Software Engineer · Full Journey · Multiple Types

Airbnb — Software Engineer ✅ Passed

Level: Senior-Level · L5

Round: Full Journey · Type: Multiple Types · Difficulty: 6/10 · Duration: 480 min · Interviewer: Unfriendly

Topics: Algorithms, System Design, Behavioral Questions, Bit Manipulation, Data Structures

Location: San Francisco, CA

Interview date: 2025-11-30

Summary

Round 1: HR Screen

Question: Introduction to the role (15 minutes).

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Round 2: Technical Screen

Question: Coding problem related to split stays at Airbnb listings (45 minutes).

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Round 3: Coding (VO1)

Question: Coding problem (45 minutes).

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Round 4: Coding (VO2)

Question: Coding problem (45 minutes).

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Round 5: Tech Experience Interview

Question: Deep dive into my resume and projects (45 minutes).

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Round 6: System Design

Question: Designing the landlord page to integrate information such as the number of nights booked and average price, and optimizing the design when there are over 100 listings (45 minutes).

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Round 7: Hiring Manager Interview

Question: Deep dive into my resume and projects, along with behavioral questions (45 minutes).

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Round 8: Core Values Interview

Question: Behavioral questions focusing on Airbnb's core values (45 minutes).

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Details

Preparation Tips & Key Takeaways

What I Learned

• I should be prepared to discuss my past projects in detail, including the challenges I faced and how I overcame them.
• It's important to understand the company's core values and be able to provide examples of how I've demonstrated them in my previous experiences.
• Being able to communicate effectively with team members from different time zones and cultural backgrounds is crucial.

Recommended Preparation

Coding Practice

• Practice common data structures and algorithms.
• Focus on problems that involve optimization and bit manipulation.

System Design

• Study system design principles and common patterns.
• Review different database architectures and optimization techniques.

Behavioral Questions

• Prepare STAR stories for common behavioral questions.
• Practice talking about my experiences working in teams and overcoming challenges.

Resources I Recommend

• LeetCode for coding practice
• Books and articles on system design principles
• Online resources for behavioral interview preparation

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Not being able to explain my past projects in sufficient detail
• Not being familiar with the company's core values
• Not being able to communicate effectively with team members from different backgrounds

The coding question I got in VO1 and VO2 was:

Suggest a split stay where you stay at 2 different houses, one for the first part of your trip and other for the remainder. Make an API endpoint that will return all possible combos of split stays across 2 listings for a given date range. Give each listing a name ("A" "B", etc.) and our availability will just be a list of day numbers. For example: A - [1,2,3,6,7,10,11]; B - [3,4,5,6,8,9,10,13]; C - [7,8,9,10,11] Given the date range [3-11], the expected result is all sets of two Airbnbs that could form a split stay: [B, C]

My approach (brute force solution):

`python from itertools import combinations

def find_splits(listings, start_date, end_date): desired_days = set(range(start_date, end_date+1)) splits = [] for a,b in combinations(listings.keys(), 2): a_set = set(listings[a]) b_set = set(listings[b]) if desired_days.issubset(a_set) or desired_days.issubset(b_set): continue combined_days = set(listings[a]) | set(listings[b]) if desired_days.issubset(combined_days): splits.append((a,b)) for a in listings.keys(): a_set = set(listings[a]) if desired_days.issubset(a_set): splits.append((a)) return splits

listings = {"A": [1,2,3,6,7,10,11], "B":[3,4,5,6,8,9,10,13], "C":[7,8,9,10,11]} print(find_splits(listings, 3,11)) print(find_splits(listings, 11,11)) `

I also provided a bit mask solution.

The system design question in VO4 was:

How would you design the landlord page to integrate information such as the number of nights booked and average price, and optimize the design when there are over 100 listings?

Assumptions:

• There are 3 tables: Listings, Reservations, and Pricing.