Palo Alto Networks

Role: New Grad SDE

College: Not Specified

Interview Date: April 30, 2024

Interview Type: Full-Time

Result: Selected

Difficulty: Medium

Rounds: 1 Online Assessment + 3 Interview Rounds

Topics Asked: Data Structures, Algorithms, High-Level Design, DBMS, Backend Concepts (REST APIs), Hashmaps, SQL, Internship Experiences, Open-ended Project Questions

Experience:

The interview process for a New Grad SDE role at Palo Alto Networks consisted of an Online Assessment followed by three interview rounds.

OA: The online assessment included two easy to medium coding questions and 30 multiple-choice questions covering aptitude topics.

Round 1: This round began with a High-Level Design (HLD) question focused on designing a social media website. Following this, a straightforward string manipulation coding question was asked. The round concluded with a discussion on Database Management Systems (DBMS) and backend concepts, primarily REST APIs.

Round 2: The second technical round featured a medium-level coding question based on the hashmap data structure. Additionally, several SQL queries were posed, and there was a discussion about the candidate's previous internship experiences.

Round 3 (Director of Engineering): The final round was conducted with the Director of Engineering. This stage involved two open-ended questions related to ongoing projects at Palo Alto Networks, requiring the candidate to discuss potential approaches to address them. The candidate's past internship experiences were also discussed.

The candidate was ultimately selected for the position.