Senior Java Developer Interview Questions (Beginner to Advanced + Video Screening)

Introduction

Hiring the right Senior Java Developer requires evaluating a mix of technical depth, system design experience, and pragmatic problem-solving. Senior engineers must demonstrate strong Java expertise, architecture awareness, and the ability to mentor teams.

This guide provides role-specific interview questions spanning basic to advanced topics, plus pre-screening one-way video interview questions ideal for streamlined candidate screening on one-way video platforms.

Senior Java Developer Interview Questions

? Basic Senior Java Developer Interview Questions

• Explain the architecture of the JVM and the role of its major components (class loader, heap, metaspace, JIT).
• Describe the four core principles of object-oriented programming and how they apply in Java.
• What is the difference between JDK, JRE, and JVM?
• How do equals() and hashCode() work in Java and why must they be implemented together?
• Explain Java 8 streams and lambda expressions and provide common use cases.
• What is the difference between checked and unchecked exceptions and when to use custom exceptions?
• Compare synchronized, volatile, and java.util.concurrent utilities for concurrency control.
• What is garbage collection in Java and what are common GC algorithms you should know?

? Intermediate Senior Java Developer Interview Questions

• How would you design a RESTful API using Spring Boot for a new service? Describe controllers, services, and repository layers.
• You suspect a memory leak in production. What steps and tools would you use to diagnose and resolve it?
• Design a thread-safe in-memory cache for high read throughput. Which data structures and eviction strategies would you use?
• How do you identify and optimize slow SQL executed by a Java application using an ORM like Hibernate?
• Explain transaction management in Spring. How do you handle isolation levels and transaction propagation?
• Describe how you would implement asynchronous processing in a Java application (examples with CompletableFuture or messaging).
• What techniques do you use to profile and improve application startup time and runtime performance?
• How do you set up logging, monitoring, and alerting for a Java service in production?
• Explain your approach to testing: unit tests, integration tests, and contract tests for Java services.
• What considerations and steps are important when migrating a monolithic Java application to microservices?

? Advanced Senior Java Developer Interview Questions

• Design a scalable microservices architecture for an application with high throughput and low latency requirements. Which patterns and technologies would you apply?
• How would you tune the JVM for a low-latency system? Discuss GC strategy, heap sizing, and JIT considerations.
• Describe common concurrency bottlenecks in Java systems and strategies to mitigate lock contention and improve throughput.
• Discuss data consistency trade-offs in distributed systems and how you would apply CAP principles in a Java architecture.
• Design an event-driven processing pipeline. How do you ensure idempotency, ordering, and failure recovery?
• Compare approaches to manage distributed transactions across microservices (sagas, two-phase commit). What are the pros and cons?
• Explain a systematic approach to performance optimization: measuring, isolating hotspots, and making targeted code or design changes.
• What security practices should be applied to Java web services to mitigate common vulnerabilities?
• How do you lead technical design reviews and drive architecture decisions while balancing delivery timelines?
• Describe building resilient deployment pipelines with CI/CD, and strategies such as blue-green or canary deployments for safe rollouts.

Pre-Screening Video Interview Questions for Senior Java Developer

These short one-way video questions are ideal for initial screening on ScreeningHive. They help evaluate communication, experience, and fit before live interviews.

Use concise prompts and request specific examples to assess technical depth and soft skills remotely.

1. Briefly describe your most recent Java project and your role in it.

   This evaluates hands-on experience and depth of technical responsibility.

2. Why are you interested in this Senior Java Developer role and what motivates you professionally?

   This evaluates motivation and cultural fit.

3. Describe a challenging production issue you resolved and the steps you took to diagnose and fix it.

   This evaluates problem-solving and communication of technical processes.

4. How do you approach mentoring junior developers and ensuring code quality across a team?

   This evaluates leadership, collaboration, and mentoring skills.

5. Are you experienced with one-way video interviews and what is your availability for the next steps?

   This evaluates communication clarity and candidate availability for the hiring process.

Conclusion / CTA

These targeted questions help hiring teams and candidates focus on the skills and scenarios most relevant for a Senior Java Developer role. They support consistent evaluation across basic technical knowledge, practical problem solving, and architecture-level thinking.

ScreeningHive accelerates hiring with faster screening, standardised evaluation, and scalable one-way video interviews that save time for recruiters and hiring managers.

Sign up on ScreeningHive to streamline your technical screening process and start collecting consistent one-way video responses from Senior Java Developer candidates.