Epic Systems Interview Process 2026: Skills Test, Talk & Questions

Last updated: October 2026

TL;DR

The Epic Systems interview process usually runs: an online application, a timed online skills assessment (math, logic, reading and programming, often 2-3 hours, plus a personality survey), a phone or video screen, and a final interview day in Verona, Wisconsin or by video, with a 10-minute presentation on a topic of your choice, a case study, behavioral interviews and, for developers, a design or pair-programming round. Glassdoor’s candidate-reported average time to hire for software developers is about 22 days, and most candidates report three to six weeks. Drill the presentation, the case study and the behavioral rounds in OphyAI Interview Practice, and use OphyAI Interview Copilot in mock video rounds on Zoom, Teams or Meet to keep answers structured.

This guide is about Epic Systems, the electronic health record company in Verona, Wisconsin, not Epic Games.

Quick Answer: Epic Systems Interview Process

Stage	What to prepare
Online application	A resume that shows grades, problem solving and ownership; pick one track (developer, technical services, project manager, QA).
Online skills assessment	Timed mental math, word problems, logic puzzles, reading comprehension and, for technical tracks, programming problems in an unfamiliar made-up language.
Phone or video screen	A clear “why Epic, why healthcare, why Verona” answer and a walk through your resume and any gaps.
10-minute presentation	A tight talk on any topic you know well, built for a non-expert audience, followed by Q&A.
Case study	Prioritization, a go-live or implementation scenario, or a healthcare software design problem.
Final interviews	Behavioral questions, a role discussion, a short HR conversation and, for developers, design or pair programming.
Offer and relocation	Questions about the move to Madison and Verona, start dates and the training period.

Action Plan: Prepare for Epic Systems by Round

Round	What Epic tests	What to do before the interview
Skills assessment	Raw reasoning speed, accuracy under time pressure, ability to learn a new syntax on the spot	Do timed mental-math sets without a calculator and solve logic puzzles; practice reading a short spec for a toy language and writing code in it
Phone screen	Motivation, honesty about your background, willingness to relocate	Prepare a 60-second “why Epic” tied to patients and software, and a calm one-line answer for every resume gap
Presentation	Clear explanation, structure, handling questions you did not expect	Pick a topic you can teach in 10 minutes, rehearse to time three times, and prepare for “what would you change about it?”
Case study	Judgment, prioritization, patient-safety instinct, teamwork in a group case	Practice ranking a task list out loud; always say why patient safety outranks convenience
Behavioral rounds	Ownership, learning from failure, working with demanding customers	Write 6-8 STAR stories, including one where something did not go as planned and how you fixed it
Developer design / pair round	Data structures, readable code, talking through trade-offs	Solve LeetCode-medium problems while narrating; sketch a patient record or scheduling data model

If you only have one week, spend most of it on the skills assessment. Candidates consistently describe it as the main filter, and one Glassdoor reviewer for project manager roles wrote that Epic “primarily hire[s] based on the exams.” The presentation is the second priority, because it is the one round you control completely.

What Makes Epic Systems Different

Epic is the largest electronic health record (EHR) vendor in US hospitals. Judy Faulkner founded the company in 1979 and still runs it. Epic is privately held, so it publishes no annual report, but Wikipedia lists about $6.7 billion in 2025 revenue and about 14,000 employees, and Becker’s Hospital Review puts the workforce near 15,000. KLAS Research figures reported by Becker’s give Epic 43.7% of US acute-care hospitals and 56.9% of hospital beds in 2025. Its MyChart patient portal is used by more than 190 million patients, by Becker’s count.

