Pine Labs

Role: SDE 1 (for Plural team)

College: Not Specified

Interview Date: Not Specified

Interview Type: Full-Time

Result: Selected

Difficulty: Medium

Rounds: 3 rounds + Assignment

Topics Asked: High-Level Design, Low-Level Design, Object-Oriented Programming, Managerial Questions

Experience:

The recruiter initiated the process with an assignment for a console-based Library Management Service. The candidate, though more comfortable with OOPs in C++, completed the assignment in Python to write test cases.

Round 1: HLD (1.5 hour)
This round was initially scheduled as Round 2 but occurred first due to a mix-up. The first 30 minutes were dedicated to explaining the candidate's previous project. The interviewer pointed out shortcomings in the architecture, which the candidate acknowledged and explained efforts to improve. The interviewer then skipped the standard HLD question and instead added new requirements to the candidate's existing project, asking them to fix its architecture. This round was positive, as the candidate had extensively thought about improving their project's architecture.

Round 2: Code pairing round (Extension of the assignment)
Despite preparing for LLD, the candidate was asked to make books unique objects in the Library Management Service to differentiate them and then fix corresponding test cases. One test case produced a strange output, and both the candidate and interviewer tried to debug it until time ran out. The candidate initially felt they performed poorly, but the interviewer's review was positive.

Round 3: Manager round
This round involved managerial questions, which the candidate answered aptly. When asked about hobbies, the candidate mentioned football and was then asked to design a football league point system. The task was to design the UML (Tables, players, fixtures, etc.), which the candidate felt they did well due to prior LLD preparation.

The candidate described it as one of the best interview experiences, noting that interviewers seemed to approach with an open mind rather than predefined questions.