PhonePe | Backend | Software Engineer (3-5 Years)
Summary
I interviewed with PhonePe for a Backend Software Engineer role with 4 years of experience. I successfully cleared the machine coding round which focused on a Customer Issue Resolution system design, but was ultimately rejected after the DSA round that included the Water Jug Problem and a binary tree mirror image question.
Full Experience
Hey all! I have 4 years of experience as software developer (Fintech and Finance). I gave more than 50+ interviews (15+ companies) in last 4 months and would love to share my interview experiences one by one to give back to the community.
I started preparing for a switch in Sept and PhonePe was the first company to reach out and scheduled rounds in October of 2025.
PhonePe
Applied via LinkedIn and got callback from the HR.
Rounds-
R1 - Machine Coding Round
No protocoring and was given 90 minutes to finish and email the solution. Queston - Customer Issue Resolution (Agents, Issues etc) Issue will have types - Payment failure, query etc. Focus was on user assignment strategy.
Two days after that 30 mins call was scheduled to discuss the solution and my approach. Questions around concurrency, design patterns etc.
Verdict - Cleared
R2 - DSA Round
Q1 - Water Jug Problem. (Solved but took lot of time, I feel I was not in the flow and little bit rusty after not doing DSA for so long)
Q2 - Question related to binary tree and mirror image. (Solved within 5-10 minutes)
Interviewer seemed somewhat okay though I was doubtful due to too much spent on first question. At the end he mentioned some tip about next round so I thought result will be positive.
But Diwali came and did not hear anything post that even after follow ups.
Verdict - Rejected
Interview Questions (3)
Customer Issue Resolution System Design
Design a system for Customer Issue Resolution involving Agents and Issues. Issues will have types such as payment failure, query, etc. The focus was on the user assignment strategy.
Water Jug Problem
The classic Water Jug Problem.
Binary Tree Mirror Image Problem
A problem related to binary trees and determining their mirror image.