Zeta

Role: SDE Intern

College: Not Specified

Interview Date: Not Specified

Interview Type: Internship

Result: Final Selection

Difficulty: Medium to Hard

Rounds: 3 rounds

Topics Asked: Data Structures and Algorithms (GCD, Disjoint Set Union, String Prefix Manipulation, Binary Search), Projects, Low-Level Design (Library Management System, Ludo), OOP (Encapsulation, Inheritance, Bug Fixing), DBMS (Normalization, SQL), HTTP, HTTPS, Processes, Threads, Multithreading (Synchronous/Asynchronous), TCP, UDP, Sockets

Experience:

This experience details the interview process for an SDE Intern position at Zeta (Directi).

Round 1: Online Coding Assessment

This round consisted of three coding questions with a time limit of 2 hours.

• Question 1: A basic array problem involving GCD concepts and operations.
• Question 2: A problem related to Disjoint Set Union (DSU).
• Question 3: A problem involving manipulation and operations on prefixes of given strings.

Round 2: DS/ALGO Interview Round

The session began with introductions, followed by some basic questions about the candidate's projects and the challenges encountered. A standard binary search problem was given to solve within approximately 10 minutes. After implementing an optimal solution, the interviewer asked the candidate to design the low-level architecture (LLD) of a library management system on a Google Doc. This involved discussing the system's flow and writing pseudocode. Following this, fundamental DBMS questions were asked, mainly focusing on normalization and SQL.

Round 3: Technical/Fitment Round

In this round, after introductions, the interviewer asked if the candidate had played any board games. From the listed games, the candidate was asked to design the low-level architecture (LLD) of Ludo on a Google Doc. The discussion covered game rules, basic design flow, and constraints before coding began. During the coding process, several fundamental OOP questions were asked, including encapsulation and inheritance, and the candidate was prompted to identify and fix bugs in the code. As time was running out, the interviewer asked about the limitations of the design and potential areas for improvement. After listing them, questions about HTTP requests and the difference between HTTP and HTTPS were asked. The candidate was also asked about processes and threads, along with the synchronous/asynchronous behavior of multithreading, including an example. Additionally, TCP, UDP, and sockets were covered. The interview concluded after the candidate asked questions.

Result: Final Selection.