Summary
I recently interviewed at Zomato for an SDE-1 position in Gurugram, successfully completing three rounds and receiving an offer, which was a dream come true for me.
Full Experience
Zomato SDE-1 Interview Experience 🍕🚀
Working at Zomato has been my dream since college days, and I recently got the opportunity to interview there. I had 3 rounds in total — 2 technical + 1 managerial. Here’s the full breakdown:
Round 1 (DSA + System Design)
Interviewer: Abhinav Bansal
This round focused on Data Structures & Algorithms and System Design.
Question 1: Minimum Swaps to Sort
I was given an unordered array consisting of consecutive integers [1, 2, 3, ..., n]. I had to find the minimum number of swaps required to sort the array, being allowed to swap any two elements.
Question 2: Banner Scheduling Schema
I was asked to design a schema and approach for showing a banner X times in Y hours for Z such durations. I explained how we can track frequency, enforce limits, and reset counters using the proposed tables. I successfully cleared Round 1.
Round 2 (Projects + LLD + DSA)
Interviewer: Kartik Khariwal
This round was very project-heavy. The interviewer wanted to dig deep into scalability & design trade-offs related to my previous experience.
Discussion on my Previous Experience (AI-based transcription & summary generation):
- How did I handle audio input from mic/system?
- How did I transfer heavy audio files to backend?
- How did I manage LLM token limits for >1 hr meetings?
- Why MySQL for the database? What were table schema & data types?
- Which external APIs did I use?
LLD Question: Restaurant Menu System (Zomato specific 🍕)
I had to model restaurant menus with multiple configs like size, crust, toppings (focusing on Domino’s case).
DSA Question: Suggest Dish Price
Given a merchant’s previous dish prices, I had to suggest a price for a new dish such that it was greater than 1/3rd of the dish’s price and less than 2/3rd of the dish’s price. I provided both an O(n log n) sorting solution and an optimized O(n log log n) solution using two heaps. I wrote pseudo-code for the optimized approach. I successfully cleared Round 2.
Round 3 (Managerial + HR)
Interviewer: Gyanendra Kumar (VP, Eternal)
This was a purely managerial round. We discussed:
- Why Zomato?
- My short-term & long-term goals.
- How I see myself growing here?
It was more about mindset, cultural fit & career goals than coding.
Final Verdict 🎉
I got a call the same day from HR — Selected for SDE-1 at Zomato 🚀. This is honestly a dream come true. Since college, I wanted to work at a big tech product company, and now I’ll be working on projects impacting millions of users. I'm super excited to begin this journey!
Interview Questions (4)
You are given an unordered array consisting of consecutive integers [1, 2, 3, ..., n]. You are allowed to swap any two elements. Find the minimum number of swaps required to sort the array.
Example:
4 1 2 3
1 4 2 3
1 3 2 4
1 2 3 4
3Design schema + approach for showing a banner X times in Y hours for Z such durations.
Example:
- Show banner 2 times in 24 hours, for 3 durations.
Model restaurant menus with multiple configs like size, crust, toppings (focus on Domino’s case).
Given a merchant’s previous dish prices, suggest a price for a new dish such that:
- Greater than
1/3rddish’s price - Less than
2/3rddish’s price
10 20 30 40 50 60
Suggested Price: Between 20 and 30
Preparation Tips
My preparation involved having strong DSA fundamentals, particularly with topics like cycles, heaps, and sorting. It's crucial to be prepared to explain your projects in depth, discussing design choices, trade-offs, and scaling considerations. Additionally, one should not ignore LLD/HLD, especially when applying to product-based companies. Finally, managerial rounds are more significant than many juniors might realize, so preparing for those is also essential.
Summary
I successfully cleared a single-round interview for a Fresher SDE role at Zomato, which involved a mix of Data Structures & Algorithms, and core Computer Science fundamentals.
Full Experience
My interview for a fresher role at Zomato consisted of a single round that lasted approximately 1 hour and 22 minutes. Interestingly, I wasn't given an IDE; instead, I had to write all my code on Google Docs, which was a unique experience.
The interview started with a brief 'Tell me about yourself' (around 2 minutes) followed by a project discussion which took about 3-4 minutes.
Next, I was presented with two Data Structures and Algorithms problems. These were standard problems, possibly with slight variations or directly from common sources. I had to explain my approach thoroughly and then write the code for each. This section took about 40 minutes.
Following DSA, the interviewer moved to SQL. I was asked to write code for five SQL queries. These ranged from basic queries involving simple clauses and aggregate functions to more complex ones handling joins across two and then three tables with increasing difficulty. This part took around 8-9 minutes.
After SQL, there was a System Design question related to a Music Player. The interviewer clarified it wasn't a medium/hard problem; I only needed to write a single function and optimize its time complexity to O(N). This section took approximately 9-10 minutes.
We then delved into theory questions based on DBMS. I was questioned on different types of joins, their exact definitions, and my overall understanding of the topic, which took about 6-7 minutes.
The interview continued with Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) concepts. I had to explain the four famous pillars of OOP with real-life examples and handle cross-questions. This led to a deep dive into polymorphism, where I discussed its types (like overriding and overloading) with precise details and examples. Both OOP sections together took around 8-9 minutes.
Finally, I was asked about dynamic binding, the use of virtual keywords, and the implementation of runtime polymorphism, for which I only needed to write pseudo-code. This took about 5-6 minutes. Nothing was asked from Operating Systems.
I am fortunate to be among those selected for this opportunity. I realized that solving problems quickly during the interview allows the interviewer more time to explore other subjects, which is why I faced many questions from various CS fundamental topics as the DSA problems were quite standard and easy for me.
Interview Questions (10)
I was asked to implement the deletion of a node from a Binary Search Tree using a recursive approach. I had to provide the proper approach and code.
I had to solve a problem that required reversing a linked list in groups of a specified size 'k'. I needed to present a proper approach and write the corresponding code.
I was asked to write two basic SQL queries involving simple clauses and aggregate functions.
I had to write two SQL queries that involved handling joins between two tables based on two different conditions.
A medium-difficulty SQL query was presented, requiring me to handle joins across three tables, with an increased level of complexity.
For a music player system design, I was asked to write a single function and optimize its time complexity to O(N). The interviewer specified it as an easy system design question.
I was questioned on the types of DBMS joins, their exact definitions, and basic understanding of the topic.
I was asked to explain the four famous pillars of Object-Oriented Programming, provide real-life examples, and answer cross-questions related to them.
The interviewer requested a deep dive into polymorphism, including its types (like overriding and overloading), and specific, to-the-point details with illustrative examples.
The discussion involved dynamic binding, the role of virtual keywords, and the implementation of runtime polymorphism. I was required to provide pseudo-code for its implementation.
Preparation Tips
My strong preparation in Data Structures and Algorithms allowed me to quickly solve the coding problems. I also focused on core Computer Science fundamentals, which proved beneficial as the interviewer delved into various theoretical topics due to the quick completion of DSA questions.