That scale shapes the interview in a few ways:

One campus, in person. Epic works from its large campus in Verona, just outside Madison. Third-party hiring guides report that roles require relocation to the Madison area and that remote work is not offered. Ask the recruiter for the current policy for your role.
Hiring for aptitude, not a resume. Candidate reports describe Epic hiring many new graduates from a range of majors into technical services, project management, QA and developer roles, then trains them. That is why the timed aptitude test carries so much weight: it predicts how fast you learn.
Patient safety first. Technical services candidates report “what would you do” questions where one option affects patient care. Patient safety outranks everything else, and interviewers listen for that instinct.
Customer-facing work. Implementation and technical services roles typically work with hospital staff during installs and go-lives, which can involve travel. Interviewers want people who stay calm with demanding clinicians and IT leaders.
Long-tenure culture. Epic is known for unusual perks such as a paid four-week sabbatical after five years, reported by Healthcare IT News. The company hires for people it expects to stay, so “why Epic, long term” is a real question.

Practice timed Epic-style case prompts and the 10-minute presentation Q&A in OphyAI Interview Practice, then run a mock video round with Interview Copilot to keep your answers structured.

Interview Process Overview

Stage	Format	Duration	Timeline
Online application	careers.epic.com, rolling review	15-30 minutes	Week 0
Skills assessment	Online, timed, often proctored (candidates mention ProctorU and a lockdown browser)	About 2-3 hours, plus a personality survey	Week 1-2
Phone or video screen	Recruiter, or someone in the role	20-45 minutes	Week 1-3
Final interview day	In person in Verona or a multi-hour video day	Most of a working day	Week 2-5
Offer	Recruiter call	Short	Often within 1-2 weeks of the final day

All durations above are candidate-reported. Epic has not published a fixed schedule, and the order of the screen and the assessment varies by role and year.

The online application. You apply on careers.epic.com to a specific track. Third-party guides say review is rolling, so applying early in the hiring season helps for new-graduate roles. Your resume should make reasoning ability visible: grades, competitions, research, tutoring, or projects with measurable results.

Prepare for the screen with OphyAI Interview Practice: rehearse “why Epic” and your resume walk-through until both are under a minute.

The phone screen. Candidates describe a short call that mostly covers experience and past projects, and sometimes a conversation that is mainly for your questions. Project manager candidates report the screen “combing through my resume and any gaps.” Be ready to explain every gap simply and without apology.

The Epic Skills Assessment

The skills assessment is Epic’s signature stage, and it is the round most candidates fail. Epic does not publish its content, but candidate reports describe a consistent shape:

Speed math. Mental arithmetic and estimation without a calculator, under tight time limits.
Math problem solving. Longer word problems, often described as algebra-level but tricky.
Logic and reasoning. IQ-style pattern and logic questions; older reports describe about three hours of them.
Reading comprehension. Project manager candidates mention complex reading questions.
Programming (technical tracks). A 2025 software developer reviewer described a made-up programming language you learn from a short spec, plus five LeetCode-style problems. QA candidates describe “coding style questions” over about two hours and advise brushing up on algebra and programming basics.
Personality survey. Several tracks report a separate personality assessment.

What they test: how quickly you learn new rules and apply them accurately under time pressure. It is less about prior knowledge and more about learning speed, which is why non-CS majors can pass the programming section.

Red flags that fail candidates: running out of time on the early sections; careless arithmetic errors; freezing on the made-up language instead of reading the spec carefully; testing in a noisy setup that trips the proctoring software.

How to prepare: do daily 20-minute timed mental-math drills; work through logic-puzzle books or aptitude tests; for technical roles, practice learning a small language from its docs (for example, write five functions in a language you have never used, from its tutorial only) and solve easy-to-medium problems in your strongest language. Use OphyAI Coding Interview for private practice on the coding problems before the test, not during it. Epic has not published a policy on AI tools in its assessment, so treat the assessment as closed-book and ask your recruiter if you are unsure; see our tracker of companies that allow AI in interviews.

Role-Specific Breakdowns

Software Developer

Developers are the most-reported track. After the assessment, candidates describe a final day with an overview of Epic, a role discussion, a system design case study for healthcare software built on data structures and algorithms, a short HR interview and a pair-programming exercise on a LeetCode-medium problem. Another reviewer was asked to design a patient record system, and a 2017 reviewer described a usability or design discussion rather than coding. Talk through trade-offs out loud, and connect design choices to clinicians and patients.

