BNSF·Software Engineer·Technical Phone Screen
Jun 2026
Coding round for a software engineer role at BNSF. Two tasks back to back: build a REST API with some quirky plain-text input requirements, then write unit tests for a function you can't even see the source of. Weird combo but kind of interesting once you got into it.
- Implement a basic REST API for a simple resource (like a note or message) that supports create, read, update, and delete. The request body uses plain text instead of JSON, but all responses must be JSON with appropriate HTTP status codes. Handle edge cases like missing resources and bad input.
- Write unit tests for a function when you only have its specification, not the actual implementation code. Cover as many meaningful scenarios as possible including edge cases and failure modes.
“The plain-text body thing tripped me up at first.”