Curated interview practice questions with answers. These are practice scenarios, not a verified list of past interview questions.
About Intel hiring for Software Testing roles
Intel designs and manufactures processors and related technologies for PCs, data centres, networking and AI. Its India centres in Bengaluru and Hyderabad are among its largest design sites, covering chip design, validation, software and data. It hires for validation engineers, software engineers, design engineers and data analysts.
For Software Testing roles, this Intel practice set focuses most on Agile, SQL and API Testing (7), Test Case Design (6), Accessibility & Usability Testing (5), Database Testing (4). It has 1 easy, 33 medium, 6 hard questions, so you can start easy and work up to the harder ones.
Company type
Hardware & semiconductors
Headquarters
Santa Clara, California, USA
Main India offices
Bengaluru, Hyderabad
Intel Software Testing interview process
Online assessment or technical screening
Technical round 1
Technical round 2
Managerial round
HR round
Typical pattern based on public candidate experiences. Rounds vary by role, team and year.
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01
SQL: verify that row counts and totals match between a source table and a target table after a data load.
-- Compare counts and sums side by side; both columns must match
SELECT
(SELECT COUNT(*) FROM staging_orders) AS src_count,
(SELECT COUNT(*) FROM dw_orders) AS tgt_count,
(SELECT SUM(amount) FROM staging_orders) AS src_amount,
(SELECT SUM(amount) FROM dw_orders) AS tgt_amount;
Valid keyword, partial match, no results, special characters, very long text, empty search, case sensitivity, spelling errors, suggestions and speed of results.
Enable developer options and USB debugging, connect the phone and confirm it is visible with adb devices. Clear old logs with adb logcat -c, reproduce the bug, then save logs with adb logcat -d > crash_log.txt, filtering by the app package or error level if needed. For a crash, search for FATAL EXCEPTION. Attach the log, device model, OS version, app version and a screen recording to the bug.
05
How do you convert existing manual test cases into automated scripts?
Pick a small set of stable, high-value regression cases first. Review each one: make steps precise, remove judgement-based checks and define clear expected results. Prepare test data that the script can create and clean up. Build reusable page objects and helpers for common steps like login. Automate, run several times to confirm stability, then link each script to its manual case ID and mark the manual case as automated.
06
How would you test a web page you have never seen before in 30 minutes?
Spend five minutes understanding its purpose and main user flows. Then run a quick smoke check of the main flow end to end, test key inputs with valid, invalid and boundary values, check links, buttons and error messages, and try the page on a second browser and a mobile width. Keep short notes and take screenshots as you go. Report the top issues by risk at the end, not every small cosmetic point.
07
What is network condition testing for mobile apps?
It checks app behaviour on different networks: Wi-Fi, 4G, 5G, slow 2G or 3G, high latency, packet loss and no network. Also test switching between Wi-Fi and mobile data in the middle of an action, and airplane mode. The app should show loaders and clear offline messages, retry safely without duplicate actions and not freeze. Network throttling tools in developer options or proxy tools help simulate these conditions.
08
Why do performance reports use percentiles like p90 and p95 instead of averages?
An average hides slow requests. If 90 requests take 1 second and 10 take 10 seconds, the average is 1.9 seconds, which looks fine, but one user in ten waits 10 seconds. The p95 value means 95 percent of requests were faster than it, so it shows what most users actually experience, including the slow tail. Service level targets are usually written as percentiles, such as p95 under 2 seconds.
09
How do you test an application when requirements change frequently?
The toolbar uses icon-only buttons without accessible names, so users hear the role but not the purpose. Report it with the page, the screen reader and browser versions, the exact announcement and the expected one, such as 'Bold, toggle button, not pressed'. Reference WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value. The fix is an aria-label or visually hidden text on each button, plus a tooltip that also helps sighted users.
Defect removal efficiency shows how many defects the team found before release. DRE = defects found before release divided by (defects found before release plus defects found after release), multiplied by 100. If QA found 90 bugs and users reported 10, DRE is 90 percent. A falling DRE means testing is missing more defects, and the escaped bugs should be analysed to improve test coverage.
