Grab | Senior Software Engineer | Interview Experience

I had the opportunity to interview at Grab for a Senior Software Engineer role in Bangalore, bringing approximately 6 years of experience in backend development. The interview process was structured into four distinct rounds.

Round 1: Data Structures & Algorithms (1 hour)
This round focused on my problem-solving skills with two exact LeetCode problems. I was asked to solve Longest Palindromic Substring and Trapping Rain Water.

Round 2: System Design - High-Level Design (1 hour)
This was a challenging and engaging round. I was tasked with designing a payment system, specifically how it would operate when a user attempts to pay a merchant via card using a QR code. The interviewer presented three distinct scenarios to consider:

• Both the merchant and the user are onboarded on Grab.
• The merchant is onboarded, but the user is not.
• The user is onboarded, but the merchant is not.

The discussion delved deep into the mechanics of intermediary bodies like NPCI (relevant for UPI in India) and similar systems in other countries, such as Paynow in Singapore. I was also asked to detail the schema for such a system.

Round 3: Hiring Manager (1 hour)
This round revolved around my past experiences and projects. It primarily involved standard project-related and behavioral questions, where I discussed my contributions and challenges in previous roles.

Round 4: Cultural Fitment (30 minutes)
The final round was a standard cultural fitment interview, designed to assess how well my values and working style aligned with Grab's culture.

Following these rounds, I received an offer from Grab.