Google | SE-3 | Interview Experience India | 4.8+ Y.O.Exp. | Current Org. MNC
Summary
I recently completed a 45-minute screening round for an SE-3 role at Google India. Despite missing a specific edge case, my logical approach and timely coding of a stream processing problem, similar to a configurable Top K, were well-received, and I was informed that I would be proceeding to the next interview rounds.
Full Experience
I had my screening round for the SE-3 role at Google around mid-January 2025. This 45-minute session focused on a coding challenge. The question involved efficiently finding a maximum or minimum number from a stream of incoming data, which also included a configurable 'Top K' variant. I chose a Priority Queue approach, which the interviewer seemed satisfied with. We delved into base cases, functional scenarios, and thoroughly discussed the time and space complexity of my solution. I successfully wrote the code in the shared document and also handled the bonus 'Top K' case using my existing Priority Queue strategy. Two days later, HR provided feedback. While they noted I missed a particular case, they acknowledged that my logic and code were correct, and I completed the task within the timeframe. They explicitly stated that I would be moving forward to the loop rounds, though I am currently awaiting further communication from them.
Interview Questions (1)
Design a data structure to process a continuous stream of numbers. The system should efficiently support operations to find either the maximum or minimum element observed in the stream so far. Additionally, consider an extension where the system needs to maintain and query the 'Top K' elements from the stream, where the value of K can be configured or changed dynamically.