Target India Software Engineer L4(Interview Exeperience)
Summary
I interviewed for a Software Engineer L4 position at Target India. The process involved an Online Assessment, two rounds focused on Data Structures & Algorithms and Low-Level Design, and a final Hiring Manager discussion. While the technical rounds felt quite positive, I believe my performance in the Hiring Manager round could have been stronger.
Full Experience
My interview journey for the Software Engineer L4 role at Target India began with an Online Assessment. This round consisted of three questions: two were LeetCode medium-level Data Structures & Algorithms problems, and the third was a problem that required knowledge of locks or the synchronized keyword.
The second round was a combination of Data Structures & Algorithms (DSA) and Low-Level Design (LLD). For the DSA part, I was given the "Sort Colors" problem. In the remaining 20 minutes, we discussed a System Design problem to create an ATM. This involved outlining the requirements, identifying key entities, and sketching their UML diagram.
Following this, the third round again focused on DSA and LLD. The DSA question was "House Robber". Interestingly, the interviewer asked me to open LeetCode and show my last submission for this problem. The LLD part of this round involved designing the low-level architecture for a platform similar to Stack Overflow.
The final round was with the Hiring Manager. This round was primarily behavioral and project-focused. The interviewer asked me about my most recent project, a significant bug I had fixed in the last month, and my motivations for wanting to join Target. We also discussed how I integrate AI into my daily work, and since I manage a microservice, how I ensure its regular monitoring. Finally, I was asked about any new technical skillsets I've acquired outside of my daily responsibilities and specific design patterns I've implemented in my past projects.
Overall, I felt the technical DSA and LLD rounds went quite well. However, I believe I could have performed better in the Hiring Manager round.
Interview Questions (11)
Sort Colors
Given an array nums with n objects colored red, white, or blue, sort them in-place so that objects of the same color are adjacent, with the colors in the order red, white, and blue. We will use the integers 0, 1, and 2 to represent the color red, white, and blue, respectively.
Design ATM
Design an ATM system. This involved discussing requirements, identifying key entities, and sketching their UML diagram.
House Robber
You are a professional robber planning to rob houses along a street. Each house has a certain amount of money stashed, and the only constraint stopping you from robbing each of them is that adjacent houses have security systems connected and it will automatically contact the police if two adjacent houses were broken into on the same night. Given an integer array nums representing the amount of money of each house, return the maximum amount of money you can rob tonight without alerting the police.
Design LLD of Stack Overflow
Design the Low-Level Design (LLD) for a Stack Overflow-like platform, considering its core functionalities and components.
Discuss Latest Project
Discuss details about my most recent project, including its scope, challenges, and my contributions.
Recent Bug Fix Experience
Describe a significant bug I fixed in the last month, including the debugging process and resolution.
Motivation for Joining Target
Explain my reasons for wanting to leave my current role (if applicable) and my motivation for joining Target.
AI Usage in Daily Workflow
Describe how I incorporate AI tools or concepts into my daily work or personal use cases.
Microservices Monitoring Strategies
Given my ownership of a microservice, how do I regularly monitor its health, performance, and reliability?
Learning New Technologies
Share details about any new technical skillsets I have learned or added beyond my regular day-to-day work responsibilities.
Design Patterns in Projects
Discuss specific design patterns I have utilized in my most recent projects and their application.