01
How does HashMap work internally?
Show answer
It uses the key's hashCode to find a bucket and equals to resolve collisions, giving O(1) average lookups; Java 8 converts long buckets into trees.
Fidelity Investments Automation Testing Interview Questions & Answers
Curated interview practice questions with answers. These are practice scenarios, not a verified list of past interview questions.
About Fidelity Investments hiring for Automation Testing roles
Fidelity Investments is a large American financial services company providing brokerage, retirement plans, mutual funds and wealth management. In India it operates technology and operations centres that build and support its trading, investment and customer platforms. These centres hire software engineers, quality engineers, data engineers, analysts and operations professionals.
For Automation Testing roles, this Fidelity Investments practice set focuses most on Selenium WebDriver (7), Performance Testing with JMeter (6), Git, Maven and Jenkins (5), Core Java for Testers (4). It has 8 easy, 29 medium, 3 hard questions, so you can start easy and work up to the harder ones.
- Company type
- Banking & finance
- Headquarters
- Boston, USA
- Main India offices
- Bengaluru, Chennai, Gurugram
Fidelity Investments Automation Testing interview process
- Online coding assessment
- Technical round 1 (DSA + language)
- Technical round 2 (design or domain)
- Managerial and HR round
Typical pattern based on public candidate experiences. Rounds vary by role, team and year.
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02
How do you extract an auth token with JSON Extractor and use it in later JMeter requests?
Show answer
Add a JSON Extractor as a child of the login sampler. Set the variable name to token, the JSON path expression to $.access_token, match number 1 and a default like TOKEN_NOT_FOUND so failures are visible. Then add an HTTP Header Manager at Thread Group level with Authorization set to Bearer ${token}. Each thread extracts and uses its own token, because JMeter variables are per thread.
03
What does alwaysRun = true do in TestNG?
Show answer
On a configuration method like @AfterMethod(alwaysRun = true), it makes the method run even when tests fail or are skipped, or when groups filter would exclude it. It is essential for cleanup such as driver.quit(). On a test with dependsOnMethods, alwaysRun = true runs it even if the dependency failed. Missing alwaysRun on teardown is a common cause of leftover browsers in CI.
04
What is the difference between extract().response() and extract().path()?
Show answer
extract().response() returns the full Response object, so you can read status, headers, cookies, body as string, and use jsonPath() several times. extract().path("field") returns one value directly from the body. Use path() when you need a single value like an id or token, and response() when you need many details or want to log the response.
05
How do you assert on an array in a JSON response using Hamcrest?
Show answer
Use collection matchers inside body(). For example body("data.id", hasItems(1, 2)), body("data", hasSize(6)), body("data.email", everyItem(containsString("@"))) and body("data.find { it.id == 3 }.name", equalTo("Neha")). These check the whole collection in one line. For complex rules, extract a List with jsonPath().getList() and assert with Java or AssertJ.
06
What is the difference between native, hybrid and mobile web apps from a testing point of view?
Show answer
A native app is built with platform SDKs and is tested through native locators like accessibility id or resource-id. A mobile web app runs in the device browser, so you automate it much like desktop Selenium with mobile Chrome or Safari. A hybrid app wraps web content inside a native shell, so tests switch between the NATIVE_APP context and a WEBVIEW context. Knowing the type decides your driver, locators and setup.
07
How do you verify response time and headers in REST Assured?
Show answer
Use then().time(lessThan(2000L)) and then().header("Content-Type", containsString("json")) along with body assertions.
08
How do you use Cucumber with REST Assured for API BDD tests?
Show answer
Write scenarios in business terms, such as "When a customer places an order for 2 items". In step definitions, build the request with REST Assured, store the Response in a shared scenario context, and assert in Then steps using then().statusCode() and JSON path checks. Keep base URI, auth and specs in a helper class so steps stay short and the same steps serve many features.
09
What is OAuth 2.0 in API testing?
Show answer
An authorisation framework where a client obtains an access token from an auth server and sends it as a Bearer token; tests fetch and reuse the token in setup.
10
How do you handle StaleElementReferenceException?
Show answer
Re-locate the element after the DOM refreshes, use explicit waits for the refreshed element, don't keep element references for long, or wrap the action in retry logic.
11
How do you switch between native and webview contexts in a hybrid app?
Show answer
// Requires the webview to be debuggable in the app build
Set<String> contexts = driver.getContextHandles();
for (String ctx : contexts) {
if (ctx.startsWith("WEBVIEW")) {
driver.context(ctx);
break;
}
}
driver.findElement(By.cssSelector("#email")).sendKeys("qa@test.com");
// back to native controls
driver.context("NATIVE_APP");
12
How would you test an API with rate limiting?
Show answer
Read the documented limit, then send requests quickly until you exceed it and assert a 429 Too Many Requests response with headers like Retry-After or remaining quota. Wait for the window to reset and confirm requests succeed again. Also check limits are per user or key as designed. Run these tests in isolation so they do not throttle the rest of the suite.
13
How do you pass thread count and duration to a JMeter test from the command line?
