributed transaction handling
- Compensating transactions
- Real-world implementation experience
This round was largely experience-driven, meaning the interviewers asked scenario-based questions derived directly from my resume.
Key takeaway: Be prepared to deeply explain everything you mention in your resume.
HR Round
The HR round focused on:
- Company values and principles (which I researched beforehand).
- Behavioral questions.
- Salary negotiation.
- Notice period and availability to join.
Before the HR round, I reviewed the company’s core principles and aligned my experience accordingly.
Key takeaway: Never ignore the HR round. Preparation here can significantly influence the final outcome.
What Helped Me Succeed
✔ Strong fundamentals in Java
✔ Hands-on experience with microservices
✔ Understanding of Kafka and distributed systems
✔ Thinking beyond just the happy path
✔ Preparing company principles in advance
✔ Clear communication
If you're preparing for microservices-based roles, focus on:
- Real-world implementation
- Failure-handling strategies
- System design thinking
- Clear communication of concepts
If this helps someone preparing for interviews, I’d be happy 😊Feel free to connect and discuss!
LinkedIn: Anshika Kapoor
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