Rehearse the pair-programming round in OphyAI Coding Interview, narrating your approach, edge cases and complexity as you go.

Technical Services

Technical services staff support hospital customers and fix problems in their Epic install. Candidates report a phone screen with someone in the role, an aptitude or skills test, and an onsite day with scenario questions: how you would handle competing client and internal priorities, how you would approach a problem you know nothing about, and a case study on prioritizing a given task list for the day. One reviewer mentioned an optional dinner the night before the onsite and recommended attending. Glassdoor’s FAQ shows technical services candidates rating difficulty around 2.7-3 out of 5.

Prepare for technical services scenario questions with timed prioritization drills in OphyAI Interview Practice.

Project Manager (Implementation)

Project managers lead hospital go-lives. Candidates describe an online skills test of about two hours with math and reading, a virtual interview, a group case study (one was a go-live scenario), and a 10-minute presentation on a topic of your choice with Q&A. Reported questions include “Explain a process you find interesting,” “What is one thing you would change about [your presentation topic]?” and the unusual “What are 5 things you are not?” In the group case, reviewers advise showing that you can think critically, work in a group, and contribute or lead.

Run the go-live case and the presentation Q&A as a voice mock in OphyAI Interview Practice so you hear how your structure lands.

Quality Assurance

QA candidates report a two-hour online assessment with coding-style questions, followed by a behavioral interview a few days later and, in some years, an on-campus day with HR and extra skills tests. A reported question is “Talk about a time when something didn’t go as planned and how you fixed it.” One aggregator shows pass rates differing widely between Verona and Madison samples, so treat any single number with caution.

Practice your “something went wrong” QA stories with feedback in OphyAI Interview Practice.

Common Questions with Frameworks

1. “Why Epic?” (Motivation)

Approach: Give three specific reasons: the healthcare mission (software used for a large share of US hospital patients), the type of work in your track, and the training culture. Add one honest line on relocation to Madison. Avoid answers that only mention perks.

2. “Give a 10-minute presentation on a topic of your choice.” (Presentation)

Approach: Choose something you know deeply but can explain to a non-expert, such as how sourdough fermentation works or how a bike gear system shifts. Use a three-part structure: what it is, how it works, why it matters. Finish at 9 minutes to leave room. Expect questions about what you would change, and answer with one concrete improvement.

3. “You have these eight tasks today. How do you prioritize them?” (Case study)

Approach: Sort by patient-safety impact first, then by customer deadlines and number of people affected, then by effort. State your assumptions, say what you would delegate or escalate, and name who you would tell about anything that slips.

4. “How would you handle a problem you know nothing about?” (Technical Services)

Approach: Show a method: reproduce the issue, gather logs and context, search internal documentation, ask a colleague with a precise question, and keep the customer updated on a set schedule. Close with a real example.

5. “Design a system to store and retrieve patient records.” (Developer design)

Approach: Clarify the users (clinicians, patients, billing), core entities (patient, encounter, order, result), access patterns and privacy constraints. Propose a data model and indexes, then discuss audit logging, permissions and how you would handle concurrent edits.

6. “Tell me about a time something didn’t go as planned and how you fixed it.” (Behavioral)

Approach: Use the STAR method. Pick a failure you personally owned, spend most of the answer on the fix, and end with what you changed so it does not recur.

7. “What are 5 things you are not?” (Self-awareness)

Approach: Give honest, light answers that still show judgment (“I am not someone who leaves a problem half-finished”), and include one real limitation with what you do about it.

8. “How would you run a go-live when a hospital department is not ready?” (Project manager group case)

Approach: Assess risk to patients first, list the readiness gaps, propose options (delay that department, add at-the-elbow support, phase the rollout), and say who decides. In a group case, invite quieter teammates in and summarize the group’s decision.

