Goldman Sachs - Java Associate Interview Experience
Summary
I went through Goldman Sachs' Java Associate interview process, clearing the HackerRank OA, CoderPad round, and several on‑site rounds covering DSA, concurrency, and system design, but ultimately declined the offer.
Full Experience
I had applied to this company multiple times, and eventually got a call from a recruiter for a suitable role. After a quick discussion about my experience, I was given a HackerRank test to complete within 2 days.
After clearing the OA, I heard back in about 10 days and was scheduled for a CoderPad round.
CoderPad Round (45 mins): There were two questions, both DP-based. One was similar to staircase/count ways type problems, and the other involved navigating a 2D grid (from start to destination with constraints). This round was mainly for screening, and the focus was on approach and correctness.
A few days later, I got confirmation that I cleared this round and was invited for a “Superday” (multiple rounds in a single day). I couldn’t attend the initially scheduled date due to another interview, so I requested the next slot, which was scheduled about 2 weeks later.
Superday Rounds: each with two interviewers
Round 1 (DSA – 1 hour): Two questions were asked, both LC hard. First was a grid‑based problem involving counting connected components (similar to number of islands, solvable using DFS/BFS). Second was a string problem similar to minimum window substring, involving hashmap + sliding window. Both questions required careful handling of edge cases and optimization.
Round 2 (Concurrency + LLD‑ish – 1 hour): This round focused more on core Java concepts rather than pure design. Questions on concurrency: what it is, how it works, ways to create threads Coding problem: print numbers from 1 to 100 using two threads Follow‑up: one thread prints even numbers, the other prints odd numbers, and output should still be in sequence There was also a discussion around how authentication and authorization works in large‑scale systems.
Based on feedback from these rounds, I was moved forward the same day for another round.
Round 3 (HLD – 1 hour): This round started with discussion on my past projects. Then I was asked to design a URL shortener system. The focus was mainly on: Database design How to generate unique short URLs Due to time constraints, the discussion around read/write flows was brief.
Next day, I got confirmation that I cleared the technical rounds.
Hiring Manager Round (30 mins): This was more of a discussion around: My past experience Why I’m looking for a change What I expect from the role It was a fairly relaxed conversation, along with some questions from my side about the team.
The next day, HR confirmed that I cleared the process and they proceeded with the offer. The offer process took around 2 weeks, but it didn’t align with my expectations, so I decided not to move forward.
Overall, the process had a strong focus on DSA fundamentals, problem‑solving under pressure, and core concepts like concurrency and system design.
Interview Questions (3)
Count Connected Components in a Grid
Given a 2‑D grid of cells, count the number of connected components (islands). Cells are connected horizontally and vertically. The problem is similar to the classic "Number of Islands" and can be solved using DFS or BFS.
Minimum Window Substring
Given a source string S and a target string T, find the smallest substring of S that contains all characters of T. The solution typically uses a hashmap for character counts and a sliding window technique.
Print Numbers 1 to 100 Using Two Threads
Create two threads where one thread prints even numbers and the other prints odd numbers. The combined output must print numbers from 1 to 100 in strict sequential order.