JPMorgan Chase SDE-3 Java Full stack developer Interview Experience (Bangalore)

1st Round (Coding)

This round focused on breadth of knowledge rather than depth, as I was asked multiple LeetCode medium-type questions within an hour. I was able to answer most of these since they were quite popular. The interviewer was also helpful, providing hints when needed. While I coded the first question fully, for others, I mainly wrote down the core logic in 2-3 lines. There was also some discussion regarding the work I had highlighted on my resume.

2nd Round (LLD)

Although this round was designated for Low-Level Design, it delved heavily into Java fundamentals and its unique aspects compared to other languages. I was asked about the advantages of new features in Java 21, and to compare Java with languages like Scala (which I have experience with). Concurrency control in Java and its extension to distributed systems was also a major topic. I was given a piece of code to review for issues and another to debug and fix. There was an in-depth discussion about the technologies I've worked with, the design choices I made, and the rationale behind those decisions. This was one of the harder rounds I've experienced, as I was grilled rigorously on every point I brought up.

3rd Round (HLD + Behavioral)

This round was conducted by the Head of the department I was interviewing for. It began with a discussion about the new business initiatives they are building. Following this, behavioral questions were asked about my motivation for joining JPMC and the kind of work I was looking for.

The High-Level Design question involved designing a website capable of taking files/folders (like Aadhar documents) from a user, validating them through a third-party software (which takes 2-3 seconds), storing them in our system, and then providing a tracking link back to the user. Key discussion points revolved around storage strategies (e.g., file metadata in a database, file bytes in S3), managing the validation delay while ensuring a positive user experience (I suggested an asynchronous worker fleet and temporary storage), API design, and scaling considerations for the system.

Ultimately, I was selected for the role but with a downlevel to an SDE-2 position. The primary reasons given were that my overall experience (4.5 YOE) was less than most SDE-3s in their organization (who typically had >6 years), and my performance in the second round specifically did not meet the SDE-3 bar. I chose to decline the offer, despite the compensation being quite good and almost matching an SDE-3 salary to align with my current compensation.