I recently went through the interview process for a Senior Software Engineer (Python) role at PayPal, and I'd love to share my journey.

My process started by directly emailing my resume to a recruiter. Shortly after, I received a HackerRank test link containing two coding questions, which I successfully solved. A few days later, I received confirmation for the next rounds of interviews.

🧠 Round 1: System Design (High-Level Design)

💻 Round 2: DSA / Problem Solving

⚙️ Round 3: Role Specialization (LLD / Coding)

🎯 Round 4: Bar Raiser (Behavioral)

I have 6.2 years of experience and received an email from a recruiter at Paypal regarding an SDE 3 (Python) opportunity, which included a HackerRank link for an Online Assessment.

HackerRank Round - 3 hours

The HackerRank assessment had 4 questions. The first was on Object-Oriented Programming, which I successfully completed. The second question involved Purchase Optimization, incorporating concepts like prefix sum, binary search, and greedy algorithms, similar to LeetCode problems such as Maximum Number That Sum of the Prices Is Less Than or Equal to K and Maximum Number of Robots Within Budget. I was able to solve this one too. The third part consisted of two MCQs related to Authorization (401 and 403 errors) and the cache-control header, which I also answered correctly. The last question was a hard SQL querying problem, which I unfortunately couldn't attempt. Overall, I solved 3 out of 4 questions and cleared this round.

1st Round - DSA 45 Mins

After clearing the online assessment, I had my first technical round. The interviewer asked me to create a Linked List from a given list of values. Then, I was given a tuple with a value to remove from the Linked List and another to add at a different position, along with the requirement to remove all occurrences of a specific value. I successfully coded and demonstrated the working solution. I was selected for the next round.

2nd Round - System Design 45 Mins

This was the final round, focusing on System Design. The interviewer asked me to design BookMyShow. We discussed the High-Level Design (HLD), but then the conversation shifted to the Low-Level Design (LLD) for the seating arrangement of a screen. I struggled with this part and wasn't able to provide a clear solution. Unfortunately, I was rejected after this round.

My interview journey with Paypal for the Senior Software Engineer (Python) role commenced with an online assessment on the Hackerrank platform, which included questions on SQL, DSA, and a machine coding style problem.

The first technical round, focused on Role Specialization, began with a brief discussion about my projects. This was followed by theoretical questions on Python, multithreading, and asynchronous programming. Subsequently, I was asked to solve a DSA problem, but due to time spent on theoretical questions, I could only pass a few test cases.

Next was the System Design round, where I was tasked with designing the Bookmyshow system, specifically focusing on ticket search and the payment process. Having prepared for this, I was able to successfully design and explain my approach within the allotted time.

The third round was dedicated to DSA. I was given two problems. For the first, I managed to write a brute force solution, which didn't pass all test cases, but I clearly explained my approach before moving on. The second problem was 'Remove All Adjacent Duplicates in String II'. I successfully solved this using a stack-based approach. With some time remaining, the interviewer presented a third problem which I don't clearly recall, but I was able to provide a brute force solution that passed most test cases.

The fourth round was a 'Bar Raiser' round. The interviewer seemed pressed for time, asking about my job change, technologies used in my projects, and engaging in project discussions. The interview concluded in about 20 minutes out of the scheduled 45. I later learned that this round didn't go well, which came as a surprise as I felt I had answered all questions satisfactorily and the interviewer appeared content at the time.

Following this, I had a fifth round, another 'Bar Raiser' with a different manager. This discussion felt much more positive. We started with my projects, then moved to situational behavioral questions, such as 'Tell me about a time where you had done something great apart from your work' and 'Tell me about a time where you had to learn something new & contributed.'

Eventually, after a prolonged two-month process, I was informed that Paypal decided to move forward with another candidate, without providing detailed feedback. I was quite shell-shocked by the rejection, especially after feeling confident about the second bar raiser round. I hope sharing this experience helps others.

I wanted to share my recent interview experience with PayPal for the Senior Software Engineer – Frontend role, as this community has been incredibly helpful to me. I have 5.9 years of experience and this was my first attempt at a product-based company.

Online Assessment (July)

The online assessment included questions based on React.js, CSS, and Data Structures & Algorithms.

Technical Rounds (August + September)

I went through three technical rounds:

• DSA Round: This round focused primarily on Heap and Hash-based problems.
• System Design Round: The questions here revolved around core JavaScript fundamentals, combined with aspects of Low-Level Design (LLD) and Data Structures & Algorithms.
• Role Specialization Round: This round was heavily focused on React.js. I was tasked with implementing cart functionality, covering both its Low-Level Design (LLD) and High-Level Design (HLD).

I received positive feedback after clearing all three of these technical rounds, which led to an invitation for the final Bar Raiser round.

Bar Raiser

I expected this round to be a mix of Behavioral and High-Level Design questions, but it turned out to be heavily focused on optimization and payment systems. Surprisingly, no behavioral questions were asked. While I managed to answer most of the questions, I struggled specifically with those related to payment systems.