For more practice, see common interview questions and answers and project manager interview questions.

Culture Fit: Learning Fast and Putting Patients First

Learning speed. Epic trains most new hires from scratch. Interviewers listen for curiosity and for stories where you picked up something new quickly.

Patient-centered judgment. In scenario questions, patient safety is the tiebreaker. Say so explicitly.

Calm with customers. Hospital staff are busy and under pressure during go-lives. Show that you can explain, listen and follow through.

Commitment to place. Epic hires for the long term on one campus. Be honest about relocation, and research the Madison area before your interview day.

What interviewers screen for: fast learning, clear communication, ownership, and judgment that puts patients first. If the move to Wisconsin is a deal-breaker, raise it with the recruiter early.

Compensation Overview (2026 Estimates, USD)

Role	Base Salary	Total Compensation (Base + Bonus + Equity)
Software Developer (entry)	$92,000 - $100,000	About $123,000 median (Levels.fyi, reported)
Software Developer II	Not reported separately	About $182,000 (Levels.fyi, reported)
Senior Software Systems Developer	Not reported separately	About $234,000 (Levels.fyi, reported)
Technical Services	$79,000 - $128,000	Glassdoor range, reported
Project Manager	About $95,000	About $115,000 (Glassdoor via secondary source, reported)

All figures are candidate-reported or estimates, not Epic-published bands. PayScale’s 2026 entry-level software developer estimate is about $94,500 base, and Levels.fyi’s US median for Epic software engineers was about $125,000 total pay at its December 2025 update; it notes that Epic options vest over four years and stock is a small part of pay. Cost of living in the Madison area is lower than on either coast, which matters when you compare offers. See our salary negotiation guide.

Preparation Timeline: 4-6 Weeks

Week	Focus	Activities
1	Research and motivation	Read about Epic’s products (MyChart, the inpatient and ambulatory EHR) and your track; write your “why Epic” and relocation answer.
2-3	Skills assessment	Daily timed mental math, logic puzzles and reading drills; technical tracks learn a new toy language from docs and solve 20-30 easy-to-medium problems.
3-4	Presentation and case	Draft the 10-minute talk, rehearse to time, and run three prioritization or go-live cases out loud.
4-5	Behavioral	Write 6-8 STAR stories and drill them in OphyAI Interview Practice; developers add pair-programming mocks.
5-6	Full rehearsal	Run a full mock interview day, refine weak answers, plan your travel to Verona, and rest.

Common Mistakes

Treating the assessment as a formality. It is the main filter. Practice under real time limits.

Running long on the presentation. A 14-minute talk in a 10-minute slot signals poor planning. Rehearse to time.

Ignoring patient safety in scenarios. When one option affects patient care, it comes first.

Being vague about relocation. Interviewers want an honest answer about moving to Wisconsin.

Confusing Epic Systems with Epic Games. It happens, and it signals no research.

Skipping the dinner or tour. Candidates report that informal parts of the visit still count.

Prepare for Epic Systems with OphyAI

Epic’s process rewards people who practice: timed reasoning, a rehearsed talk and structured case answers all improve with repetition. Use OphyAI Interview Practice for voice mocks of the screen, the presentation Q&A and the case study, with a transcript and per-answer feedback. Use OphyAI Coding Interview to rehearse developer problems, and Interview Copilot for structured mock video rounds; check Epic’s rules before using any tool in a real interview. Start practicing →

Start Your Epic Systems Application

Ready to apply? OphyAI can help at every stage:

Search for open roles at Epic Systems and similar companies with AI-powered job matching
Generate a tailored cover letter that highlights your fit for the role, plus follow-up emails and thank-you notes for after your interviews
Track your application status alongside every other role you’re pursuing

Pair these with Interview Copilot for structured live interviews, or practise first with OphyAI Interview Practice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is on the Epic Systems skills assessment?

