Microsoft | SSE | Hyderabad | Apr-2024 [Probably Rejected]

Microsoft Senior Software Engineer Interview

Status: Senior Software Engineer at NVIDIA Years of Experience: 11+ Date: April 19, 2024

Recruiter contacted me via LinkedIn on Monday and asked me to attend an interview on Friday. The recruiter informed me that all rounds would be conducted in a single day with breaks between each round. I requested alternative dates, but the recruiter stated that due to a hiring drive, rescheduling was not possible for a single candidate.

Round I: Data Structures and Algorithms & Problem Solving

1. Introduction and discussion of daily activities.
2. DSA Problem: Number of Islands problem and a follow-up to calculate the area of the island.
3. Java: Object-Oriented Programming and Multithreading questions. I successfully solved the DSA problem and its follow-up and answered the Java questions.

Round II: Low-Level Design & High-Level Design

1. Introduction and information on the interview structure for that round.
2. The interviewer provided a string input and asked me to find the Top K elements—this was the LLD portion.
3. I was then asked to extend this problem to find Top K heavy hitters (e.g., Top K products on a website or songs on Spotify). This was the HLD portion.
4. I knew I should use the Count-Min Sketch algorithm, but I couldn't articulate it properly because I couldn't fully recall it.
5. The interviewer was understanding and suggested we proceed assuming I had implemented the Count-Min Sketch. We then discussed the overall architecture using distributed systems. We had a series of discussions on data processing, load handling, scaling processing, and applicable distributed systems concepts.

I believe I may not be selected for further rounds and anticipate a rejection.

I have been interviewing for the past two months. Some companies rejected me during the DSA round, others during the system design round, some ghosted me after completing all interviews, and one cited a lack of culture fit. This has become extremely frustrating. Sometimes, I believe luck plays a role in interviews.

I wish you all the best in your interviews.