69 questions · from 17 interviews · 3 asked more than once
Zeta interview questions
Every question candidates reported from their Zeta interviews, most frequently asked first. Each links to the write-up it came from, so you can see the round and how it went.
Zeta coding and DSA questions
- 01
Palindrome Partitioning II
Given a string s, partition s such that every substring of the partition is a palindrome. Return the minimum cuts needed for a palindrome partitioning of s.
Hard · Asked 2 times · From Zeta | SDE 3 | Bangalore | Oct 2025 | Declined Offer
- 02
Delete Node in a Linked List
Given only the node to be deleted (not the head of the list) in a singly linked list, delete that node from the list. It is guaranteed that the node is not the tail node.
Easy · From Tasket (zeta) SDE Intern Interview Experience
- 03
Nth Tribonacci Number
Calculate the n th Tribonacci number where the sequence starts with 0, 1, 1 and each subsequent number is the sum of the previous three numbers.
Easy · From Tasket (zeta) SDE Intern Interview Experience
- 04
Search in Rotated Sorted Array
Given an integer array nums sorted in ascending order, possibly rotated at an unknown pivot, and a target value, determine the index of the target. Return -1 if the target is not present.
Medium · From Tasket (zeta) SDE Intern Interview Experience
- 05
Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters
I was asked the 'Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters' problem. The objective is to find the length of the longest substring in a given input string that contains no repeating characters. For example, given 'abcabcbb', the answer would be 'abc' with…
Medium · From Why Do Some Companies Conduct Interviews and Then Disappear? | Zeta
- 06
Word Ladder
The second question was 'Word Ladder'. This problem requires finding the length of the shortest transformation sequence from a given beginWord to an endWord . The constraints are that at each step, only one letter can be changed, and every transformed word…
Hard · From Why Do Some Companies Conduct Interviews and Then Disappear? | Zeta
- 07
House Robber
The problem asks to find the maximum amount of money you can rob from houses along a street, with the constraint that you cannot rob adjacent houses.
- 08
Caller Identification and Spam Blocking Application
Design a caller identification and spam blocking application that helps users identify unknown callers, block spam calls, and manage their calling experience. The system should provide real-time caller information during incoming calls and maintain a…
- 09
Select Three Particles for a Stable Atom
You are given an array representing the arrangement of electrons (e) and protons (p) within an atom. Your task is to determine the number of ways to select three particles from this array to form a stable atom. (index order should be maintained) Definition of…
Hard · From Zeta | SDE 2 | 2025
- 10
Power Grid Maintenance
For the first round, I was asked to solve the problem 'Power Grid Maintenance', which is available on LeetCode.
From ZETA SDE3
- 11
Maximum Candies Allocated to K Children
You are given a 0-indexed integer array candies of length n representing the number of candies in each pile. You are also given an integer k. You are allowed to take a pile of candies and divide it into two or more smaller piles. The total number of candies…
Medium · From Zeta | SDE 2
- 12
Implement Memoize Function
Implement Memoize function. Run it with input of different datatypes
- 13
Implement HistoryManager with Undo/Redo
Implement a JS class HistoryManager that mimics Undo/Redo functionality
- 14
- 15
Cleaning the Phone (Codeforces Problem 1475D)
Solve one Data Structures & Algorithms (DSA) problem based on greedy approach and sorting.
- 16
Handle Concurrent API Calls with Limit
Write a function to handle concurrent API calls with a limit (i.e., run n API calls in parallel at a time).
From Zeta SDE-2 FE Interview Experience(June 2025 - SELECTED)
- 17
Implement Matching Pair Memory Game
Build a Matching Pair Memory Game. I had to implement all major functionalities. The interviewer also asked how I would have implemented the timer if I had more time.
From Zeta SDE-2 FE Interview Experience(June 2025 - SELECTED)
- 18
Minimum Cost of Non-Overlapping Segment Pair
You’re given N segments, each with a start point, end point, and cost. You have to select two non-overlapping segments such that the product of their costs is minimized. If no such pair exists, return -1.
- 19
Nearest Greater Element
Given an array, for each element, find the nearest greater element on either the left or right. If both exist, choose the one that is closer. If they are at the same distance, choose the larger value.