Set browser zoom to 200 percent and check that all text is readable and no content or buttons are cut off. Then zoom to 400 percent, or use a 1280 pixel wide window, which gives a 320 CSS pixel viewport; content should reflow into one column without horizontal scrolling, except for things like data tables and maps. Also increase text spacing and the operating system font size to check that labels do not overlap.
13
You change the order ID in a URL and see another customer's order. What is this and what do you do?
This is an insecure direct object reference, a form of broken access control and a critical security bug, because any user can read other users' data. Stop exploring further beyond what is needed to confirm it, record the request, accounts used and evidence, and log it as a critical bug with restricted visibility. Inform the lead and security contact immediately. The fix is a server-side ownership check on every request.
Testing shows presence of defects, exhaustive testing is impossible, test early, defects cluster, the pesticide paradox, testing is context-dependent and absence-of-errors is a fallacy.
16
Your team wants to use an AI tool to generate test cases and automation scripts. What benefits and risks do you point out?
AI assistants can draft test cases from requirements, suggest edge cases, generate first versions of scripts and test data, and some tools self-heal locators when the page changes. Risks are confident but wrong output, tests that assert the wrong behaviour, hidden locator changes that mask real bugs and leaking confidential data into external tools. Treat AI output like a junior's draft: review it, run it and keep human judgement on what matters.
17
How do you test in-app purchases or subscriptions on mobile?
Use the platform's sandbox or test accounts so no real money is charged. Test a successful purchase, cancellation, payment failure, pending payment, refund and restoring purchases on a new device. For subscriptions, test free trial, renewal, upgrade, downgrade, expiry and grace period, often with shortened test durations. Verify the server records the purchase and unlocks features, and that killing the app mid-purchase does not lose it.
18
A report shows duplicate rows after a new release. How do you investigate in the database?
Run the report query with GROUP BY on the business key and HAVING COUNT(*) > 1 to find which records repeat. Then check whether the duplicates exist in the base table or are created by the query, usually a new join to a one-to-many table such as addresses. Compare the query before and after the release. Include the duplicate keys, the count and the suspected join in the bug report.
Use the app's analytics, or market data if it is a new app, to find the top devices, OS versions and screen sizes. In India, cover a strong share of budget and mid-range Android phones with low RAM, a few manufacturers' custom Android skins, the two or three latest Android versions, and recent iPhones if iOS is supported. Add a tablet if relevant. Review the matrix each quarter and use a cloud device lab for wider coverage.
pm.test('Status is 201', function () {
pm.response.to.have.status(201);
});
pm.test('Response has id', function () {
const body = pm.response.json();
pm.expect(body).to.have.property('id');
pm.expect(body.id).to.be.a('number');
});
23
During a load test, some booking requests fail with a 'deadlock detected' error. What is happening and how do you report it?
A deadlock happens when two transactions each hold a lock the other needs, so neither can continue. The database detects it and kills one transaction with an error. During testing it usually appears under concurrent load, for example two users booking the last seats at once, as random failures or 'deadlock detected' entries in logs. Testers report the exact actions and timing, and developers fix it with consistent lock order or shorter transactions.
Compliance testing checks that software meets external laws, standards or internal policies, not just functional requirements. Examples include payment security standards for card data, data protection rules for personal data, accessibility guidelines and RBI rules for banking apps. Testers verify items such as consent capture, data retention, audit logs and masking. Findings are usually documented as evidence for auditors, so traceability and clear records matter as much as the tests.
PUT replaces the whole resource with the data sent, so fields you leave out may be cleared or reset. PATCH applies a partial update and changes only the fields sent. For example, to change only a user's phone number, PATCH with just the phone field is enough, while PUT expects the complete user object. Testers check that PUT and PATCH behave as documented and that missing fields are handled correctly.
Send and receive text messages and check order and timestamps. Test sent, delivered and read status. Send emojis, long messages, links and attachments within and over the size limit. Check messages sent while offline are queued and delivered on reconnect. Verify blocking a user stops messages. Test notifications when the app is in background. Check chat history after reinstall or on a second device, and that deleted messages disappear for both users if supported.
27
How do you link stories, test cases and bugs in Jira for traceability?
