Infosys Specialist Programmer 2026: eligibility, test pattern and pay

Specialist Programmer (SP) is Infosys's top-paying track for freshers: up to ₹21 lakh a year in its current posts, against ₹6.25 lakh for a Digital Specialist Engineer (DSE). There are two ways in. Infosys's off-campus posts for the 2024, 2025 and 2026 batches are open now, and HackWithInfy, its coding contest for engineering students, was the 2027 batch's route this year.

Key takeaways

• Open now: Infosys's posts for Specialist Programmer (Trainee) and Digital Specialist Engineer (Trainee) were open on Naukri on 15 November 2026, for 2024, 2025 and 2026 graduates with up to two years of experience. They give no closing date.
• Pay, as Infosys lists it: SP L3 ₹21 LPA, SP L2 ₹16 LPA, SP L1 ₹10 LPA plus a ₹1 lakh joining bonus. DSE ₹6.25 LPA plus a ₹75,000 joining bonus.
• Who: B.E. or B.Tech in any specialisation, or M.Tech, MCA, MS or M.Sc. Infosys lists 2,000 SP and 1,000 DSE openings, in Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Delhi/NCR.
• Selection is coding first. Earlier rounds this year opened with a three-hour online coding assessment, then an in-person assessment and interview, Sakshi Education reported.
• 2027 batch: your route was HackWithInfy 2026. It opened on 6 February 2026 through college placement officers, and its Grand Finale is in November 2026. Infosys hasn't announced the next edition.
• It's free. Infosys says it "never requests for fees for any purpose during or after the hiring process."

Infosys SP hiring: key dates

Infosys has run the off-campus drive more than once this year. Sakshi Education reported a round for the 2024 and 2025 batches with applications due 13 April 2026, and one for the 2026 batch due 11 May 2026, both at the pay in today's posts. With no closing date on the current posts, apply while they are up.

What is the Infosys Specialist Programmer role?

Specialist Programmer is the first rung of Infosys's Power Programmer track. Power Programmers belong to the Strategic Technology Group (STG), which Infosys describes as "a core team within Infosys supported by Power Programmers who are tech polyglots." Infosys says the unit has more than 3,000 programmers, the "top 1%" of its global engineering pool, with a selection ratio under 0.5%. From Specialist Programmer the track runs to Senior Technologist, Principal Technologist and Distinguished Technologist.

The current post describes the work as "developing full-stack applications and enterprise-grade platforms using modern frameworks, applying AI in software engineering". It names Java microservices (Spring Boot, Docker), big data and ML (Hadoop, Spark, Kafka), Scala, JavaScript frameworks and DevOps tools as its technology areas, and asks for people who "focus on core programming as individual contributors". Both posts list Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Delhi/NCR as locations; the SP post is marked hybrid.

The Digital Specialist Engineer is the other role in the same drive, at lower pay. Its post describes "design, development, validation, and support activities": working from business analysts' specifications through coding, testing and go-live.

Who can apply

For the off-campus posts

Infosys's Specialist Programmer post on Naukri gives these rules, word for word:

• Eligibility - 2024/2025/2026 batch UG/PG graduates.
• Work Experience - Upto 2 years (0-2 yrs)

Its education fields read:

• UG: B.Tech / B.E. in Any Specialization
• PG: M.Tech in Any Specialization, MCA in Any Specialization, MS/M.Sc(Science) in Any Specialization

The Digital Specialist Engineer post asks for "2024/2025/2026 UG/PG Graduates" with "Experience - Upto 2 years (0-2 years)" and lists the same degrees. Neither post states a marks cut-off, a backlog rule or a list of branches, and BCA and B.Sc aren't among their degrees.

Notices for earlier rounds this year were stricter in places. As Sakshi Education reported them, they named the branches (computer science, IT, data science and AI/ML, cybersecurity, software engineering, ECE, EEE and related disciplines) and said candidates "must not have appeared for Infosys selection in the last 6 months". Business Standard described the roles in December 2025 as open to computer science, IT and "select circuit branches such as ECE and EEE". Read the email invitation you get for the rules of your round.