- 20
Probability of a Cell Being in All Paths (Grid DP)
Given a grid with free (.) and blocked () cells, you can only move right or down from top-left to bottom-right. You need to find the number of free cells that appear in every possible path from start to end. Then, output the probability of this as a fraction…
- 21
Length of Valley for Each Element in Array
You are given an integer array. You have to find the length of the valley for each element. Vally is defined as, Let i be the current index and l is the leftmost index, r is the rightmost index satisflying property a[l]a[l+1]...>a[i]..<a[r-1]<a[r], then…
- 22
Count Lexicographic Strings Between Two Given Strings
Given two strings s1 and s2 such that S1<S2. Both strings length are equals. Find the total number of lexicographic strings between S1 and S2. S1 = ACX S2 = ADB
- 23
Enhanced Car Pooling with twists
Problem on car pooling with additional twists, potentially involving more complex constraints or conditions than the standard LeetCode Car Pooling problem.
- 24
Adaptive Surrounded Regions
Problem on surrounded regions, potentially with adaptive or dynamic constraints/conditions beyond the standard LeetCode Surrounded Regions problem.
- 25
Find Peak Element in Array
Given an array, find a peak element. A peak element is an element that is strictly greater than its immediate neighbors. If there are multiple peak elements, any valid one can be returned. The solution was expected to have O(log n) complexity.
Medium · From Zeta | SDE2 | Hyderabad | Oct 2022 | [Offer]
1 more in the Zeta write-ups.
Zeta system design questions
- 01
Low-Level Design (LLD) of Ludo Game
Design the low-level architecture (LLD) of the Ludo board game. We discussed the game's rules, the basic flow of the design, and its constraints before I began writing the code. During the coding process, I was asked several fundamental OOP questions,…
Asked 2 times · From Zeta (Directi) Interview Experience for SDE Intern
- 02
Design Amazon Locker System
Design a system similar to Amazon Lockers, considering aspects like design choices, data modeling, etc.
- 03
Design a Ride Sharing Application (similar to Quick Ride)
Design a ride-sharing application similar to Quick Ride. I needed to implement the solution, run tests, and address follow-up questions related to concurrency.
- 04
Low-Level Design: Amazon Locker System
The second round focused on Low-Level Design, where I was tasked with designing an Amazon Locker System.
Hard · From ZETA SDE3
- 05
Microservice Concepts: Service Discovery, Retries, Intermediate Storage
Explain key microservice patterns and concepts including service discovery mechanisms, strategies for handling retries, and the role of intermediate storage in a distributed microservices architecture.
From Zeta | SDE 2
- 06
SQL vs. NoSQL Databases
Discuss the fundamental differences between SQL and NoSQL databases, focusing on schema flexibility, ACID properties (or lack thereof), and scalability characteristics for each type.
From Zeta | SDE 2
- 07
Design a Service Discovery System
Design a Service Discovery system. Requirements: Register/unregister services Track all instances Detect dead ones, reroute traffic Load balance magically Follow-up questions: Register at service or instance level? How to handle new instance? How to kill a…
Hard · From Zeta | SDE 2
- 08
Design an Airplane Reservation System
Design an Airplane Reservation System with multiple airlines, allowing users to select dynamically.
Medium · From Zeta | SDE 2
- 09
Design CRUD APIs for a Payment System
Design CRUD APIs of a payment system, including defining API contracts, database schema, and handling concurrency in transactions.
- 10
Design Facebook News Feed (Homepack)
Design the Facebook News Feed (Homepack). The interviewer was very collaborative and asked thoughtful questions around edge cases, performance, rendering decisions, and architecture.
From Zeta SDE-2 FE Interview Experience(June 2025 - SELECTED)
- 11
OOP Design for Car and Engine System
Given car types (maruti, toyota, bmw) and engine types (1, 2, 4), how would you implement this using Object-Oriented Programming principles?
- 12
Design Reward/Voucher System
Design a dynamic Reward/Voucher System. The discussion focused on different dynamic strategies, keeping the system generic, and using Rule Engines. Examples included different rewards for Independence Day, month-wise, or during IPL days, along with…
- 13
Low-Level Design (LLD) of Library Management System
Design the low-level architecture (LLD) of a library management system. Discuss the system's flow and write pseudocode.
- 14
Low-Level Design (LLD) of a Library Management System
Design the low-level architecture (LLD) of a library management system. Discuss the system's flow and write its pseudocode.
- 15
Low-Level Design: Stock Brokering System
Design and implement a Stock Brokering system with the following functionalities: Users can buy and sell stocks. Users can create multiple watchlists, each containing various stocks. Stock prices are determined by a Stock Exchange, and the Last Traded Price…
Hard · From Zeta | SDE2 | Hyderabad | Oct 2022 | [Offer]
Zeta behavioural and HR questions
- 01
Explain a Project and Dive Deep
I was asked to pick a project I've worked on, explain its architecture, and deep dive into various aspects, followed by many follow-up questions.
