Summary
I interviewed for the SSE Backend role at INDMoney in Bangalore in March 2024 and successfully received an offer after completing 5 technical rounds and 1 HR round.
Full Experience
Overview
I interviewed for the SSE Backend role at INDMoney in Bangalore. My journey included 5 intensive technical rounds, followed by a final HR managerial round, ultimately leading to a successful offer. I have 2.5 years of experience, primarily working with multiple startups.
Round 1 (Virtual): Data Structures & Algorithms and Golang Basics
My first round was with an SSE. He was very friendly and provided a detailed introduction to the product, highlighting its technical potential and scalability. Following this, I was given a LeetCode medium question:
Since the role involved Golang, the interviewer also asked some basic questions on Golang, particularly focusing on concurrency. He was quite helpful and guided me when I faced confusion with syntax.Round 2 (Virtual): Database Design and Queries
This round was with an Engineering Manager. I was tasked with designing a database schema for an application similar to Splitwise. The discussion covered aspects of user management, groups, expenses, and settlements. I also had to write various read and write queries for different scenarios based on my design.
Round 3 (Virtual): Advanced System Concepts
The third round was highly technical, conducted by the SVP Engineering. This round delved into several advanced system concepts:
- Redis Pipelining: We discussed how it works and its benefits.
- Postgres Master-Slave Data Replication: I was asked about its architecture and implications.
- Kafka Internals: The conversation focused on components like the group coordinator and its role in managing consumer groups.
Round 4 (Virtual): CTO Round - System Design and DSA
In this round with the CTO, we started with an introduction about my previous company, my role, and the projects I worked on. Following that, there was a database design discussion involving analytics-type queries. A key part of this round was a logical design problem on handling deduplication of payloads at scale within a Kafka environment. I also encountered a string-based DSA question, though no specific details were provided.
Round 5 (Virtual): Team Matching & DSA Variation
This round was with another VP Engineering and felt more like a team matching discussion. We had a general introduction and exchanged interests outside of work. Additionally, I was presented with a variation of the Zig-Zag traversal problem for binary trees.
Round 6 (Virtual): HR Managerial Round
The final round was with the HR Manager. The conversation centered on culture fit and other work-related topics, ensuring alignment with the company's values and team dynamics.
I am delighted to share that I received an offer and have since joined INDMoney.
Interview Questions (7)
The interviewer asked about Redis pipelining, its purpose, and how it improves performance.
I was asked questions regarding Postgres Master-Slave data replication, including its mechanisms and use cases.
Questions were asked about Kafka internals, specifically focusing on concepts like the group coordinator and its role in consumer groups.
I was tasked with a logical design problem focusing on how to handle deduplication of payloads at scale within a Kafka environment.
I was given a variation of the Zig-Zag traversal problem for a binary tree. The core concept was similar to the standard problem but with some modifications.