Flipkart |SDE-1| Offcampus 2021
Summary
I successfully cracked the Flipkart SDE-1 off-campus interview process, which consisted of a machine coding round, a data structures and algorithms round, and a manager interview.
Full Experience
I successfully interviewed for the SDE-1 role at Flipkart through an off-campus drive I found via LinkedIn. My interview process was structured into three main rounds, culminating in an offer.
Round 1: Machine Round - Bowling Alley
This round was designed to assess my object-oriented programming (OOPs) concepts and language proficiency, focusing on my ability to write modular and well-structured code. The problem presented was to design a scoring system for a bowling alley.
I was provided with all the specific rules, including how to handle strikes and spares. My task was to calculate the score based on the pins knocked down and to correctly incorporate bonus scores for strikes and spares. The evaluation criteria for this round were stringent:
- Demo-able code
- Functional correctness
- Code readability
- Usage of design patterns, where applicable
- Language proficiency
- Parameterized code (rather than hardcoded values)
- Thorough testing
- Proper exception handling
Round 2: Data Structures & Algorithms Round
This round began with a brief introduction, and the interviewer immediately informed me that I would be given two questions to solve within one hour. The approach suggested was to first articulate a naive or brute-force solution, and then progressively optimize it.
The two problems I was asked were:
Round 3: Manager Interview
The final round was a manager interview, which focused on my professional experience, technical background, and motivations.
The questions covered were:
- An explanation of my current company, including drawing an architectural diagram of how its systems operate.
- A detailed description of my team and my specific role within it.
- Discussion about the technologies I am currently working on.
- My reasons for wanting to join Flipkart.
- My motivations for wanting to leave my current company.
My overall verdict after these rounds was SELECTED!
Interview Questions (6)
I was asked to design a bowling alley system. The problem involved implementing OOPS concepts and writing modular code. I had to calculate the score based on the pins knocked down, considering rules for strikes and spares, and incorporating bonus scores. The system needed to be demo-able, functionally correct, readable, use design patterns where applicable, demonstrate language proficiency, use parameterized code, include testing, and handle exceptions.
Given an m x n integer matrix, if an element is 0, set its entire row and column to 0's. You must do this in-place.
There is a car with capacity capacity that drives from initial location to final location. You are given the trips array where trips[i] = [numPassengers_i, from_i, to_i] indicates that the i-th trip has numPassengers_i passengers and the trip starts from from_i and ends at to_i. The locations are given as the number of kilometers from 0. Return true if it is possible to pick up and drop off all passengers for all the given trips, or false otherwise.
I was asked to explain my current company's workings and draw an architectural diagram illustrating how things function. Additionally, I had to describe my team and my specific role within it, as well as the technologies I was working on.
I was asked about my motivation to join Flipkart.
I was asked about my reasons for wanting to leave my current company.
Preparation Tips
To prepare for the Flipkart interview, I focused on several key areas:
General Programming Skills:
- I ensured I had a good hands-on understanding of my chosen programming language.
- I thoroughly revised OOPS concepts, making sure I understood all the pillars and their practical applications.
- I also reviewed basic subjects like DBMS, OOPS, and OS. Computer Networks (CN) was considered optional but good to know.
Machine Coding Round:
For the machine coding round, I referred to several resources from workat.tech:
- What is a Machine Coding Round?
- How to Prepare for Machine Coding Round?
- How to Ace Machine Coding Round?
- How to Practice for Machine Coding Round?
- The main workat.tech Machine Coding section.
Data Structures & Algorithms:
My approach for DS&A involved:
- Starting with Striver's SDE Sheet (link here) to get a broad understanding of important topics.
- After gaining a general idea, I would pick a topic, search for problems on LeetCode, and start with easy questions. Once comfortable, I would progress to medium and then hard difficulty problems within that topic.
- I also found a helpful post by Chandan Aggarwal on LinkedIn regarding consistency in problem-solving, which proved useful.
I wish everyone the best for their future interviews and am open to connecting on LinkedIn for any assistance.