- 02
Most Challenging Part of a Project
I was asked about the most challenging part of a project I worked on. My response focused on working across multiple teams and dealing with delays in PRs.
- 03
Scale of Systems Worked On
I was asked about the scale of the systems I have worked on.
- 04
Issues with Scale Faced
I was asked if I had faced any issues related to system scale.
- 05
What do you check in a PR?
I was asked about my process and what I typically check when reviewing a Pull Request.
- 06
Mentoring a Junior Developer
I was asked what I would do if a junior developer on my team was not performing at pace.
- 07
Culture Difference between FAANGMULA and Startups
I was asked about the culture difference between my previous company (FAANGMULA) and startups, and whether I believed I could thrive in an environment with fewer processes and a fast pace.
- 08
Handling Conflicts with Manager
Describe a situation where you had a conflict with your manager and how you resolved it.
From Zeta | SDE 2
- 09
Supporting Manager During Attrition
If attrition happens within your team, how would you support your manager and the remaining team members?
From Zeta | SDE 2
- 10
Technical Challenge Faced and Lessons Learned
What technical challenge did you face and what did you learn from it?
- 11
Resolving Team Conflicts
How would you resolve conflicts among team members?
- 12
Approach to UX Design Without a Dedicated Team
How do you approach UX design in the absence of a dedicated UX team?
- 13
Handling Overlapping High-Priority Task and Production Issue
What would you do if a high-priority task with a deadline overlaps with a production issue?
- 14
Discuss Understanding of Ownership
Discuss your understanding of ownership.
Zeta other questions
- 01
Processes, Threads, and Multithreading Concepts
Explain processes and threads, along with the synchronous/asynchronous behavior of multithreading, including an example.
Asked 2 times · From Zeta (Directi) Interview Experience for SDE Intern
- 02
Compare Redshift, RDS, and Athena
Discuss the differences, use cases, and suitable scenarios for AWS Redshift, RDS, and Athena.
From Zeta | SDE 2
- 03
The Pitfalls of Partitioning
Explain why partitioning can be problematic in database or distributed systems, discussing its potential downsides and complexities.
From Zeta | SDE 2
- 04
Lambda Concurrency Management
Discuss AWS Lambda concurrency, how it works, its implications, and how to manage it effectively.
From Zeta | SDE 2
- 05
EC2 vs. Lambda Comparison
Compare AWS EC2 and AWS Lambda, highlighting their differences, use cases, advantages, and disadvantages.
From Zeta | SDE 2
- 06
Java Core Concepts
Explain how to break the singleton pattern, illustrate polymorphism with examples, describe where static variables are stored in memory, discuss Java serialization, and detail the concept of stack memory in Java.
From Zeta | SDE 2
- 07
JavaScript Event Loop Output Prediction
What would be the output of the below code snippet console.log(1) const promise = new Promise((resolve) = { console.log(2) resolve() console.log(3) }) console.log(4) promise.then(() = { console.log(5) }).then(() = { console.log(6) }) console.log(7)…
- 08
Java Concepts: Deadlocks and Thread Pool
Questions related to Java concepts such as deadlocks and thread pool.
- 09
Implement Debounced Search Bar in ReactJS
Implement a functional search bar in ReactJS that fetches results from an API. Integrate a 200ms debounce logic to optimize API calls. Explain relevant concepts such as debouncing, component lifecycle, and performance optimization.
- 10
Website Performance Evaluation and Optimization
How do you evaluate and optimize website performance?
- 11
How Browsers Work and URL Processing
Explain how browsers work and what happens when a URL is entered and the enter key is pressed.
- 12
HTTP Requests and HTTP vs HTTPS
Explain HTTP requests and the difference between HTTP and HTTPS.
- 13
Browser Internals and URL Navigation
Explain how browsers work and describe what happens when a URL is entered and the enter key is pressed.
- 14
HTTP vs HTTPS and HTTP Requests
Explain HTTP requests and describe the key differences between HTTP and HTTPS.
Zeta interview questions FAQ
What questions are asked in Zeta interviews?
Candidates reported 69 distinct questions across 17 Zeta interviews. 26 coding and DSA questions, 15 system design questions, 14 behavioural and HR questions, 14 other questions.
Which Zeta interview questions are asked most often?
The most repeated are "Palindrome Partitioning II" (2 times), "Processes, Threads, and Multithreading Concepts" (2 times), "Low-Level Design (LLD) of Ludo Game" (2 times).
How difficult are Zeta interview questions?
Of the questions candidates rated, 14% were easy, 43% medium and 43% hard.