Safesecurity

Role: SDE 1

College: Not Specified

Interview Date: 2024-10-23

Interview Type: Full-Time

Result: Offer (Declined)

Difficulty: Medium

Rounds: 4 rounds

Topics Asked: CS Fundamentals, Data Structures, Algorithms, System Design, Behavioral, Company Culture

Experience:

The candidate had a "nice interview experience" but ultimately declined the offer due to negative reviews about the company's work culture found online.

Initial Recruiter Meet: This round, conducted over Google Meet, involved questions about the candidate's reasons for seeking a change and the scale of their backend work. Surprisingly, the recruiter also asked college/placement-level Computer Science fundamental questions, such as the difference between TCP/UDP and SQL/NoSQL. The round went well.

Technical Round 1: Taken by an SDE III, this round reportedly featured questions similar to those in the recruiter round. Additionally, the interviewer asked about database indexes, specifically what would happen if every column were indexed. The candidate also faced a Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA) problem: implementing an LRU Cache, which they solved with ease.

Technical Round 2: This round was with the Director of Engineering (DOE) and was described as "unusual." A peculiar behavioral question asked was, "How much will you rate yourself in hardwork on a scale of 1-10?" (with the "correct" answer being 10, though 8 was acceptable). The round also included a System Design problem for Quora, focusing on requirements, REST API, and model design. The candidate felt they did fairly well despite limited System Design experience.

CEO Round: This final round was with the CEO, Saket Modi. The primary focus was on the company's culture, with candidates advised to go through the company's culture deck beforehand. The CEO confirmed the candidate's selection.

Tips and Suggestions: The candidate noted that the company's work culture is very intensive, with recruiters mentioning a "45-day sprint" involving 9 AM to 9 PM workdays and even working from home on weekends. They advised fellow engineers to consider that "life is a marathon and not a sprint" and that a role sacrificing personal time for more money might not be worth it.