Type · architecture
Design the backend for a 'recently viewed properties' feature. Consider data volume, retrieval speed, and potential for personalization.
How to Pass the Rightmove Software Engineer Interview in 2026
The Rightmove DNA (TL;DR)
The final interview round at Rightmove frequently assesses a candidate's capacity to enhance user experience across core features like Search Search and Mortgages Get. They look for practical contributions that simplify complex real estate decisions, directly impacting user interaction with the platform.
The Rightmove Interview Loop
Your onsite loop will typically consist of 4 rounds.
- 1
Round 1
Recruiter ScreenMotivation, role fit, logistics. - 2
Round 2
Coding ScreenLeetCode-medium algorithmic problems under time pressure. - 3
Round 3
System DesignDistributed systems, trade-offs at scale, architecture under constraints. - 4
Round 4
Onsite CodingLeetCode-hard, debugging, code clarity, edge cases. - 5
Round 5
Behavioral / LeadershipPast evidence of ownership, influence, resolving conflict.
The Danger Zone: Top Reasons Candidates Fail
Based on our database of Rightmove interview outcomes, avoid these common traps:
- Making superficial changes without addressing underlying design issues.
- Incorrectly initializing or updating the map.
- Inefficient iteration over the dataset.
- Off-by-one errors in array indexing or loop bounds.
Get the full Rightmove playbook, free
Every round, the exact grading rubric interviewers score against, all the questions, and unlimited mock-interview practice. Free account, no credit card.
Test Yourself: Real Rightmove Questions
Three real prompts pulled from our database.
Type · conflict resolution
Tell me about a time you disagreed with a colleague or manager about a marketing decision. How did you handle the situation, and what was the resolution?
Type · past-experience
Tell me about a time you disagreed with a teammate or manager on a technical approach. How did you handle the situation, and what was the resolution?
+ many more questions, signals, and worked examples
Sign up to unlock the full Rightmove grading rubric
Rightmove Interview Question Bank
A sample from our database, grouped by round. Sign up to see the full set.
9 of 14 questions shown
1
Recruiter Screen
1- 1
Type · motivation
What interests you about Rightmove's mission to make the property market simpler, more efficient, and more enjoyable for everyone?
2
Coding Screen
3- 2
Type · algorithmic
Given a list of property listings with their coordinates (latitude, longitude) and a user's current location, find the N closest properties. Assume you have a function to calculate distance between two coordinates. - 3
Type · algorithmic
You are given a dataset of property viewing times. Write a function to calculate the average viewing time for properties in a specific postcode district, ignoring outliers (viewings longer than 2 hours or shorter than 5 minutes). - + 1 more questions in this round (sign up to unlock)
3
System Design
3- 4
Type · architecture
Design a real-time notification system for new property listings that match user-defined search criteria (e.g., '3-bed house in SW1A for under £1M'). Consider scalability for millions of users and listings. - 5
Type · architecture
How would you design a service to recommend similar properties to users based on their browsing history and saved properties? Discuss data storage, recommendation algorithms, and API design. - + 1 more questions in this round (sign up to unlock)
4
Onsite Coding
3- 6
Type · algorithmic
Implement a function that takes a list of property addresses and returns a map where keys are postcode districts and values are lists of addresses belonging to that district. Assume a helper function `get_postcode_district(address)` exists. - 7
Type · algorithmic
Given a stream of property price updates, design a data structure that can efficiently return the median price of all properties updated so far. - + 1 more questions in this round (sign up to unlock)
5
Behavioral / Leadership
4- 8
Type · past-experience
Tell me about a time you had to make a significant technical decision with incomplete information. How did you approach it, what was the outcome, and what did you learn? - 9
Type · past-experience
Describe a complex bug you encountered in a production system. What steps did you take to diagnose and resolve it, and what measures did you put in place to prevent recurrence? - + 2 more questions in this round (sign up to unlock)
Unlock all 14 Rightmove questions, free
No credit card. Every question with its framework, the grading signals interviewers score against, and a worked answer for each.
Interview tracks at Rightmove
How Rightmove's DNA translates across functions. Pick your role.
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Practice Rightmove interviews end-to-end
Rightmove Mock Interview
Run a live mock interview with our AI interviewer using Rightmove-style prompts. Get scored on structure, signal, and answer length - exactly how the real loop grades you.
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STAR Stories for Rightmove Behavioral Rounds
Build a Story Bank of your past wins, mapped to the leadership signals Rightmove interviewers grade on. Reuse them across every behavioral round.
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Rightmove Interview Prep Hub
The frameworks behind every Rightmove round: CIRCLES for product sense, hypothesis-driven debugging for analytical, STAR for behavioral. Learn each one in 10 minutes.
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Interview Frameworks
CIRCLES, STAR, AARRR, RICE, MECE. The exact frameworks that make Rightmove interviewers nod instead of frown. Step-by-step playbooks with the moves and the pitfalls.
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Sample answers
What a strong answer to these Rightmove interview questions shows.
Design the backend for a 'recently viewed properties' feature. Consider data volume, retrieval speed, and potential for personalization.
A strong answer shows: Choice of appropriate data store (e.g., NoSQL, cache).; Efficient query design for fast retrieval.; Consideration of data volume and user session management..
Tell me about a time you disagreed with a colleague or manager about a marketing decision. How did you handle the situation, and what was the resolution?
A strong answer shows: Focuses on understanding the other person's perspective.; Emphasizes finding common ground or a mutually agreeable solution.; Demonstrates professionalism and respect, even in disagreement..
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