Create test cases as linked issues or in a test management add-on and link each one to its story with a tests relationship. When a test fails, create the bug from the test execution or link it to both the test and the story with is blocked by or relates to. Use the same fix version for all. A story then shows its tests and open bugs, which makes sign-off and the traceability report easy.
28
What is the OWASP Top 10 and why should testers know it?
The OWASP Top 10 is a widely used list of the most critical web application security risks, published by an open community project. It includes broken access control, cryptographic failures, injection, insecure design, security misconfiguration, vulnerable components and authentication failures. Testers use it as a checklist to include basic security checks in their testing and to speak the same language as security teams.
ARIA, Accessible Rich Internet Applications, is a set of HTML attributes such as role, aria-label, aria-expanded and aria-live that tell assistive technology what a custom component is and what state it is in. The first rule is to prefer native HTML elements, such as a real button, because they are accessible by default. Wrong ARIA is worse than none, so testers verify announced roles and states match real behaviour.
30
How do you chain requests in Postman by passing a token from login to the next call?
// Tests tab of the Login request
const body = pm.response.json();
pm.environment.set('authToken', body.token);
// Next request header:
// Authorization: Bearer {{authToken}}
// Postman replaces {{authToken}} with the saved value
Check that buttons and icons are large enough to tap without hitting neighbours: Android guidance is 48 by 48 dp and iOS is 44 by 44 points. Test with large font settings and one-handed use. Any action using complex gestures, such as swipe to delete or pinch, must have a simple tap alternative. Then turn on TalkBack and VoiceOver and confirm each control can be focused, named and activated.
-- Business rule: at most one ACTIVE subscription per user
SELECT user_id, COUNT(*) AS active_count
FROM subscriptions
WHERE status = 'ACTIVE'
GROUP BY user_id
HAVING COUNT(*) > 1;
-- Expected result: no rows
37
What is localisation and internationalisation testing?
Internationalisation tests that the product can support many languages and formats; localisation tests that a specific locale is correct for text, currency, date and layout.
38
What automated accessibility tools exist and what are their limits?
Common tools are axe DevTools, Lighthouse in Chrome, WAVE and accessibility linters in CI. They quickly catch missing alt text, low contrast, missing labels and invalid ARIA. Their limit is that they find only roughly a third of WCAG issues. They cannot judge whether alt text is meaningful, focus order is logical, error messages make sense or a custom widget works with a screen reader, so manual testing is still required.
39
The sprint ends tomorrow and two stories are still in testing. What do you do?
Tell the Scrum Master and product owner today, not at the review. Focus testing on the acceptance criteria and the riskiest paths of the story with the most value, and ask a developer to help with test data or simple checks. If a story cannot be finished with quality, it should be carried over, not marked done with untested parts. Raise the cause in the retrospective, such as late handover.
40
A hotfix build arrives and you have only 15 minutes before deployment. How do you sanity check it?
Read the hotfix ticket to know exactly what changed. First verify the fix with the original reproduction steps and data. Then check the directly connected flows, for example if the fix is in coupon calculation, test applying, removing and paying with a coupon. Finish with a quick smoke of login and the main business flow. Report the result immediately, mentioning what was and was not covered.
Tips to crack the Intel Software Testing interview
Revise computer architecture, digital electronics and C programming for validation and design roles.
Learn pre-silicon and post-silicon validation basics if applying for test or validation positions.
Read about Intel's processor families and its foundry business plans for company questions.
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; Intel interviewers usually ask follow-ups on your first answer.
Frequently asked questions
How many rounds are there in the Intel Software Testing interview?
Candidates usually go through 5 stages: Online assessment or technical screening; Technical round 1; Technical round 2; Managerial round; 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 Intel Software Testing interview?
This practice set leans on Agile, SQL and API Testing (7), Test Case Design (6), Accessibility & Usability Testing (5), Database Testing (4). Revise those first, then practise explaining one or two of your own projects end to end, because most Intel interviewers ask you to walk through real work.
Are these the exact questions asked at Intel?
No. These are curated practice questions that match the skills and difficulty usually tested in hardware & semiconductors interviews like Intel's. They are not a leaked or verified list of past questions.
Where does Intel hire Software Testing professionals in India?
Intel has large teams in Bengaluru, Hyderabad. Openings and locations change often, so check the Intel careers page and filter by city and experience.