Android Machine Coding Round Interview

Android Machine Coding Problem Statement

Today, machine coding rounds are an important part of Android interviews at product-based companies.

You can think of the Android machine coding round as an interview where you build a one or two screen app feature from scratch.

For example, you may be asked to fetch data from an API and display it in a list, handle loading and error states, and follow the MVVM architecture, all within 45–60 minutes.

When it comes to the Android machine coding round, companies conduct it in one of two ways.

• Live Machine Coding

• Home Assignment

Live Machine Coding

• This happens during a video interview.

• You’re asked to share your screen and code in real time while interviewers observe how you code, structure your project, handle edge cases, and communicate your decisions.

• 45–60 minutes, I teach my students how to do this in just 45 minutes with practice.

• As the time is limited, unit test might not be the focus.

Home Assignment

• You’re given a problem statement and a fixed time window (1 day to 7 days) to submit the solution.

• You are evaluated based on the code quality, structure, architecture decisions, testing and documentation, and the overall completeness of the solution.

• Unit test is important in most of the cases.

Whether the machine coding round is live or a home assignment, the type of problems asked usually fall into the same categories.

Common Categories Across Both Formats

• Build an App from Scratch

• Extend an Existing Codebase

• Code Review, Bugs & Improvements

Build an App from Scratch

You’re asked to build a small Android app: one feature, sometimes two features, one screen or two screens max.

Examples

• Fetch data from an API and display it in a list, handling loading and error states.

• Implement instant search using a given search API.

• Implement pagination on the Android side using an API that supports paging.

• Build the app with an offline-first architecture, where the app works completely without internet.

From what we’ve seen, these are the exact kinds of questions covered in our Android Program at Outcome School, which is why our students consistently perform well in machine coding rounds.

Join our Android Program: Outcome School Android Program

Extend an Existing Codebase

You’re given a pre-written project and asked to:

• Add new functionality

• Implement an additional layer (UI / ViewModel)

• Work with an already implemented data layer

This evaluates how well you understand and modify existing code.

Code Review, Bugs & Improvements

You’re provided with a codebase and asked to:

• Identify issues or bugs

• Suggest improvements

• Recommend better architecture or practices

This focuses more on debugging.

Knowledge comes to those who crave for it.

Thanks

Amit Shekhar

Founder, Outcome School