Verdict

Eventually, I was informed that PayPal decided to move forward with another candidate, and no detailed feedback was provided. This outcome left me feeling quite low, especially after a process that stretched over two months and made me feel like I was almost selected. However, this experience has been a significant eye-opener for me, reinforcing that the outcome is never certain until the very end.

I hope my experience can help others in their preparation.

My journey with PayPal began after a recruiter reached out to me via Naukri. We had a preliminary discussion covering my background, salary expectations, notice period, and my 2.5 years of experience.

1st Round (Online Assessment - HackerRank)

2nd Round (DSA Round)

3rd Round (HLD Round)

Feedback and Verdict

Current Status

I am interviewing for a Senior Backend Developer position at PayPal, with over 5 years of experience. So far, I've completed two rounds, and the next one is yet to be scheduled.

Round 1: HackerRank (DSA + Problem Solving)

This round focused on Data Structures & Algorithms combined with general problem-solving. I encountered several types of questions:

1. I was given an API URL and tasked with fetching its response, then extracting specific data based on a provided key.
2. There was a string manipulation question, which was described as medium level.
3. I was presented with the LeetCode problem "Subarray Sum Equals K."
4. The round also included conceptual questions related to Java and Object-Oriented Programming (OOP).

Round 2: System Design

The second round was dedicated to System Design, with a focus on both high-level and low-level aspects:

1. We started with a discussion on basic OOP concepts and Java.
2. Further questions explored various design patterns and principles of API design.
3. A significant portion of the round involved the Low-Level Design (LLD) of a Parking Lot system. The interviewer asked specific questions on how to achieve scalability and apply relevant design patterns. I discussed using patterns like the Builder and Strategy patterns in my approach.

I am now looking forward to the next steps in the interview process.

Round 1: Technical Interview - DSA & System Design

The first round covered both Data Structures & Algorithms and some system design concepts. I was asked to find the index of an unbalanced parenthesis in a string. Additionally, the interviewer delved into system design, asking about alternatives to API gateways and the principles behind separating microservices. There was also a database query question, which I don't recall precisely but found challenging.

Round 2: Technical Interview - DSA & Language Specific

This round focused on Data Structures & Algorithms. I encountered the 'Trapping Rain Water' problem. While I hadn't solved it before, the interviewer was helpful and guided me by breaking down the problem into smaller parts. There were also some specific questions related to Golang, though I don't recall the exact details.

Round 3: Technical Interview - System Design & Core Concepts

The third round was heavily focused on system design and advanced concepts. I was asked about implementing optimistic versus pessimistic locking in specific scenarios, a topic that came up because I had mentioned using it previously. We also discussed the pros and cons of gRPC and why one might choose gRPC over traditional HTTP.

Round 4: Hiring Manager Round

The final round was with the hiring manager and consisted of standard behavioral questions. I was asked about my motivations for leaving my current job and what my expectations were for this new role at Paypal.

After completing all rounds, I waited for a response. The recruiter initially informed me that results would be out in two weeks. However, three weeks passed without a reply. Ultimately, I received a rejection email after two months.

Hey, I'd like to share my detailed experience for the PayPal Software Developer Intern position for Summer 2023, an on-campus opportunity in Bangalore.

My selection process began with resume shortlisting. I believe a decent GPA, preferably 8+, is key for on-campus placements.

Next was the Online Assessment, a 90-minute round with one medium-level LeetCode question and 10-15 MCQs based on JavaScript/Web Development. I successfully solved all the problems.

About a month later, I received the OA results, and my Technical Round was scheduled within a week. This 45-minute round covered various topics:

• Discussion around Dynamic Programming approaches and greedy algorithms.
• Data Structure questions involving pointers, different inbuilt functions, and related concepts, with follow-ups on choosing specific approaches.
• Basic OOPs concepts, specifically I was asked about polymorphism and its types.
• DBMS questions, where I had to write SQL queries and discuss follow-up scenarios.
• One easy-to-medium LeetCode question related to strings, for which I first explained my approach and then coded it on the HackerRank platform.

I recently interviewed for a Backend Developer role at PayPal in Bangalore. The experience was quite negative, primarily due to the interviewer's unprofessional conduct.

We covered two questions. For the first question, I was asked to reverse a string based on curly brackets. I initially tried a recursive approach, but after a few more examples provided by the interviewer, I realized it wouldn't work and switched to a stack-based solution. Unfortunately, I couldn't complete it within the allotted timeframe.

The interviewer then made a startling comment, stating, "I don't think you will be able to solve the next question" simply because I struggled with the first. The second question was the classic 'Number of Islands' graph traversal problem. This is a frequently asked question, so I knew the solution well and completed it in about 20 minutes. However, the interviewer refused to let me run my solution, claiming that "Time is up & I need to go to the next candidate now. Bye!" and immediately ended the meeting.

Despite having 20-25 minutes left, she chose to take a break instead of proceeding or even checking my solution. I was stunned by this attitude and have since passed my feedback to HR. In a nutshell, I would never apply to PayPal again and wish to avoid working with individuals who display such behavior.