Expedia

Role: Software Engineer (SDE-2)

College: Not Specified

Interview Date: Not Specified

Interview Type: Full-Time

Result: Not Specified

Difficulty: Medium

Rounds: 4 rounds (Online Assessment + 3 Interview Rounds)

Topics Asked: Data Structures, Algorithms (Longest Consecutive Sequence in an Array, Reorder Linked List, Longest Substring with Distinct Characters, Find Minimum in Rotated Sorted Array), Low-Level Design (API Design), Behavioral/HR

Experience:

This interview experience for a Software Engineer (SDE-2) role at Expedia Group involved an Online Assessment and 4 subsequent rounds.

1. Online Assessment (HackerRank): This was a standard OA with a couple of DSA-based coding questions, where time complexity awareness and clean code were important.

2. Round 1 – DSA Questions:

• "Longest Consecutive Sequence in an Array": Solved using a HashSet for O(n) time, followed by discussions on time and space optimization.
• "Reorder Linked List": Involved finding the middle, reversing the second half, and merging both halves, with follow-up discussions on edge cases and testing.

The interviewer focused on clarity of approach and coding fluency.

3. Round 2 – DSA Questions:

• "Longest Substring with Distinct Characters": A sliding window approach was used, emphasizing maintaining indices and handling repeats.
• "Find Minimum in Rotated Sorted Array": A modified binary search variant, explaining invariants and edge cases (duplicates if present).

The key here was explaining why the chosen data structure/algorithm was optimal and stepping through edge cases.

4. Round 3 – LLD (Low-Level Design): The task was to "Design an API that determines whether a product can be delivered within 2 days, given a pincode." Key aspects discussed included core logic design (distance/time validation), data modeling, extensibility for multiple regions or service levels, and handling API failures and scalability.

5. Round 4 – Behavioral / HR: This round involved discussions around past work, challenges faced, and collaboration scenarios. The interviewers were looking for thoughtfulness and ownership.

Tips provided by the candidate include brushing up on array, linked list, sliding window, hashing, and binary-search patterns, being ready to explain trade-offs clearly in LLD, keeping communication crisp, and narrating reasoning while coding.