Nucleus Software

Role: SWE II Backend (Applied for SWE I)

College: Not Specified

Interview Date: Not Specified (Likely 2023-2024)

Interview Type: Off-Campus, Full-Time

Result: Rejected

Difficulty: Medium to Hard

Rounds: 4 rounds

Topics Asked: Aptitude, Computer Fundamentals, DSA, Java (language questions, Spring framework, Hibernate, internal working of Java security, MongoDB repository, Java Mongo queries and optimizations, HashSet, Java internal working, Java transactions), Resume deep drill, AI

Experience:

This candidate received an interview opportunity through Naukri.com, applying for a Software Engineer 1 (SWE 1) role. The recruitment process was well-structured and involved four rounds.

Initial Screening:
A 5-minute phone call focused on skill assessment and resume shortlisting. Questions were resume and work-related.

Technical Round 1: Hire Pro Coding Test
This round lasted 1.5 hours and involved a Hire Pro test with sections on Aptitude, Computer Fundamentals, language questions, I/O questions, and 2 coding questions, each section being timed. The coding questions were on the easier side.

Technical Round 2: In-Person Interview
This 30-40 minute in-person interview took place at their Noida office. It primarily comprised Java language questions, Spring framework, and deep drilling into the candidate's resume. While most questions were answered, some required knowledge of Hibernate, which the candidate had not worked upon. The interviewer was friendly and seemed impressed by the candidate's prior projects, including a research paper in AI, giving a "go green" for an L2 role.

Technical Round 3: In-Person Interview
Another 30-40 minute in-person interview, also heavily Java-focused. Questions included the internal working of Java security, MongoDB repository, in-depth Java Mongo queries and optimizations, HashSet, and other Java internal workings. There were also questions regarding Java transactions, which the candidate hadn't used. The interviewer seemed dissatisfied with the candidate's in-depth knowledge of scaling database queries.

Final Outcome: The candidate was rejected, despite an overall good interview experience, likely due to a lack of in-depth knowledge in specific advanced Java and database scaling topics.