Confluent

Role: Senior Software Engineer

College: Not Specified

Interview Date: May 2024

Interview Type: Full-Time

Result: Offer

Difficulty: Medium-Hard

Rounds: 5 rounds (Qualifier Round, 3 Technical Rounds, Cultural Fit Round)

Topics Asked: Data Structures, Algorithms, Low-Level Design, High-Level Design, Concurrency, Behavioral

Experience:

The interview process for a Senior Software Engineer role started with a referral and included a qualifier round followed by a full onsite loop.

Qualifier Round:
A DSA + LLD question was asked, requiring implementation and execution on Coderpad. Follow-up questions covered time complexity and concurrency, especially locking.

Technical Round 1 (DSA):
A DSA question was asked in two parts: easy-medium and medium-hard. Working code with good coding practices was required.

Technical Round 2 (LLD):
An LLD question focused on optimizing memory while reading a huge file. Awareness of low-level language memory constructs was key. The candidate was able to solve and run the solution.

Technical Round 3 (HLD):
An HLD question, described as the easiest round by the candidate. It involved drawing and explaining the thought process with trade-offs.

Cultural Fit Round:
This was a deep dive and cultural fit round with usual questions about projects, different phases and situations in projects, and how the candidate handled them. This round went very well.

Overall Experience: All interviewers were described as very nice and jolly, and the process happened on schedule. The recruiter confirmed a "hire call" after one week.