Show answer
// In the Thread Group fields use property functions with defaults
Number of Threads: ${__P(users,10)}
Ramp-up period: ${__P(rampup,30)}
Duration (seconds): ${__P(duration,300)}
// Then override them when running
jmeter -n -t load.jmx -l out.jtl -Jusers=200 -Jrampup=120 -Jduration=1800
14
Chrome inside a Docker node keeps crashing with session deleted because of page crash. How do you fix it?
Show answer
This is almost always shared memory exhaustion, because Docker's default /dev/shm of 64 MB is too small for Chrome. Set shm_size: 2gb in Compose or --shm-size=2g in docker run. Also check the container's memory limit and the number of sessions per node, since several browsers in one container multiply memory use. Heavy pages or memory leaks in long sessions can also crash tabs, so restart sessions between test classes.
15
What is the Maven build lifecycle?
Show answer
The default lifecycle has phases in order: validate, compile, test, package, verify, install and deploy. Running a phase runs all earlier phases too, so mvn test compiles and then runs unit tests through Surefire. mvn verify also runs integration tests with Failsafe. There are also clean and site lifecycles. Automation suites usually run with mvn clean test or mvn clean verify.
16
How are throughput, response time and concurrent users related?
Show answer
Little's Law links them: concurrent users equal throughput multiplied by the time each user spends per request, which is response time plus think time. For example, 50 requests per second with 2 seconds response and 8 seconds think time needs about 500 users. If response time rises while users stay fixed, throughput falls. This helps you size thread counts from a target throughput and spot when the system has saturated.
17
What are the different types of waits in Selenium?
Show answer
Implicit, explicit (WebDriverWait with ExpectedConditions) and fluent waits; avoid mixing implicit and explicit waits and never rely on Thread.sleep.
18
A mobile test fails intermittently because an animation is still running when you tap. How do you fix it?
Show answer
Wait for a stable end state instead of sleeping, for example wait until the target element is visible and enabled or until a spinner disappears. On test devices and emulators you can disable animations with adb shell settings put global window_animation_scale 0, along with the transition and animator scales. Ask developers for an idle indicator if needed. Disabling animations makes tests faster and more stable, but keep one manual check of the real animations.
19
Describe a time you automated a manual build or release step for the QA team.
Show answer
Situation: before each regression a tester spent an hour deploying the build to QA and seeding data by hand. Task: remove that manual step. Action: I wrote a Jenkins pipeline stage that deployed the build, ran database seed scripts and a smoke check, then triggered the regression job, and documented it for the team. Result: setup dropped to ten minutes without human effort, and regressions could run overnight automatically.
20
What are wrapper classes in Java?
Show answer
Classes such as Integer and Double that wrap primitive types as objects, needed for collections and for parsing text from web elements.
21
What are the advantages of version control for test code?
Show answer
Git tracks changes, enables code review, branching and rollback and lets teams collaborate on the framework safely.
22
What is Docker and how does it help tests?
Show answer
Docker packages tools in containers so tests run identically everywhere; Selenium Grid and browsers can be started quickly in containers.
23
What is the Page Object Model and what problem does it solve?
Show answer
POM is a design pattern where each page or component of the application has a class holding its locators and the actions a user can perform there, such as login() or searchProduct(). Tests call these methods instead of using Selenium directly. When the UI changes, you update one page class instead of dozens of tests, which reduces duplication and makes tests readable.
24
How do you handle dropdowns in Selenium?
Show answer
Use the Select class with selectByVisibleText, selectByValue or selectByIndex; for custom dropdowns click and choose from the list of elements.
25
What is the difference between average, median and 95th percentile response time?
Show answer
Average is the sum divided by count, so a few very slow requests can distort it. Median is the middle value, meaning half the requests were faster. The 95th percentile means 95 percent of requests were faster than that value, which reflects what most users experience including slow cases. SLAs are usually written on 90th, 95th or 99th percentiles because averages hide long tails that frustrate real users.
26
What is the difference between git merge and git rebase?
Show answer
Merge combines branches by creating a merge commit, keeping the full history exactly as it happened. Rebase replays your commits on top of another branch, producing a straight, linear history without a merge commit. Rebase is good for tidying a local feature branch before a pull request; never rebase commits that others have already pulled, because it rewrites history.
27
How do you handle a test that is flaky only in headless mode?
Show answer
Set window size explicitly, use proper waits, check animations and viewport differences, and capture screenshots and logs to find timing issues.
28
What locators does Selenium support?
Show answer
id, name, className, tagName, linkText, partialLinkText, CSS selector and XPath. Prefer stable ids or CSS, using XPath when needed.
29
What is a Jenkins agent and how do labels help run tests?
Show answer
An agent is a machine or container that runs build steps on behalf of the Jenkins controller. Labels are tags given to agents, such as linux, docker or windows-chrome. In a pipeline, agent { label 'docker' } sends the job to a matching agent. Testers use labels to send UI tests to agents with browsers or Docker installed, and to keep heavy test runs off the controller, which should only coordinate.
30
Your recorded JMeter script fails with 403 on every request after login. What is the likely cause?
