Tessell - SDE1 - 24 LPA Base - INTERVIEW EXPERIENCE - REJ
Summary
I interviewed for an SDE1 role at Tessell, completing DSA and System Design rounds successfully. However, I was rejected after the managerial round, with feedback indicating a need for stronger decision-making and cross-functional communication.
Full Experience
Round 1: DSA (Duration: 60 mins)
This was a DSA round focused mainly on Dynamic Programming and Bit Manipulation. There were 2 coding problems:
Problem 1 (DP):
Given an array of integers, find the number of ways to partition it into two subsets such that the difference between their sums is a given value diff.
Concepts used: Subset sum DP, memoization.
Problem 2 (Bit Manipulation):
Given an integer array, find the unique number that appears once while all others appear three times.
Concepts used: Bitwise operations, bit counting.
Both problems were medium to hard level. I was able to solve the DP problem completely and partially solve the bit manipulation one.
Round 2: System Design – Design Netflix-like Streaming Platform
This was a 60-minute video call with a senior engineer. The task was to design a high-level architecture for a video streaming platform (like Netflix).
Topics discussed:
- How users stream video efficiently at scale
- Handling content delivery across regions (CDN, edge caching)
- Database design for users, shows, history
- Upload and transcoding pipeline for new content
- Scaling: microservices, load balancing, and fault tolerance
- Handling spikes in traffic and user recommendations
I covered most areas decently. The interviewer was collaborative and guided me in areas where I lacked depth.
Round 3: Managerial + Technical Round
This round focused on past projects, ownership, and dealing with real-world tech challenges. Some behavioral + technical questions included:
- Explain a difficult bug you resolved under pressure.
- Describe a system you designed end-to-end.
- How do you prioritize tasks when deadlines conflict?
- What trade-offs did you face in your previous system architecture?
- How do you handle disagreements in a tech team?
Although I answered sincerely and explained my reasoning, I think I struggled to justify some architectural decisions and didn’t showcase leadership/ownership strongly. The interviewer seemed unconvinced about my decision-making clarity.
Round 4: Final Status
Unfortunately, I got a rejection after Round 3. Feedback mentioned I did well in DSA and System Design, but they were looking for someone with stronger decision-making and communication in cross-functional scenarios.
Interview Questions (8)
Partition Array into Two Subsets with Given Difference
Given an array of integers, find the number of ways to partition it into two subsets such that the difference between their sums is a given value diff.
Find Unique Number in Array (Triplets)
Given an integer array, find the unique number that appears once while all others appear three times.
Design Netflix-like Streaming Platform
Design a high-level architecture for a video streaming platform (like Netflix). Topics discussed included: How users stream video efficiently at scale, Handling content delivery across regions (CDN, edge caching), Database design for users, shows, history, Upload and transcoding pipeline for new content, Scaling: microservices, load balancing, and fault tolerance, Handling spikes in traffic and user recommendations.
Difficult Bug Resolution Under Pressure
Explain a difficult bug you resolved under pressure.
End-to-End System Design Experience
Describe a system you designed end-to-end.
Task Prioritization with Conflicting Deadlines
How do you prioritize tasks when deadlines conflict?
Trade-offs in System Architecture
What trade-offs did you face in your previous system architecture?
Handling Disagreements in Tech Team
How do you handle disagreements in a tech team?