Summary
I interviewed for an SDE-2 role at Fivetran. After an online assessment, I proceeded to a technical round where I solved the Longest Increasing Subsequence problem and a problem conceptually similar to LeetCode 134: Gas Station. Despite solving both problems, I was rejected after the first technical round.
Full Experience
Position: SDE-2 Applied via: Direct application on Fivetran careers page for SDE role Language: Java only Status: Rejected after Round 1
Online Assessment (HackerRank)
The online assessment consisted of a single coding question on HackerRank, with Java as the only allowed language. The problem was based on managing employee scores. I approached it using a Heap-based solution, and only 2–3 test cases failed. Despite the partial failure, I was contacted by a recruiter shortly afterward. He informed me that the interview process would consist of two rounds, and I would proceed to the second round only if I cleared the first.
Round 1 (Technical Interview – 1 Hour)
Part 1: Longest Increasing Subsequence
The first round of the technical interview lasted an hour and was divided into two parts, both focused on data structures and algorithms. In the first part, I was asked to solve the Longest Increasing Subsequence (LIS) problem. I began by explaining the approach conceptually, starting with a decision tree and highlighting overlapping subproblems, which naturally led to a dynamic programming solution with a time complexity of O(n²). We did a dry run together on a sample input to ensure the logic was sound, and then I coded the solution. It passed all test cases. I was expecting a follow-up question to optimize the solution to O(n log n) using binary search and patience sorting, but that wasn’t asked.
Part 2: Aladdin and the Magic Carpet
In the second part, I was given a problem called Aladdin and the Magic Carpet, which was conceptually similar to Leetcode 134: Gas Station. At first, I had trouble understanding the problem, but the interviewer clarified it for me. I then implemented a greedy approach. My initial solution failed some test cases due to a bug in how I calculated the minimum fuel required. After identifying and fixing the issue, the updated solution passed all test cases successfully.
Outcome
I felt the interview round went well overall — both problems were solved with correct logic and fully working code after debugging. The interviewer was cooperative, and I was confident about my performance by the end of the session. Naturally, I was expecting to hear back for the next round, but after a few days of silence, I decided to follow up with the recruiter.
To my disappointment, the recruiter replied that the feedback was not positive :) and I wouldn’t be moving forward in the process. There was no detailed explanation provided.
Interview Questions (2)
I was asked to solve the Longest Increasing Subsequence (LIS) problem. I began by explaining the approach conceptually, starting with a decision tree and highlighting overlapping subproblems, which naturally led to a dynamic programming solution with a time complexity of O(n²). We did a dry run together on a sample input to ensure the logic was sound, and then I coded the solution. It passed all test cases. I was expecting a follow-up question to optimize the solution to O(n log n) using binary search and patience sorting, but that wasn’t asked.
I was given a problem called Aladdin and the Magic Carpet, which was conceptually similar to Leetcode 134: Gas Station. At first, I had trouble understanding the problem, but the interviewer clarified it for me.
Summary
During my interview for an SDE2 role at Fivetran, I was presented with a HackerRank coding challenge that involved optimizing car positions on a 2D plane to achieve a minimum fuel cost.
Full Experience
I participated in an interview round for the SDE2 position at Fivetran. The interview was conducted on the HackerRank platform, where I was given a specific coding problem to solve.
Interview Questions (1)
Given a 2D plane, we are given n cars and their position coordinates on the 2D plane in the form of an array.
I/P format: X[n] -> x-coordinates of n cars, Y[n] -> y coordinates of n cars
The objective of the problem is to bring all the cars on the same line parallel to the horizontal (x-axis) in 2D plane, with no gap between 2 cars. We are asked to achieve the objective with minimum fuel cost. The fuel cost for moving a car from (x1,y1) to (x2, y2) is abs(x1-x2) + abs(y1-y2)
Note: no gap between cars mean that if car1 is parked at (x1, y) then the next car should be parked at (x1+1, y)