Wayfair Interview Experience | SDE 2 | Selected
SDE 2WayFair Technical Assessment - Round1 - Screening
Wayfair | Software Engineer II | Machine Coding Round
software engineer iiWayfair SDE2 | Interview Experience | Selected | 2025
SDE IIWayfair Frontend SDE-2 Interview Experience - March 2025
Frontend SDE-25 more experiences below
Summary
I successfully interviewed for an SDE 2 position at Wayfair, receiving an offer. The comprehensive process focused heavily on system design, clean architecture thinking, and real-world application of technical knowledge across multiple rounds.
Full Experience
I was initially contacted by a recruiter from Instahyre who provided an overview of the SDE 2 role and compensation details. Once I confirmed my interest, the interview process quickly began.
Online Assessment (Hackerrank)
The online assessment consisted of two mid-to-hard LeetCode-style questions. The difficulty was moderate to high, challenging my problem-solving skills and my ability to handle various edge cases. I successfully cleared this round.Round 1 – Design Round (Hackerrank Platform)
This round involved a design task on the Hackerrank platform where I was asked to design an Order Management System. Some classes and interfaces were pre-provided, and my task was to implement the missing functionalities. After completing the coding, there was a follow-up discussion about my approach, the design decisions I made, and the complexity of my solution.Round 2 – Application Design Round
In this round, I was tasked with designing a Bike Rental System. The discussion primarily focused on API Design, Database Schema Design, and explaining the system flow using a Sequence Diagram. Additionally, I was asked to write SQL queries to fetch available vehicles, fetch booked vehicles, and identify overdue rentals. I cleared this round and received an invitation for the onsite interviews.Round 3 – Onsite Interviews
The onsite interviews were conducted with multiple engineering managers.1. Hiring Manager (Engineering Manager) – 45 mins
This discussion covered my current project and responsibilities, followed by resume-based technical questions. We also delved into Spring Boot concepts such as Beans, Transactions, and REST design principles, as well as deployment strategies and scaling practices.2. Senior Engineering Manager – 15 mins
This was a shorter round where I discussed 'Why Wayfair?' and how I handle challenges, deadlines, and team collaboration.Round 4 – HR Discussion (30 mins)
This round focused on salary negotiation, cultural fitment, and general behavioral questions.Additional Round
About a week later, HR informed me that the original position I applied for had been closed, but they wanted to consider me for another team. They scheduled an additional 1-hour discussion with another Hiring Manager. This round included a deep dive into my current project and a detailed discussion on my database design choices and the reasoning behind them.Outcome
Although the entire process took some time due to internal organizational changes, my overall experience with Wayfair was structured and professional. They placed a strong emphasis on design skills, clean architecture thinking, and practical real-world application knowledge, which I appreciated. I received an offer for the SDE 2 role.Interview Questions (4)
Design a Bike Rental System with focus areas on API Design, Database Schema Design, and Sequence Diagram / Flow Explanation.
Write an SQL query to fetch available vehicles for the Bike Rental System.
Write an SQL query to fetch booked vehicles for the Bike Rental System.
Write an SQL query to identify overdue rentals for the Bike Rental System.
Summary
I participated in a technical assessment at WayFair for a screening round. The assessment involved four distinct system design and database scaling questions.
Full Experience
I recently completed a technical assessment for WayFair's screening round. The assessment covered several system design and database-focused questions, pushing me to think about scalability and consistency in real-world application scenarios.
Interview Questions (4)
We are building a real time group chat app that consists of a backend server and a frontend web app. Our MVP needs to support multiple users joining a group. When a user is part of a group, that user should be able to send a message to all other users in the group and read all messages posted in the group.
How would you design this group chat application, specifically what protocol(s) could be used to communicate between our server and client web app?
We are working on a clone of Facebook. We want to add a numeric count to every post showing how many friends the post's author has at the time of viewing the post, like this:
Marie McWilliams (105 friends)
I had a great day today, feeling good!
Our database has two tables:
USER
'user_id' (primary key)
'name'
'created_date'
USER_RELATIONSHIP
'friendship_id' (primary key, unique to each relationship)
'user1_id' (indexed)
'user2_id' (indexed)
'start_date'
Focusing on the database, how would you implement the friend-count feature? Note we will soon be more popular than Facebook, so the solution needs to scale.
