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LinkedIn Senior Software Engineer Interview Experience (Systems Infra team) | Reject
Summary
I interviewed for a Senior Software Engineer role at LinkedIn within the Systems Infra team. Despite strong performance in Data Structures & Algorithms rounds, I received a rejection due to feedback regarding the structure of my system design discussions and the perceived scale of my previous startup experience.
Full Experience
Round 1: Data Structures & Algorithms
This round was postponed multiple times. The questions included:
- Finding K points nearest to the origin in 2D space. I solved this in 20 minutes. The problem was then extended to find K nearest neighbors to any arbitrary point in 2D space, where I discussed an approximate N-nearest neighbor approach.
- A problem similar to LRU Cache, though I don't recall the exact specifics of the question.
Round 2: Data Structures & Algorithms
This round was also postponed multiple times. The questions were:
- A problem similar to finding the diameter of a tree with 'n' children.
- Checking if two linked lists merge. For lists without cycles, I proposed checking if their endpoints are the same. For lists with cycles, I discussed that both should have cycles, and a point on the first cycle must be present in the second. I also extended this to figuring out the cycles and their starting points.
Round 3: High-Level Design (HLD)
I was asked to Design a Key-Value store. I approached this by starting with the purpose of the store, then discussing storage mechanisms, compute considerations, and sharding strategies. I didn't strictly follow common YouTube or system design structures in my discussion.
Round 4: Hiring Manager (HM)
This round involved discussions about my previous experience. I explained that while my prior startup had less scale, I built the product from scratch to profitability. I sensed the interviewer became disinterested due to the scale aspect. Other topics included design and tradeoffs, approaches, how I evaluate Proof of Concepts (POCs), and explaining a scenario where my design decisions were not adopted by my peers. I was also asked to Design a Job Scheduler.
The overall experience was good, though I ultimately received a rejection. The feedback indicated that my discussion structure needed improvement and I should work on projects with higher scale before reapplying for SDE3 roles at LinkedIn.
Interview Questions (6)
Given a set of points in 2D space, find the K points closest to the origin (0,0). The problem was extended to finding K nearest neighbors to any arbitrary point in 2D space.
The problem was similar to designing an LRU Cache, although I don't recall the exact specifics of the variation.
I was asked a question similar to finding the diameter of a tree, specifically one that could have 'n' children per node.
I had to determine if two linked lists merge. I discussed scenarios for lists without cycles and lists with cycles, including how to detect cycles and their starting points.
I was asked to design a Key-Value store. This involved discussing its purpose, storage, compute mechanisms, and sharding strategies.
I was asked to design a Job Scheduler. This round also covered discussions about my previous work experience, design tradeoffs, methods for evaluating Proof of Concepts (POCs), and resolving design disagreements with peers.
Preparation Tips
My preparation involved practicing previous LeetCode Data Structures & Algorithms problems and studying common High-Level Design questions. I am currently reading DDIA (Designing Data-Intensive Applications) and following 'hello-interview', which I find helpful for HLD interviews. However, HLD interviews still feel challenging and somewhat dependent on luck, or require extensive memorization of designs for various scales.