Goldman Sachs | Associate SWE | Dallas, TX | Dec 2020 [Offer]
Summary
I interviewed for an Associate SWE role at Goldman Sachs in Dallas, TX, in December 2020. I successfully navigated phone and on-site rounds, ultimately receiving an offer. However, I decided to reject the offer in favor of another opportunity with a better work-life balance.
Full Experience
Phone Screen (1 hour)
My phone screen was conducted via Coderpad and lasted one hour. It included two coding questions and some behavioral questions.
- The first coding question was a simpler version of the High Five problem, where I had to process a list of
[Student name, Grade]and return the highest average. - I didn't get to finish the second coding question, as we needed to allocate time for behavioral questions and my own questions for the interviewer.
- For behavioral questions, I was asked: "How would you deal with a teammate who doesn't do much while working with you on a story, but takes all the credit?"
Virtual On-site (3 x 45-minute rounds)
The virtual on-site consisted of three 45-minute rounds.
System Design Round
This round focused on system design and distributed systems concepts.
- I was tasked with designing a system for students registering for classes.
- We also discussed Kafka, specifically "What is it?" and "How to handle a producer that is working too quickly for the consumer?"
SDLC Round
This round was more of a conversational style, aiming to understand my experience with software development processes.
- The interviewer asked about my experience with Agile methodologies.
- We discussed my previous SDLC experiences.
- I was asked what I had done to improve my team's processes.
- Another question involved my approach to debugging a bug found by QA. This round felt more like a dialogue to gauge my practical experience rather than seeking definitive right or wrong answers.
Coding Round
The final round was a coding assessment.
- I was given two coding questions.
- One of them involved an in-place array sort.
- The interviewers initially requested pseudocode but frequently asked for specific sections to be written in actual code.
After the interviews, I received an offer of 120k base + 20k bonus. Initially, they mentioned the offer could be either 85k+20k (Analyst) or 100k+20k (Associate). My Associate offer was a counter to another offer I had. I ultimately rejected the Goldman Sachs offer due to concerns about the poor Work-Life Balance, opting for a lower offer elsewhere that promised a better WLB.
Interview Questions (9)
Calculate Highest Average Grade
Given a list of [Student name, Grade], return the highest average. This is described as a simpler version of LeetCode's High Five problem.
Handling Underperforming Teammate
How would you deal with a teammate who doesn't contribute much while working with you on a story but takes all the credit?
Design Class Registration System
Design a system for students registering for classes.
Kafka Concepts and Backpressure
Explain what Kafka is and how to handle a producer that is working too quickly for the consumer (backpressure).
Agile Experience
What is your experience with Agile?
Previous SDLC Experience
What was your previous Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) experience?
Improving Team Process
What have you done to improve your team's process?
Debugging a QA-Found Bug
How would you go about debugging a bug found by Quality Assurance (QA)?
In-Place Array Sort
A coding question asking to implement an in-place array sort. The interviewer primarily sought pseudocode but frequently asked for specific parts to be written as actual code.