LX Technical Challenge

In order to assess suitability for a software engineering role at LX Group we ask candidates in their own time to complete the following technical challenge.

There are two levels of the challenge:

1. Standard
2. Extended

The standard test is typically for junior to mid-level roles and the extended test is typically for mid to senior level roles. You should have received instructions as to which level of the challenge we would like you to complete depending on the role you're applying for.

Candidates who would like to do so are welcome to complete the extra extended challenge tasks even if they have only asked to do the standard version. We will review the extra work and provide feedback on that as well.

The test requires candidates to:

1. Estimate how long the test will take to complete

   Once you've thoroughly reviewed the tasks please prepare a list of the steps with an estimate of how long you think each step will take. Then please send your estimates of the time required to complete the tasks to jasmine.p@lx-group.com.au.

   Then when doing the work please keep track of how long each task actually took and include those details with your submission. Please note you do not have to do everything in the one sitting. Just total the time you were actually working on each of the tasks.

   The initial estimate is useful as it can allow us to make sure you're not significantly under or over estimating the work required which can be an indicator that there may be confusion about the requirements. It is also helpful for us to get a feel for whether you typically over or under estimate tasks which is useful for our project management team to know.

2. Implement the following API

   You may use any tech stack you're comfortable with although we would prefer .NET or Node JS.

   API Specification

   We have prepared an OpenAPI (a.k.a. Swagger) document specifying the APIs we would like you to implement.

   We have made the API specification available in a variety of formats. You can access the different formats at the links below:

   • Swagger UI: This allows easy testing our reference implementation of the API direct from your browser.
   • Spectacle: This is an alternative html rendering of the OpenAPI spec which has some nicer formatting of descriptions etc, but doesn't allow you to make requests against the API.
   • Raw YAML (OpenAPI aka Swagger definition)

   NOTE: The API definition includes both standard and extended level APIs. See the section below for a list of the APIs that must be implemented for each level.

   Standard Level

   For the standard level please implement the following APIs

   Be sure to check the API specification above for the details of how these should function.

   • GET /reverse-words
   • GET /sort-words

   Extended Level

   For the extended level please implement the following APIs

   Be sure to check the API specification above for the details of how these should function.

   • GET /reverse-words
   • GET /sort-words
   • GET /calculate-after-tax-income
   • GET /calculate-pre-tax-income-from-take-home

3. Host your API implementation

   Your implementation should be hosted somewhere in the cloud that is accessible to us. Please provide us with the host and base path for the API so that we can test it.

   We suggest using a free hosting plan on a cloud provider such as AWS, Azure, Heroku etc.

4. Give us access to the source

   Upload the source code to bit-bucket or github and make it available to LX.

Your implementation should be production ready, meaning you'd be happy to have to support your code in a production environment.

LX will test your API implementation to verify it produces the expected results and review the implementation source code. Be sure to think about the edge cases for the different APIs. LX will then provide feedback to the candidate on whether they have passed the test as well as suggestions on improvements or areas the candidate may want to improve on.

Questions relating to the challenge may be sent to jasmine.p@lx-group.com.au.