Goldman Sachs | Associate | Bangalore | Dec 2024

I was approached by a recruiter on LinkedIn for an Associate position at Goldman Sachs in Bangalore. After applying through the shared job link, I went through a rigorous multi-round interview process.

Round 1: HackerRank Test
This was a 90-minute online assessment with two DSA questions (one Easy, one Medium on LeetCode equivalent scale). I successfully coded solutions for both problems.

Round 2: CoderPad Virtual Interview
A different recruiter scheduled a 1-hour virtual interview. The interviewer presented two DSA questions, both at a LeetCode Medium level. I solved both of them. One of the questions was Find First and Last Position of Element in Sorted Array. The other was not on LeetCode, but I managed to solve it using a heap-based approach.

The very next day, I received a call from the recruiter informing me that I had been selected for the 'Super Day', which comprised three interviews scheduled for a single day.

Round 3: DSA Round
This was a 1-hour interview focused solely on Data Structures and Algorithms. I successfully solved both questions. One was Container With Most Water, and the other was a variation of a 'Take, No Take' Dynamic Programming problem.

Round 4: DSA + Java Core Questions + Kafka
This round covered a broader range of technical topics. We discussed Java core concepts, concurrency, and messaging queues, alongside a DSA question. Topics included the differences and tradeoffs between Hashtable, HashMap, and ConcurrentHashMap; optimistic vs. pessimistic concurrency control (with a recommendation to watch a specific YouTube video); Kafka internals, its advantages, and disadvantages compared to RabbitMQ; and finally, finding the longest increasing or decreasing subarray.

Round 5: OOPs + Java Internals + LLD + HLD + CN
This interview, originally scheduled for 1 hour, extended to 1 hour and 30 minutes due to the depth of discussion. It began with various OOPs-based questions. We then delved into the entire process of deploying code to the cloud, covering Java compilation, Maven's role, JAR vs. WAR, JVM/JDK/JRE/JIT, and CI/CD pipelines. A significant part involved implementing a rate limiter algorithm to prevent users from requesting an OTP more than 3 times in 5 minutes. We also discussed HTTP vs. HTTPS and TCP vs. UDP. The round concluded with a High-Level Design question on how to implement the rate limiter algorithm within a larger system involving CDNs, API Gateways, and Load Balancers.

Round 6: Techno-Managerial Round
This final round started with my introduction, followed by a detailed discussion about my current company, projects, architecture, and my specific contributions. Most questions were tailored around the skills and experiences highlighted in my resume.

Verdict: Selected
I received the offer letter after three weeks and have happily accepted it. I also shared my compensation details and Flipkart interview experience in separate posts.