For HackWithInfy

HackWithInfy 2026's terms set two rules:

Participant shall be 18 years old or older, at the day he/she makes an entry/ registration and must be a resident of India

Participant must be a B.E./ B. Tech/ M.E./ M. Tech/ Dual Degree/MS (Research)/MCA/MSc (5 years integrated) students graduating in 2027.

Employees of Infosys and their families can't take part, and each student may use only one HackWithInfy account.

Selection process and test pattern

Infosys describes its Power Programmer hiring in four steps: registration, coding rounds ("Assessments of technical expertise and resilience are conducted at different levels through coding rounds"), technical interviews ("Hands-on LIVE coding interviews with technologists"), and the final selection.

For the off-campus drive, Sakshi Education reported two rounds for this year's April and May drives (the times are from the April notice):

1. An online coding assessment, taken remotely: 3 hours.
2. An in-person assessment and a face-to-face technical interview: 3 hours.

HackWithInfy runs on the same kind of test. Its terms set out three rounds, the first two on the Infosys Assessment Platform:

Infosys picks HackWithInfy's top 100 on overall score or a sectional cut-off, the "number of test cases passed and efficiency of the code". Its 2026 sample questions are three algorithm problems, the first marked easy and the last hard, each with an input format, constraints (up to 100,000 values, numbers up to 10⁹) and sample test cases. Since code is scored on the test cases it passes, write complete programs that read the input as given; with limits like these, a brute-force answer won't pass the larger cases.

Neither Infosys nor the reports give a question count or a marking scheme for the off-campus test, and we haven't guessed one.

Pay: SP, DSE and Systems Engineer

Business Standard reported the same levels in December 2025: ₹21 lakh, ₹16 lakh and ₹11 lakh for SP and ₹7 lakh for DSE. Its L1 and DSE figures are the post's pay plus the joining bonus. Infosys's group chief HR officer, Shaji Mathew, told Moneycontrol, as Business Standard reported: "Our early-career hiring combines campus and off-campus drives, and we have expanded opportunities in the Specialist Programmer track, with packages up to ₹21 lakh per annum."

The SP post lists three levels for the same trainee role but doesn't say how a candidate's level is set.

Systems Engineer. Infosys's ESG report says the graduates it recruits join "roles such as System Engineering Trainees (SET), Digital Specialist Engineers (DSE), Specialist Programmers (SP), among others". Infosys hasn't published the Systems Engineer pay on any page we checked, so we don't quote a figure.

How to apply

1. Open Infosys's post for the role you want: Specialist Programmer (Trainee) or Digital Specialist Engineer (Trainee). Both are on Naukri, so you need a Naukri account.
2. Check the batch, degree and experience rules above against your own before you apply.
3. Apply from the post with an up-to-date resume. Our Specialist Programmer job page has the full post with the apply link, a resume prompt for this role and a search for Infosys people to ask for a referral.
4. Watch your email. Earlier off-campus rounds told shortlisted candidates to expect "further communication via email".
5. Check that every email comes from an "@infosys.com" address before you act on it.

If you are in the 2027 batch, you can't apply to these posts yet. HackWithInfy registrations go through your college's placement officer, followed by an Infosys survey form, so ask your placement cell when the next edition opens.

How SP hiring differs from Infosys's usual fresher hiring

Infosys takes in about 20,000 graduates a year; its ESG report says "20,000+ fresh graduates annually". Chief executive Salil Parekh told CNBC-TV18 in July that it has "a similar hiring plan" this year, with 4,000 graduates hired in April to June, People Matters reported. In October HR Katha reported that Infosys hired 8,000 more freshers in July to September.