We are working on a clone of Google Docs that allows users to collaborate on documents. Many users can work on the same document at the same time.
We have 100 instances of our service running on 100 different machines. Each document needs to be managed exclusively by one instance while it is in use, but one instance can handle multiple documents at once. We have a simple load-balancing system. Because each document has a random numeric ID found in the URL, we use the value of (id % num_instances) to route traffic. For example, with 100 jobs, traffic for document # 314814196 is routed to the instance with index 96.
How will this system perform as the usage grows?
Which consistency model is more appropriate for each of these applications: strong consistency, or eventual consistency? Why? (Select the best answer that applies for each question).
An API call that needs to respond within 20 milliseconds, used by a web service to retrieve metadata about a piece of streaming media. A web analytics platform recording every single click on a web page. A banking system that makes deposits and payments to checking accounts.
Summary
I recently went through the Wayfair Software Engineer II interview process, which included a machine coding round. The experience was challenging but rewarding, and I was fortunate to receive a job offer.
Full Experience
As a Software Engineer II, I was invited to participate in a machine coding round as part of the interview process. The round consisted of several coding problems that tested my ability to write efficient and clean code under time pressure. The problems were presented in a coding environment, and I had to solve them within a limited timeframe.
The interview process was entirely remote, which made it a bit more challenging to stay focused. However, the problems themselves were well-structured and required a good understanding of data structures and algorithms. I was able to solve most of the problems, which gave me confidence in my abilities.
Overall, the experience was positive, and I was happy to receive an offer for the position.
Interview Questions (3)
Given a stream of integers, find a triplet (a, b, c) such that the absolute difference between a and b is less than or equal to a given threshold, and the absolute difference between b and c is also less than or equal to the threshold. The triplet should be found in a single pass through the stream.
Preparation Tips
To prepare for the machine coding round, I focused on practicing data structures and algorithms, particularly problems related to string manipulation and array operations. I also worked on improving my coding speed and accuracy by solving problems under time constraints. Additionally, I reviewed common coding interview patterns and practiced writing clean, efficient code.
Summary
I recently interviewed for an SDE2 role at Wayfair, cleared all rounds, and received an offer. The interview process included an Online Assessment, DSA, Low-Level Design, Hiring Manager, and HR rounds.
Full Experience
Hi all, I recently interviewed for a SDE2 role at Wayfair and wanted to share my experience to help others prepare. I had applied through LinkedIn.
Round 0: Online Assessment (OA) - Hackerrank : two LC medium level questions. Time limit - 50 min.
Round 1: DSA (60 min): I was asked two LC style medium questions on Hackerrank codepair.
Round 2 : LLD (60 min): I was asked to implememt an automated parking system. Focus was primarily on the DB Schema and API design.
Round 3: HM (30 min): Resume deep dive + standard behavioral questions.
Round 4: HR (30 min): Standard HR questions like why switch, expected comp etc.
Rolled out the offer within few days after the HR round.
Compenstation details: https://leetcode.com/discuss/post/6871227/wayfair-sde2-2025-bangalore-by-anonymous-47px/
Interview Questions (1)
I was asked to implement an automated parking system. Focus was primarily on the DB Schema and API design.
Summary
I interviewed for a Frontend SDE-2 role at Wayfair in March 2025, progressing through an online coding test, machine coding, system design, hiring manager, and HR rounds. Despite successfully navigating several technical challenges, I was ultimately rejected.
Full Experience
I applied to Wayfair SDE-2 Frontend role on March and will share the whole process of my interview journey.
Hackerrank Online coding test
After applying I received a online coding test link from hackerrank. There was two questions one was regarding to React and one plain javascript. I forgot the questions. but it was easy and medium leveled. I think the javascript side question was to create something like a Observer pattern or some EventEmitter kind of question.
Technical Round - 1 : Machine Coding
So after the online test, 15 days later I got a call from the recruiter and scheduled the machine coding interview round. The interviewer was a senior manager and I was given a hackerrank link. There was a full react application.
