Autodesk | SDE-2 | ~2.5 YOE | Bengaluru | Dec 2025
Summary
I interviewed for the SDE-2 role at Autodesk in Bengaluru in December 2025 and was selected after three technical rounds. The interviews covered topics including Java in-depth (synchronization, core concepts), design patterns, databases (SQL vs NoSQL, indexing, normalization), DSA (Merge Sort), Spring Boot, REST API design, and a high-level system design on a URL shortener.
Full Experience
Interview Rounds
Round 1 – Engineering Manager Round
Deep dive into resume & projects Design trade-offs and real-world decision making Java (in-depth) Synchronization, Reentrant Locks Pros & cons of synchronization with real-world examples Core Java OOP concepts String vs StringBuilder vs StringBuffer Immutability, String Pool, String.intern() Design Patterns Factory Pattern – use cases, advantages & disadvantages Databases SQL vs NoSQL trade-offs Indexing (deep dive) Normalization (all types) When & why to use denormalization Project discussion Metrics & performance follow-ups Observability Logs, metrics, tracing Cloud Azure services used in projects
Round 2 – Technical Round
DSA Merge Sort (implementation) Java / Java 8 Can we insert null in HashSet? Interface evolution problem → avoiding changes in 100 implementations (default methods) Spring Boot Internals @Qualifier vs @Primary (how & when to use) SQL Indexing concepts Query to find N-th highest salary System & API Design REST API design Scalability discussions Databases Design and performance trade-offs Team discussion Team structure & expectations
Round 3 – Principal Engineer Round
Resume & project discussion (~30 mins) High-level system design (~45-60 mins) URL Shortener
Follow-ups on: Architecture choices Scalability Tech stack decisions (what to use / what not to)
Verdict :- Selected
Interview Questions (12)
Synchronization Pros & Cons with Examples
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using synchronized blocks and methods or Reentrant Locks in Java, providing real-world examples for each scenario.
Compare String, StringBuilder, StringBuffer
Explain the key differences between String, StringBuilder, and StringBuffer in Java, including their mutability, thread-safety, performance characteristics, and typical use cases.
Factory Pattern Discussion
Discuss the Factory Design Pattern, explaining its purpose, common use cases, and outlining its advantages and disadvantages.
SQL vs NoSQL Trade-offs
Explain the fundamental trade-offs between SQL (Relational) and NoSQL databases, including their strengths, weaknesses, and scenarios where each would be the preferred choice.
Denormalization Use Cases
Explain when and why denormalization might be used in database design, considering the scenarios where its benefits (like improved read performance) outweigh its drawbacks (like increased data redundancy and update anomalies).
Implement Merge Sort
Implement the Merge Sort algorithm for an array or list of elements.
Null Insertion in HashSet
Can a null value be inserted into a HashSet in Java? Explain the behavior and the underlying reasons.
Java Interface Evolution (Default Methods)
Discuss the 'interface evolution problem' in Java, specifically how adding new methods to an existing interface can break numerous implementations, and explain how default methods (introduced in Java 8) address this issue.
Spring @Qualifier vs @Primary
Explain the difference between @Qualifier and @Primary annotations in Spring Boot, detailing how and when to use each for resolving ambiguity in dependency injection when multiple beans of the same type are present.
SQL Query for N-th Highest Salary
Write an SQL query to find the N-th highest salary from an Employee table that contains at least an id and salary column. Consider edge cases like duplicate salaries or when N is greater than the number of unique salaries.
REST API Design Principles
Discuss the fundamental principles and best practices for designing RESTful APIs, covering aspects such as resource identification, statelessness, uniform interface, use of HTTP methods, and appropriate status codes.
Design a URL Shortener
Design a high-level system for a URL Shortener service. Your design should cover key components, data storage (e.g., database schema), how to generate unique short URLs, handling collisions, scalability considerations, and trade-offs in technology choices.