Software Engineer · Onsite · Multiple Types

Perplexity — Software Engineer ✅ Passed

Level: Mid-Level

Round: Onsite · Type: Multiple Types · Difficulty: 6/10 · Duration: 90 min · Interviewer: Neutral

Topics: Data Structures, Algorithms, Probability

Location: San Francisco Bay Area

Interview date: 2025-12-30

Summary

I had two rounds during the onsite interview. The first round was with the Hiring Manager to discuss my past projects and tech stack.

Details

I interviewed a few weeks ago after discussing my resume with a recruiter who mentioned Python would be required for the interview, so we scheduled it two weeks later.

Round 1: I spent 45 minutes with the hiring manager discussing my previous projects and the tech stack I used.

Round 2: This round was 45 minutes and focused on determining whether the data in a data stream is evenly distributed. The first problem was to calculate the probability of each number appearing in a test stream. The second was to determine if the stream was evenly distributed. It seemed like the interviewer came up with the problem themselves. The data type used was a type of stream I hadn't encountered before, so the round was focused on communication. There wasn't enough time to complete another problem. It felt more like a discussion with a coworker than a typical coding interview. I was allowed to search online, but I mainly asked the interviewer questions and received many hints.