- Task 1 there were some reviews and there was a select filter. in the select filter there was differenct kind of filters, based on user selection the reviews will get filtered.
- Task 2 debugging and fixing a performance issue for editing one review.
The interview went good and the interviewer was also very helpful.
Technical Round - 2 : System Design
On the system design round, I was given a link where I saw a ecommerce product details page and asked to give a high level architecture of that page.
In this round, I had to discuss requirments, rendering approach, architecture, data flow and also data schema (for example how the interface of the product will look like), follow up questions and also Optimizations.
This round went good also but I think I could have done it more better. On the Product component which could have make it more scalable and also on the optimizations part. The interviewer was very good, I enjoyed this conversation. Also he asked a question which basically tests your leadership for a project on which I was a little bit confused.
Hiring Manager Round
The recruiter called me after the system design round and asked me to come to the Wayfair office and give two back to back interviews for Hiring Manager and HR Round.
For the hiring manager, The interviewer asked me many situational based question which I answered based on STAR Pattern. on the end of the interview he asked about what methodology we follow and I dont know what happened to me, I was blank 😭😭 and fumbled.
It was a decent interview, but I understood he was not satisfied 🥲.
HR Round
After the hiring manager, the hr came and ask general hr questions like why are you looking out, why Wayfair, notice period, compensation.
Verdict - Rejected!
After 1 week the hr called me and told me that they are not moving forward with me 🥲. Only the online test is elimination round. The hr said until a round was that bad, they will not reject in the middle. A canidate have to go through all the rounds and process then they will declare the result.
I hope it helps. Thanks. (P.S - The hiring manager also asked why are you looking out?)
Interview Questions (4)
Create something like an Observer pattern or an EventEmitter in plain JavaScript.
Implement a React application feature where reviews are displayed, and a select filter allows users to filter reviews based on different criteria.
Identify and resolve a performance bottleneck when editing a single review in a React application.
Design the high-level architecture for an e-commerce product details page, covering requirements, rendering approach, architecture, data flow, data schema (e.g., product interface), follow-up questions, and optimizations.
Summary
I recently interviewed for the SE-2 (Frontend) role at Wayfair, which involved a HackerRank test, a machine coding round, a High-Level Design discussion, managerial, and HR rounds. After a two-week wait, I was accepted for the position.
Full Experience
Hey Guys,
I recently interviewed for the SE-2 (Frontend) role at Wayfair. I was reffered by an employee.
Round 1 - Hackerank test-
-
There was already code written for a timer with UI. There was one button to reset . The requirement was as soon as the page loads the timer should start and should reset if the button is clicked.
-
A very basic JS problem which just needed a single loop (Dont remember the exact question)
Got the call from the recruiter about a week later to schedule the interview.
Round 2 - Machine coding round
This round also had pre written code for a review page (page where users write review about the product)
task 1 - There is a sort option for review based on - Latest , most liked etc and I had to implement the logic. The challenging part here was to use a useContext and reducer setup as store and to navigate among different files to make changes.
Task 2-
It was to improve the performance of the text area used to write review. initially they were updating store instantaneously when anything was being typed. Had to move it to state variable and update to store on only clicking the save button
Round 3- HLD
I was given the figma mock up for a product detail view page (sample- Flipkart )
The interviewer was very interactive and we went through the component heirarchy , APIs used , optimisations etc.
I followed the Frontend Engineer model of system design and it went very well.
Round 4 - Mangerial round
Basic managerial round with focus on previous work and projects. Few behavioural questions all standard related to complex technical problem faced, handling bad feedbacks etc
Round 5 - HR round
Similiar behavioural questions
Post this after about 2 weeks I got the verdict as selected.
Interview Questions (6)
There was already code written for a timer with UI. There was one button to reset. The requirement was as soon as the page loads the timer should start and should reset if the button is clicked.
This round also had pre written code for a review page (page where users write review about the product). There is a sort option for review based on - Latest , most liked etc and I had to implement the logic. The challenging part here was to use a useContext and reducer setup as store and to navigate among different files to make changes.
