SDET Interview Handbook: Coding, API, Automation and CI/CD

Overview

A practical SDET interview revision guide in 30 concise chapters covering four areas interviewers probe: coding (language fundamentals, OOP, data structures, coding problems, debugging, SQL), API testing (HTTP, authentication, validation, contract testing, scenarios), automation (locators, waits, framework design, test data, flaky tests) and CI/CD (Git, GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Docker, reports and quality gates). It closes with a scenario-based answer framework, senior SDET and behavioral Q&A, a final checklist and a 7-day revision plan.

Table of contents

1. SDET Role and Responsibilities
2. Tell Me About Yourself + Project Story
3. Coding Round Strategy
4. Language Fundamentals
5. OOP Interview Questions
6. Data Structures and Patterns
7. Coding Problems with Answers
8. Debugging and Exception Handling
9. SQL for SDET
10. API Fundamentals and HTTP
11. API Auth, Headers and Parameters
12. API Validation and Contract Testing
13. API Scenario Q&A
14. Automation Fundamentals
15. Locators, Waits and Assertions
16. Framework Design
17. Test Data, Fixtures, Config and Secrets
18. Flaky Tests, Parallelism and Retries
19. UI Automation Scenario Q&A
20. CI/CD Fundamentals
21. Git and Pipeline Triggers
22. GitHub Actions and Jenkins Examples
23. Docker for SDET
24. Reports, Artifacts and Quality Gates
25. Scenario-Based Answer Framework
26. Senior SDET + Behavioral Q&A
27. Final Checklist + 7-Day Revision Plan

Who this resource is for

• Automation Tester
• SDET
• API Tester
• QA Engineer