Commvault

Role: SDE

College: Not Specified

Interview Date: Jul 15, 2025

Interview Type: On-Campus Placement

Result: Selected

Difficulty: Hard

Rounds: 4 rounds

Topics Asked: Aptitude, Java (Inheritance, Interface), Data Structures (LinkedList), Algorithms (Graphs, Fractional Knapsack, Dynamic Programming), System Design (File System), Java (Threads), Operating Systems

Experience:

Commvault's placement procedure for SDE roles involved 4 rounds for over 1500 shortlisted students. Candidates chose between C++ and Java; the interviewee chose Java.

Round 1: Online Assessment

This round had two parts: basic aptitude questions and MCQs based on Java, mostly related to inheritance and interfaces. 75 students were shortlisted for the next round.

Round 2: Coding Challenge (approx. 1 hour)

This round consisted of 4 coding questions:

• Reverse every k consecutive nodes in a LinkedList.
• Given 'n' nodes and 'm' lines of input where each line describes 2 nodes to be colored the same, find the number of pairs possible such that both nodes have different colors.
• Fractional Knapsack problem.
• Cross a river of length 'n' meters with 'n-1' stones at 1-meter intervals. You can jump up to 'm' meters in a single jump. Find the number of possible ways to cross the river.

The candidate solved 3 out of 4 questions and was shortlisted. 25 students proceeded to the next round.

Round 3: Long Coding Round (5 hours)

This was a 5-hour coding round where candidates had to develop a program for a file system. There were checkpoints where a mentor would assess progress. If candidates couldn't maintain an efficient data structure or were not progressing, they were asked to leave. 4 students were shortlisted, including the interviewee.

Round 4: Technical Round

This was a long technical round with many questions asked related to Java, threads, basic data structures, and one question from operating systems. Candidates were given access to their system and had to write code during the interview. Two students from the college were selected.