Candidates describe a timed online test of about two to three hours with speed math, longer math word problems, logic questions, reading comprehension and, for technical roles, programming problems, including a made-up language you learn from a short spec. Many tracks also take a separate personality survey. Epic does not publish the content, so these details are candidate-reported and change over time.

How long does the Epic Systems hiring process take?

Glassdoor’s candidate-reported average time to hire for software developers is about 22 days, and third-party guides give anywhere from two to eight weeks. The biggest variables are how quickly you schedule the assessment and when a final interview day is available. Ask your recruiter for the expected dates after each stage.

Do you have to relocate to Verona to work at Epic?

Third-party hiring guides report that Epic roles are based on the Verona campus near Madison, Wisconsin, that relocation is expected and that remote work is generally not offered. Epic has not been quoted on this in a source we could open, so confirm the current policy and any relocation help with your recruiter before you accept an offer.

What should I present in the Epic 10-minute presentation?

Pick any topic you know well and can explain to a non-expert, such as a hobby, a process or a project. Interviewers judge clarity and organization rather than the topic itself. Keep it to about nine minutes, use a simple three-part structure, and prepare for questions such as what you would change about it.

Is the Epic Systems interview hard?

The interviews themselves are moderate, and Glassdoor shows technical services candidates rating difficulty around 3 out of 5. The skills assessment is the hard part: it is long, timed and broad. Candidates who practice mental math, logic and learning new syntax under time pressure report that the rest of the process feels manageable.

Does Epic Systems hire non-computer science majors?

Candidate reports and third-party guides say yes: Epic hires graduates from many majors into technical services, project management and quality assurance, and QA candidates are told only basic programming helps on the test. Confirm the requirements on the specific posting. The assessment measures reasoning and learning speed more than prior knowledge, so strong math and logic matter more than your degree title.

Can I use AI tools during the Epic assessment or interviews?

Epic has not published a policy on candidate use of AI that we could find, and its assessment is commonly described as proctored. Treat the test as closed-book, use AI tools only for preparation unless your recruiter says otherwise, and see our tracker of companies that allow AI in interviews.

Sources and verification notes

Sources checked October 2026. Most pages below were seen through search-result summaries in October 2026 because direct page fetches failed in this run; Glassdoor reviews are anonymous, self-reported and span 2009-2025. Epic has not published its interview steps, pay bands or AI policy in a source we could open.

Glassdoor, Epic software developer interview reviews: skills assessment content, final-day structure, 22-day average time to hire (candidate-reported). Checked October 2026.
Glassdoor, Epic interview review (2025 developer): 2.5-hour assessment with a made-up language and five coding problems, pair programming. Checked October 2026.
Glassdoor, Epic technical services reviews: competing-priorities questions, task-list case, patient-safety scenarios, optional dinner (candidate-reported). Checked October 2026.
Glassdoor, Epic project manager interview questions: 2-hour skills test, group case, 10-minute presentation, reported questions. Checked October 2026.
Glassdoor, Epic interview review (Verona, 2018): presentation, case and leadership questions on the final day. Checked October 2026.
Taro, Epic Systems quality assurance experience: two-hour coding-style assessment and behavioral interview (candidate-reported). Checked October 2026.
techinterview.org, Epic Systems interview guide: rolling review, relocation and on-site expectations (third-party). Checked October 2026.
Levels.fyi, Epic software engineer salaries: reported total compensation by level, four-year option vesting. Checked October 2026.
PayScale, Epic entry-level software developer salary: entry-level base estimate. Checked October 2026.
Glassdoor, EPIC Systems salaries: technical services ranges (reported). Checked October 2026.
Becker’s Hospital Review, Epic’s dominance in 14 numbers: KLAS 2025 market share, MyChart users, headcount. Checked October 2026.
Wikipedia, Epic Systems: founding year, founder, 2025 revenue and employee estimates. Checked October 2026.
Healthcare IT News, Epic perks: four-week paid sabbatical after five years. Checked October 2026.