It was to improve the performance of the text area used to write review. initially they were updating store instantaneously when anything was being typed. Had to move it to state variable and update to store on only clicking the save button
I was given the figma mock up for a product detail view page (sample- Flipkart ). The interviewer was very interactive and we went through the component heirarchy , APIs used , optimisations etc.
Basic managerial round with focus on previous work and projects. Few behavioural questions all standard related to complex technical problem faced, handling bad feedbacks etc
Similiar behavioural questions
Preparation Tips
I followed the Frontend Engineer model of system design and it went very well.
Summary
I recently interviewed at Wayfair for a Senior Software Engineer, L4 role in Bangalore. The process included a phone interview with a detailed coding problem and multiple system design questions, but I was ultimately rejected for the onsite round.
Full Experience
I applied for a Senior Software Engineer, L4 role at Wayfair through Instahyre and was contacted by a recruiter. After an initial Google Meet screening to discuss my current role and responsibilities, the recruiter confirmed that I was suitable for the L4 role, and no online assessment was required due to the seniority of the position.
The phone interview round lasted about 45 minutes. It began with a 5-minute introduction, followed by a 20-minute coding/problem-solving session. This led into a 15-minute system design discussion, and the interview concluded with 5 minutes for me to ask questions to the interviewer.
Unfortunately, the final verdict was 'No Hire,' and I wasn't able to move forward to the onsite rounds. A cooling period of 6 months has been applied.
Interview Questions (5)
We are working on a security system for a badged-access room in our company's building.
Given an ordered list of employees who used their badge to enter or exit the room, write a function that returns two collections:
- All employees who didn't use their badge while exiting the room - they recorded an enter without a matching exit. (All employees are required to leave the room before the log ends.)
- All employees who didn't use their badge while entering the room - they recorded an exit without a matching enter. (The room is empty when the log begins.)
Each collection should contain no duplicates, regardless of how many times a given employee matches the criteria for belonging to it.
records1 = [
["Paul", "enter"],
["Pauline", "exit"],
["Paul", "enter"],
["Paul", "exit"],
["Martha", "exit"],
["Joe", "enter"],
["Martha", "enter"],
["Steve", "enter"],
["Martha", "exit"],
["Jennifer", "enter"],
["Joe", "enter"],
["Curtis", "exit"],
["Curtis", "enter"],
["Joe", "exit"],
["Martha", "enter"],
["Martha", "exit"],
["Jennifer", "exit"],
["Joe", "enter"],
["Joe", "enter"],
["Martha", "exit"],
["Joe", "exit"],
["Joe", "exit"]
]ENTER W/O EXIT EXIT W/O ENTER
Expected output: ["Steve", "Curtis", "Paul", "Joe"], ["Martha", "Pauline", "Curtis", "Joe"]
Other test cases:
records2 = [
["Paul", "enter"],
["Paul", "exit"],
]Expected output: [], []
records3 = [
["Paul", "enter"],
["Paul", "enter"],
["Paul", "exit"],
["Paul", "exit"],
]Expected output: ["Paul"], ["Paul"]
records4 = [
["Raj", "enter"],
["Paul", "enter"],
["Paul", "exit"],
["Paul", "exit"],
["Paul", "enter"],
["Raj", "enter"],
]Expected output: ["Raj", "Paul"], ["Paul"]
All Test Cases:
mismatches(records1) => ["Steve", "Curtis", "Paul", "Joe"], ["Martha", "Pauline", "Curtis", "Joe"]
mismatches(records2) => [], []
mismatches(records3) => ["Paul"], ["Paul"]
mismatches(records4) => ["Raj", "Paul"], ["Paul"]
n: length of the badge records array
We are building a real time group chat app that consists of a backend server and a frontend web app. Our MVP needs to support multiple users joining a group. When a user is part of a group, that user should be able to send a message to all other users in the group and read all messages posted in the group.
How would you design this group chat application, specifically what protocol(s) could be used to communicate between our server and client web app?
We are working on a clone of Facebook. We want to add a numeric count to every post showing how many friends the post's author has at the time of viewing the post, like this:
Marie McWilliams (105 friends)
I had a great day today, feeling good!
