P4 Senior Engineer
Interview Date
December 11th (likely 2024)
Result
Offer
Difficulty
Medium/Hard
Rounds
4 rounds (3 Coding, 1 System Design, 1 Hiring Manager)
Drive Type
Full-Time
Topics asked
Detailed experience
College: Not Specified
Interview Date: December 11th (likely 2024)
Interview Type: Full-Time
Result: Offer
Difficulty: Medium/Hard
Rounds: 4 rounds (3 Coding, 1 System Design, 1 Hiring Manager)
Topics Asked: Data Structures, Algorithms, System Design, Behavioral, Hashing, Checksums
This candidate, with 7+ years of experience in Backend, interviewed for a P4 Senior Engineer role after applying through a referral. The recruiter informed them of two rounds scheduled on the same day, which was agreed upon as the candidate was on their notice period.
Round 1: Coding
The first question was LeetCode's "House Robber II". The candidate provided an optimal solution, and the interviewer extended the problem to "House Robber III", for which a working solution was also provided.
Round 2: Design
The candidate was asked to design a WhatsApp-like end-to-end communication application. The approach involved outlining functional and non-functional requirements (in-scope and out-of-scope), technical estimates (scale, throughput, latency), API design, and a detailed discussion on database schema. A high-level architectural overview covering communication flow and components was also provided. The interviewers seemed satisfied with the approach and responses.
Due to positive feedback from the first two rounds, the recruiter scheduled another coding round for later the same day.
Round 3: Coding
The problem for this round was LeetCode's "Spiral Matrix IV". The candidate devised an optimal solution within the allotted time and correctly articulated its time and space complexity.
Two days later, the candidate received positive feedback from all three rounds, and a Hiring Manager (HM) round was scheduled.
Hiring Manager (HM) Round
This round involved a detailed discussion about past projects and several behavioral questions. Technical discussions on topics like hashing and checksums were also part of this round. The conversation went well, and the interviewer was satisfied with the answers.