Cloudera

Role: Software Engineer

College: Tier 2 engineering college

Interview Date: August 2022

Interview Type: On-Campus, Full-Time

Result: Selected

Difficulty: Not Specified

Rounds: 4 rounds

Topics Asked: Data Structures (Heap, Tree, Linked List, Stack, Arrays), Algorithms (Sorting, Binary Search, Process Scheduling), SQL, OOPs, Computer Networks, DBMS (Indexing, Optimization), Web Development (Google AdSense, cookies), Projects, Behavioral.

Experience:

Cloudera visited the campus in October 2021 (reported in August 2022). 90 students were allowed for the online test, and 4 rounds followed.

Round 1: Online Coding Test (120 mins)
Conducted on Hackerrank, it consisted of 4 questions.

• One question based on a heap.
• One math problem.
• One tree problem (a variation of max sum path).
• One SQL query.

The candidate solved 2 questions fully and 2 partially. 37 students were shortlisted for the next round.

Round 2: Technical Interview (45 mins)
The round began with an introduction. The interviewer asked the candidate to solve 3 coding questions live on the Codebunk platform.

• Find a cycle in a linked list (LeetCode problem).
• Implement a stack in C++.
• Merge 2 sorted arrays.

Following the coding, questions were asked about the candidate's web development project, specifically how to integrate Ads and how Google AdSense and cookies work.

Round 3: Technical Interview 2 (45 mins)
This round also started with an introduction. The interviewer showed interest in one of the candidate's Flutter projects and asked questions about it.

• OS: Explained all process scheduling algorithms, their pros and cons, and which is most optimal. A problem on the Round Robin Algorithm was given.
• Computer Networks: Questions on HTTP vs HTTPS, the OSI model, different protocols, why HTTP is in the Application layer, Switches, Routers, and how a packet is transmitted.
• DBMS: Questions on Indexing and how to optimize a database.
• Algorithms: Different sorting algorithms (Bubble sort, Merge Sort) and their time complexities. How binary search works and the two ways to calculate mid.
• OOPs: Questions on OOPs with real-life examples and operator overloading.
• Coding question on Codebunk: Balancing parentheses.

Round 4: HM Round (30 mins)
The round started with introductions and casual conversation. The interviewer asked questions from the candidate's resume, covering projects, hackathons, CTFs, coding contests, and involvement in a technical club. The candidate was asked about B+ trees but could not answer. Further questions included factors to consider before releasing an app as a product and general HR questions. The candidate was one of 3 selected.