Zeta | SDE 3 | Bangalore | Oct 2025 | Declined Offer

DSA Round

This was the best round in the whole process, and the interviewer was exceptionally helpful. We discussed two LeetCode problems: House Robber and Palindrome Partitioning II.

Machine Coding Round 1

This was my very first machine coding round, and I was tasked with designing an Amazon Locker System. I couldn't complete the question, but I made sure to communicate my thought process clearly and shared all my options regarding design choices, data modeling, and other aspects. To my surprise and happiness, the recruiter mentioned that due to my good knowledge, though my velocity needed improvement, they would offer a redo of this round. I had already accepted that I would be rejected after this round, so this was a pleasant surprise.

Machine Coding Round 2 (Redo)

For the second machine coding attempt, I was asked to design a Ride-sharing application, similar to Quick Ride. This time, I was able to complete the question, ran tests, and everything seemed to go well. However, towards the end, the interviewer asked some follow-up questions related to concurrency. I fumbled these questions as I do not have experience with multi-threading and concurrency.

Hiring Manager (HM) Round

The HM round involved a deep dive into my professional experience:

1. I was asked to pick a project, explain its architecture, and dive deep into it. Many follow-up questions were asked.
2. We discussed the most challenging part of my projects, where I highlighted working across multiple teams and managing delays in PRs.
3. I shared insights into the scale of systems I have worked on and any issues I faced related to scale.
4. The interviewer inquired about my process for checking a Pull Request.
5. I was asked how I would handle a situation where a junior developer on my team was not performing at pace.
6. We also discussed the cultural differences between my previous company (FAANGMULA) and startups, and whether I believed I could thrive in an environment with fewer processes and a very fast pace.

I was ultimately selected for the role, but the feedback indicated that I wasn't meeting the SDE 3 bar, leading to a discussion about decreasing the band from what was originally discussed. The recruiter mentioned they would hire me as an 'early SDE 3', and the HM had plans to assign projects that can help me level up. Based on my discussion with the HM, it seemed like the team had a lot of work, and he indirectly conveyed that I shouldn't expect a good work-life balance and that there was a lot of chaos. Considering the lower pay combined with the high workload, I decided to decline the offer. Overall, it was a good experience, and the recruiter was very responsive and helpful throughout.