Here is how Infosys's own pages describe the two, side by side:

• Who applies, and how. The ESG report says Infosys "recruits talent from a wide range of institutions". The off-campus SP and DSE posts take graduates of the 2024 to 2026 batches with up to two years of work, who apply on their own.
• The selection. Campus hiring is "a structured assessment process, followed by in-person interviews", in the ESG report's words. For Power Programmers, Infosys describes coding rounds and "Hands-on LIVE coding interviews with technologists".
• Training. "All campus hires undergo a 19-23 week in-house Foundation Program (FP) at the Global Education Center (GEC), Mysore", says the ESG report. Selected Power Programmers "go through internships/job level trainings or are deployed directly on projects", says the Power Programmers page.
• Pay. SP pays ₹10 to 21 LPA across three levels and DSE ₹6.25 LPA, before joining bonuses. Infosys hasn't published a Systems Engineer figure.

If you join Infosys in another role, the Power Programmers page describes a Bridge Program, "an internal career accelerator program for our top talent", through which employees can grow into Power Programmers.

How to prepare

• Practise full programs against the clock. Both routes start with a three-hour coding assessment, and HackWithInfy scores code on the test cases it passes and its efficiency. Our DSA interview questions cover the patterns that come up, with Java and Python lists for the language itself.
• Do Infosys's own sample questions. Solve the three HackWithInfy sample problems in one timed sitting, then check your code against their test cases.
• Prepare for a live coding interview. You will write and explain code in front of an engineer. Know your projects in depth, and revise the stack the post names: our backend list covers REST, Node.js, databases and caching, and the frontend list JavaScript in depth.

Avoid Infosys hiring scams

• Infosys doesn't charge. In its words, it "never requests for fees for any purpose during or after the hiring process" and "will never request money for the opportunity to apply or work."
• Check the address. Infosys recruiters write from "@infosys.com" addresses. An interview call or offer copied to a Gmail or Yahoo address is a warning sign.
• No chat interviews. Infosys "will not request for an interview on any instant messaging applications", and it doesn't ask for bank account details, tax forms or card details while hiring.
• Validate an offer. If you get an Infosys offer and aren't sure it is real, check it on Infosys's offer validation page.

Frequently asked questions

Is Infosys hiring freshers for Specialist Programmer now?

Yes. On 15 November 2026, Infosys's posts for Specialist Programmer (Trainee) and Digital Specialist Engineer (Trainee) were open on Naukri for 2024, 2025 and 2026 graduates with up to two years of experience. Infosys hasn't given a closing date.

What is the salary of an Infosys Specialist Programmer?

Infosys's post lists three levels: L3 at ₹21 LPA, L2 at ₹16 LPA and L1 at ₹10 LPA plus a ₹1 lakh joining bonus. A Digital Specialist Engineer gets ₹6.25 LPA plus a ₹75,000 joining bonus.

Who is eligible for the Infosys Specialist Programmer role?

UG and PG graduates of the 2024, 2025 and 2026 batches with up to two years of work experience. The post lists B.Tech or B.E. in any specialisation, and M.Tech, MCA, MS or M.Sc.

What is the Infosys Specialist Programmer test pattern?

Coding. Earlier off-campus rounds this year opened with a three-hour online coding assessment, then an in-person assessment and a technical interview, Sakshi Education reported. HackWithInfy's two qualifying rounds are three-hour coding assessments on the Infosys Assessment Platform.

What is the difference between Infosys SP and DSE?

Pay and the kind of work. SP pays ₹10 to 21 LPA by level and focuses on writing code as an individual contributor across many technologies. DSE pays ₹6.25 LPA plus a ₹75,000 joining bonus and covers design, development, testing and support.

Can 2027 batch students apply for Infosys Specialist Programmer?

Not to the current off-campus posts, which are for the 2024, 2025 and 2026 batches. The 2027 batch's route was HackWithInfy 2026, whose registrations opened on 6 February 2026 through college placement officers.

Can BCA or B.Sc graduates apply?

BCA and B.Sc aren't on the current posts' list of degrees, which names B.Tech, B.E., M.Tech, MCA, MS and M.Sc.

Is there a fee to apply for Infosys SP or HackWithInfy?

No. Infosys says it never asks for fees during or after hiring, and HackWithInfy's terms say "no registration fees will be charged before or after the event."