Trilogy

Role: SDE

College: Not Specified

Interview Date: August-October 2022

Interview Type: On-Campus

Result: Selected

Difficulty: Hard

Rounds: 6 rounds

Topics Asked: Bit Manipulation (Hamming Distance), Segment Trees, Dynamic Programming (3D DP), Aptitude (Math, Reasoning, Language), Projects (Frameworks, Database, Optimization), Low-Level System Design, Data Structures, Algorithms.

Experience:

Trilogy Innovation visited the campus on August 2nd, 2022.

Round - 1 (Coding Round): This round was conducted on Interviewbit with 4 questions. One question was an application of the Hamming distance algorithm (Bit Manipulation). The second was related to segment trees, requiring a slight modification of the template code. A 3D DP problem was also asked, which was simple as the transition state was easy to identify and constraints were small. Another question was a modification of "Escape the Spreading Fire" from LeetCode. 12 students were selected after this round.

Round - 2 (CCAT Aptitude Test): This round had 50 questions, each worth 1 mark, with a cutoff of 40. Questions covered Mathematical reasoning, logical thinking, and language aptitude, similar to the NTSE exam format. The candidate scored 50/50. 11 students were selected after this round.

Round - 3 (R0 Telephonic/Zoom Round): This round involved questions on projects. The interviewer delved deep into frameworks used, the idea behind implementation, and asked what would happen if code changes were made to the project. Questions like "How much time would it take to enter 10k records?" and "How to optimize the current approach?" were asked. The candidate needed to know everything about their projects, including specific framework details (e.g., Django middleware). This interview lasted for 45 minutes.

Round - 4 (R1 Technical Round): This was considered the toughest round and lasted 1 hour 30 minutes, taken by an SDE-3. (Details of specific questions from this round are not explicitly provided, but generally it's a DSA round as per other experiences)

Round - 5 (R2 VP Round / System Design): This round also started with a brief description of projects. The candidate was given a real-life problem and asked to propose various solutions and then pseudo-code the low-level design for one solution. The problem involved designing a navigation system for a library with 10 robots to assist physically challenged students in retrieving books. 3 students were selected after this round.

Round - 6 (PCCAT Final Round): This was similar to Round 2 (CCAT) but was a live proctored exam with potentially more difficult questions. The candidate was selected.

Tips: Prepare for the worst, don't neglect CS fundamentals or low-level system design.