The Walt Disney Company | Product Software Engineer 2 - Interview Experience
Summary
I interviewed for a Product Software Engineer II role at The Walt Disney Company and was selected after three rounds covering a grid shortest‑path DSA problem, backend .NET fundamentals, and system design/behavioral topics.
Full Experience
Recently interviewed for the Product Software Engineer II role at The Walt Disney Company. Sharing my experience below for anyone preparing for a similar role.
Verdict: Selected
I won't be sharing exact interview questions due to confidentiality, but I'll cover the major areas discussed.
Round 1: DSA (60 mins)
The round was scheduled for 60 minutes. It involved a graph/grid-based shortest path problem with obstacles and different movement costs depending on the direction of traversal.
The discussion followed:
Approach → Pseudocode → Complexity Analysis → Implementation → Follow-ups
We discussed edge cases, time/space complexity, and possible optimizations. I was able to complete the solution and implementation along with the follow‑up discussion in around 40 minutes, and the interview concluded in approximately 45 minutes.
Preparation: Be comfortable with graph traversal, shortest path algorithms, and grid‑based problems. Understanding when to use BFS, Dijkstra, or 0‑1 BFS can be helpful.
Round 2: Technical (60 mins)
This round focused primarily on backend and .NET fundamentals.
The discussion covered areas such as:
- Authentication and authorization
- HTTP and REST concepts
- ASP.NET Core middleware and request lifecycle
- C# collections and OOP concepts
- LINQ and database‑related concepts
- Query optimization and performance
- Low‑level design of an authentication flow
There were several follow‑up questions, and the discussion focused more on understanding concepts and practical usage than simply knowing definitions.
Round 3: Techno‑Managerial (45 mins)
The round started with a discussion about my previous projects, contributions, and challenges, followed by behavioral and technical discussions.
The technical portion broadly covered:
- Application and request flow
- Validation and authorization
- Dependency Injection
- Database schema design
- Many‑to‑many relationships and constraints
- Concurrency and handling simultaneous updates
There were also behavioral discussions around problem‑solving, challenges, and how I approach learning a new technology when introduced to an existing project.
Overall Experience
Overall, the process was a good mix of DSA, backend fundamentals, system/design discussions, and behavioral questions.
My biggest takeaway: Know your projects well and understand the fundamentals behind the technologies you work with. At this level, being able to explain your thought process, technical decisions, and trade‑offs is just as important as arriving at the correct answer.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
Interview Questions (1)
Grid Shortest Path with Direction‑Dependent Costs
Solve a graph/grid‑based shortest path problem where the grid contains obstacles and the cost of moving from one cell to another depends on the direction of traversal (e.g., moving up, down, left, or right may have different costs). The goal is to find the minimum‑cost path from a start cell to a target cell while avoiding obstacles.
Preparation Tips
Be comfortable with graph traversal, shortest path algorithms, and grid‑based problems. Understanding when to use BFS, Dijkstra, or 0‑1 BFS can be helpful.