Our database has two tables:
USER
'user_id' (primary key)
'name'
'created_date'
USER_RELATIONSHIP
'friendship_id' (primary key, unique to each relationship)
'user1_id' (indexed)
'user2_id' (indexed)
'start_date'
Focusing on the database, how would you implement the friend-count feature? Note we will soon be more popular than Facebook, so the solution needs to scale.
We are working on a clone of Google Docs that allows users to collaborate on documents. Many users can work on the same document at the same time. We have 100 instances of our service running on 100 different machines. Each document needs to be managed exclusively by one instance while it is in use, but one instance can handle multiple documents at once. We have a simple load-balancing system. Because each document has a random numeric ID found in the URL, we use the value of (id % num_instances) to route traffic. For example, with 100 jobs, traffic for document # 314814196 is routed to the instance with index 96. How will this system perform as the usage grows?
Which consistency model is more appropriate for each of these applications: strong consistency, or eventual consistency? Why? (Select the best answer that applies for each question).
An API call that needs to respond within 20 milliseconds, used by a web service to retrieve metadata about a piece of streaming media.
A web analytics platform recording every single click on a web page.
A banking system that makes deposits and payments to checking accounts.
Summary
I interviewed at Wayfair in February 2024 for an SSE role, completing 3 out of 4 rounds before news of company-wide layoffs emerged, leaving my application status uncertain.
Full Experience
I interviewed at Wayfair in February 2024. There were a total of 4 rounds planned, and I completed 3 of them.
Round 1 was an online coding round, which included 2 Algorithm/Data Structure questions and 1 SQL query question.
Round 2 was a 1:1 Algorithm/Data Structure round, where I was given 1 easy and 1 medium level question. I also had to write test cases to prove my code.
Round 3 was a System Design round where I was asked to design a Parking Lot system, including its API endpoints, class design, and database design.
After Round 3, I learned that there had been massive layoffs at Wayfair the previous week, so I am unsure if I will receive a follow-up call.
Interview Questions (3)
Given a string, determine if it is a palindrome. I was also required to write test cases to validate my code.
Given a string, find the longest palindromic substring within it. I also had to write test cases to prove my code.
I was asked to design a Parking Lot system, which involved defining API endpoints, designing the class structure, and outlining the database schema.
Summary
I interviewed at Wayfair for an L2 role, which included a HackerRank test, a coding round, a detailed low-level design for a rental application, and a hiring manager discussion focusing on projects and behavioral questions, ultimately receiving an offer.
Full Experience
I started my interview process at Wayfair with a HackerRank test, which required solving two questions in 90 minutes. The first problem was of medium difficulty, and the second was a harder medium Dynamic Programming problem.
Following this, I had a coding round conducted on HackerRank. This round featured one easy-medium problem along with two follow-up questions, where I was expected to pass all test cases. The interviewer for this round was of Chinese origin.
After receiving positive feedback from the coding round, my design round was scheduled. This was a Low-Level Design (LLD) round where I was asked to design a rental application. The expectation was to draw a comprehensive class diagram, detailing all attributes, functions, and interactions between different entities. I also had to discuss major APIs and system flows. A crucial part was designing the database, including data types and indexing, and I faced many cross-questions regarding my design decisions.
Finally, I had a Hiring Manager round. During this session, the interviewer spent about 35 minutes discussing projects I had completed in my current organization. They sought to understand the entire flow of my work and asked several questions throughout. Afterwards, I was asked standard behavioral questions.
Interview Questions (1)
Design a low-level system for a rental application. The key requirements included:
- Drawing a comprehensive Class Diagram, highlighting all attributes, functions, and interactions between various entities.
- Discussing major APIs and system flows.
- Designing the database schema, including appropriate data types and indexing strategies.
I also had to be prepared for many cross-questions regarding my design decisions.
Summary
I recently interviewed for a Software Engineer position at Wayfair in Bengaluru, India, bringing about 4 years of experience. After navigating through multiple technical and behavioral rounds, I was fortunate to receive an offer.
Full Experience
I have a B.Tech. in Computer Science and approximately 4 years of professional experience. At the time of this interview, I had recently been laid off from a startup, which added a layer of urgency and importance to this opportunity. I applied for the Software Engineer role at Wayfair's Bengaluru office through LinkedIn.
