Meesho - SDE3 | HLD | Worst Interview experience

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meesho
SDE-3
May 22, 20252 reads

Summary

I had a highly frustrating System Design interview for an SDE-3 role at Meesho, where the interviewer provided minimal context for the problem and incorrectly challenged my knowledge of DynamoDB's internal indexing mechanisms, ending the interview prematurely.

Full Experience

Hi, I recently had my second-round interview for an SDE-3 position at Meesho. Below is my experience:

The interviewer asked me to design a dayparting system. He provided some written functional requirements and assumptions.

Someone from the advertisement domain might know what a dayparting system is, but how was I supposed to know? I asked him questions about what dayparting is and its context. He responded, "Just read the question, and you will understand."

I thought, okay, I have to make sense of this question on my own. Somehow, I managed to formulate an understanding and started asking clarifying questions. My understanding was incorrect, given that he wasn't providing any context. Then, he started asking business questions like, "How will a dayparting system make money?" and so on.

Finally, after 30 minutes, he decided to explain the problem statement to me.

I started designing. At one point, I was using DynamoDB. He asked me questions about DynamoDB, and I answered them correctly.
Then, he asked what DynamoDB uses internally for indexes. I said Hashing and B-trees. I specifically remembered this from an AWS re:Invent video I had watched. He asked if I had heard of LSM trees and mockingly asked how long I had been using DynamoDB. He then decided to end the interview 30 minutes early.

I felt so bad about myself for not knowing that DynamoDB used LSM trees (and about dayparting as well). However, after the interview, I checked again, and DynamoDB does use Hashing and B-trees for indexing.
I checked his LinkedIn profile and discovered that he had once worked on a dayparting system and apparently assumed everyone was familiar with it.

Again, no hate towards the interviewer. But please if you are an interviewer, be mindful that candidates may not share your specific domain expertise. Ambiguity is not same as providing no context.

Anyways, hope you guys have better luck than me.

Interview Questions (2)

Q1
Design a Dayparting System
System DesignHard

Design a dayparting system given functional requirements and assumptions. The interviewer initially provided no context but eventually explained the problem statement after 30 minutes of discussion. Business questions, such as 'How will a dayparting system make money?', were also asked.

Q2
DynamoDB Internal Indexing Mechanisms
OtherMedium

What does DynamoDB use internally for indexes? This question was followed by a discussion where the interviewer incorrectly suggested DynamoDB uses LSM trees for indexing.

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