Kotak SDE2 Backend Hyd Bar Raiser
Summary
I completed a 90‑minute Bar Raiser interview for an SDE2 Backend role at Kotak in Hyderabad; the interview covered DSA coding, system design, and distributed systems topics, and I was placed on hold.
Full Experience
Application Process
A friend forwarded my resume to HR, and HR reached out a few days later to schedule a 90-minute Bar Raiser round.
Interview Experience
The interview was outsourced to BarRaiser (the interviewer wasn't a Kotak employee).
There were 3 sections:
Section 1: DSA I was asked 3 questions. Working code was expected for all three along with custom test cases:
- Roman to Integer
- Find the Index of the First Occurrence in a String
- An extension of Subarray Sum Equals K: Return all subarrays whose sum is a power of 2.
Section 2: LLD Design an Event Management System. Expected topics: API design, database schema and indexes, class diagrams with pseudocode, and relevant design patterns. It was expected to focus on locks and consistency also.
Section 3: Distributed Systems / HLD General High-Level Design concepts:
- 2-Phase Commit (2PC)
- Eventual Consistency vs. Strong Consistency (CAP Theorem)
- Optimistic vs. Pessimistic locking
Takeaways
Overall, the questions were on the easier side, but cramming 3 DSA problems, LLD, and HLD into a single 90-minute slot felt like way too much. Managing time was extremely difficult, and the interviewer wasn't very interactive.
Verdict: On hold. HR informed me that they have already identified enough candidates for the role.
Interview Questions (4)
Roman to Integer
Find the Index of the First Occurrence in a String
Given a haystack string and a needle string, return the index of the first occurrence of needle in haystack, or -1 if needle is not present.
Return Subarrays with Sum as Power of Two
Given an integer array, return all subarrays whose sum is a power of two.
Design Event Management System
Design an Event Management System focusing on API design, database schema with indexes, class diagrams with pseudocode, relevant design patterns, and considerations for locks and consistency.