The interview process was structured with several elimination rounds: a Recruiter Screening, followed by a Technical Screening, and then four main interview rounds encompassing DSA, HLD, LLD, and Behavioral aspects. I managed to schedule all four of these core interview rounds on a single day, with each lasting about an hour.
Interview Rounds
Round 0 (Screening)
This initial screening round was a hybrid of System Design and LeetCode-style coding.
- System Design: I was presented with scenario-based questions. These included discussions on choosing between eventual or strong consistency for different services, such as an analytical service aggregating metrics versus a transactional service handling payments. Another intriguing problem involved the load balancer for Google Docs, which assigns servers based on the hash of a document ID; I had to explain the implications of adding or removing servers and propose solutions. I also elaborated on how to display friend counts on Facebook posts for both low-scale and high-scale scenarios, touching upon cache update policies. Lastly, I discussed networking in a group chat application and strategies for handling failure scenarios.
- LC style coding: The coding question asked me to determine if two nodes in an N-ary tree (potentially with multiple roots) shared a common ancestor. The tree input was provided in a format like
[[<parent node>, <child node>], [], …].
Round 1 (DSA)
This round focused purely on Data Structures and Algorithms.
- I was asked to explain and then implement the logic for adding two very large numbers represented as strings. The output needed to be formatted with commas, and the solution had to handle inputs that were already formatted.
- Following this, I had to extend the implemented logic to calculate the Fibonacci sequence for a very large 'n', implying the need to handle numbers beyond standard integer types.
Round 2 (HLD)
This was a High-Level Design round where I had to design Shazam.
- The core requirement was to create a system that could identify a song from short audio snippets uploaded by users, with the specific matching algorithm itself abstracted away. I discussed how to generate and store 10-15 snapshots of a song for identification purposes.
Round 3 (LLD)
The Low-Level Design round challenged me to design an Automated Parking Garage.
- My task involved detailing the API design, class design, and database schema design for such a system.
Round 4 (Behavioral)
This final round assessed my technical fit through a series of behavioral questions.
- Topics covered included conflict management, product exposure, peer grooming, and the impact of my work in previous roles.
It's worth noting that Rounds 2, 3, and 4 were conducted by engineers from Wayfair's Germany office. I experienced a minor communication challenge with the manager in Round 4, who was from Ukraine; my speaking pace was a bit too fast for him, which made understanding slightly difficult on his end, but I managed.
Interview Questions (9)
Choose eventual or strong consistency for the following scenarios:
- Analytical service aggregating metrics
- Transactional service handling payments
The load balancer of Google Docs assigns a server based on the hash of the document ID. What will happen if a new server is added or removed from the LB? How to prevent it?
How to show friend count on each Facebook post. User entity and user-friend relation exists in DB schema. Discuss for low scale versus high scale scenarios, including cache update policy etc.
Explain networking in a group chat application. How to handle failure scenarios.
Find if two nodes of an N-ary tree with multiple roots have a common ancestor. The tree was input in the form [[<parent node>, <child node>], [], ...].
Explain and implement logic for adding two strings. Format the output with commas and ensure it works with formatted inputs. Extend it to use in implementing Fibonacci sequence for large 'n'.
Design Shazam where the matching algorithm is abstracted. Tasks include creating 10-15 snapshots of a song and identifying a song from audio snippets uploaded by users.
Design an Automated Parking Garage, covering API Design, Class Design, and Schema Design.
Technical fit based on behavioral questions covering conflict management, product exposure, peer grooming, and work impact.
Preparation Tips
My preparation for this role at Wayfair was comprehensive, covering all aspects of the interview structure. I rigorously practiced Data Structures & Algorithms, focusing on various problem types and complexities. For System Design, I studied common patterns, discussed different consistency models, load balancing strategies, and scalable architecture approaches. I also prepared for Low-Level Design challenges by practicing API, class, and schema design. Finally, I reviewed my past experiences and prepared answers for behavioral questions, ensuring I could articulate my problem-solving skills, teamwork, and leadership qualities effectively.