Show answer
The script is probably replaying hard-coded dynamic values, such as a CSRF token, session cookie or auth header captured during recording. The server rejects them because they belong to the old session. Add an HTTP Cookie Manager so cookies are handled per thread, extract the CSRF or bearer token from the login response with an extractor, and replace the recorded value with the variable. Verify with View Results Tree on one thread.
31
Tests pass locally but fail on Jenkins. Why?
Show answer
Headless mode or screen resolution, timing issues, environment data, missing dependencies, browser–driver version mismatch or parallel conflicts. Check logs and failure screenshots and make waits robust.
32
How do you record videos of tests running on a Docker Selenium Grid?
Show answer
Add the selenium/video image as a sidecar container next to each node, sharing the node's display through DISPLAY_CONTAINER_NAME, and mount a folder for the mp4 files. Newer Grid versions also support recording per session by setting the se:recordVideo capability with Dynamic Grid. Name videos with se:name so they match test names. Keep videos only for failed tests or for a few days, because they use a lot of disk space.
33
What is the difference between the normal, eager and none page load strategies in Selenium?
Show answer
Page load strategy decides when navigation commands like get() return. Normal, the default, waits for the full load event including images and stylesheets. Eager returns when the DOM is ready (DOMContentLoaded), which speeds up heavy pages. None returns immediately after the initial response. With eager or none you must rely on explicit waits for the elements you need. Set it through options.setPageLoadStrategy(PageLoadStrategy.EAGER).
34
How do you pass parameters from testng.xml?
Show answer
Define parameter name and value in the XML and read them with @Parameters in the test or configuration method.
35
An element is visible in Appium Inspector but your test throws NoSuchElementException on the device. What do you check?
Show answer
First check timing: the screen may still be loading, so add an explicit wait for presence. Then check context: in a hybrid app the element may be in a webview while you are in NATIVE_APP. Confirm the locator matches exactly, including package prefix in resource-id. The element may be off screen in a list, so scroll first. Also check that the Inspector session used the same app build, language and device size as the test.
36
What is IAnnotationTransformer in TestNG?
Show answer
IAnnotationTransformer is a listener that changes @Test annotations at runtime before tests run. A common use is attaching a retry analyzer to every test automatically instead of adding retryAnalyzer to each method, or enabling and disabling tests from configuration. It must be registered in testng.xml or via service loader, not with the @Listeners annotation.
37
What is Selenium Grid and why use it?
Show answer
It runs tests in parallel across multiple machines and browsers using a hub and nodes, cutting execution time and increasing browser coverage.
38
What is the Transaction Controller in JMeter used for?
Show answer
A Transaction Controller groups several samplers into one logical business transaction, such as Login, which may include loading the page, posting credentials and fetching the dashboard. JMeter reports an extra sample with the total time of the group, so reports show user-level timings instead of only individual requests. With generate parent sample enabled the children appear nested. It makes SLA reporting easier for business stakeholders.
39
A teammate compares two strings with == and the test sometimes passes and sometimes fails. Explain.
Show answer
== compares object references, not content. String literals are interned, so two literals with the same text may share a reference and == returns true, but strings read from the UI or built at runtime are new objects, so == returns false even with the same text. Use equals() or equalsIgnoreCase() for content, and Objects.equals() to be null-safe.
40
What is method overriding and where is it useful in frameworks?
Show answer
A subclass redefines a parent method. Frameworks use it to customise base behaviour, such as overriding a wait or click method in a base page class.
Tips to crack the Fidelity Investments Automation Testing interview
- Revise Java or Python, SQL and core CS subjects, and practise medium-level DSA problems for technical rounds.
- Learn basic investment concepts like stocks, mutual funds and retirement accounts to understand the business domain.
- Prepare behavioural answers on teamwork and learning, using clear STAR-format stories from projects or internships.
- Keep a one-minute story ready for every project on your CV: problem, your part, tools, result.
- Practise the hard questions on this page aloud; Fidelity Investments interviewers usually ask follow-ups on your first answer.
Frequently asked questions
How many rounds are there in the Fidelity Investments Automation Testing interview?
Candidates usually go through 4 stages: Online coding assessment; Technical round 1 (DSA + language); Technical round 2 (design or domain); Managerial and HR round. The exact rounds change with the role, team, location and your experience, so confirm the process with the recruiter.
Which topics should I prepare for the Fidelity Investments Automation Testing interview?
This practice set leans on Selenium WebDriver (7), Performance Testing with JMeter (6), Git, Maven and Jenkins (5), Core Java for Testers (4). Revise those first, then practise explaining one or two of your own projects end to end, because most Fidelity Investments interviewers ask you to walk through real work.
Are these the exact questions asked at Fidelity Investments?
No. These are curated practice questions that match the skills and difficulty usually tested in banking & finance interviews like Fidelity Investments's. They are not a leaked or verified list of past questions.
Where does Fidelity Investments hire Automation Testing professionals in India?
Fidelity Investments has large teams in Bengaluru, Chennai, Gurugram. Openings and locations change often, so check the Fidelity Investments careers page and filter by city and experience.
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