CRED

Role: SDE-2

College: Not Specified

Interview Date: Not Specified (Recruiter reached out in July, article published December 2024)

Interview Type: Not Specified (Implied Off-Campus)

Result: Rejected (Compensation)

Difficulty: Easy (DSA), Fairly Easy (HLD if prepared), Not Specified (Machine Coding, Hiring Manager)

Rounds: 4 rounds

Topics Asked: Machine Coding (Payment Processing package, LLD, error handling, test cases), DSA (2 medium questions, sliding window, maps, sets, heaps), HLD (system like Dropbox, APIs, technology choices, fault tolerance, performance tradeoffs, managed vs open source DB), Hiring Manager (HLD problem, projects, behavioral questions)

Experience:

This SDE-2 interview experience at CRED involved four rounds after the recruiter reached out in July. The candidate received a positive feedback but the compensation negotiations did not work out.

Machine Coding round: The candidate chose Java for this round. The task was to implement key features of a Payment Processing package, involving a long problem statement, deciphering logic, and implementing a solution. The evaluation focused on good Low-Level Design (LLD) patterns, error handling, and passing all test cases. Interviewers were collaborative, and the candidate had an hour for the initial solution, followed by 30 minutes for bug fixes.

Onsite DSA round: Described as the easiest round, it involved two medium-level questions based on practical real-world applications. The candidate used sliding window, maps, sets, and heaps to solve both problems. Regular participation in LeetCode contests was suggested as sufficient preparation.

Onsite HLD round: The task was to design a system similar to Dropbox. The interviewer continuously modified constraints to observe the candidate's reaction and system adjustments. The focus was on defining APIs, technology choices, building fault tolerance, performance tradeoffs, and discussing managed versus open-source database solutions. This round was considered fairly easy with preparation from resources like DDIA and Alex Xu.

Hiring Manager Round: This round began with a High-Level Design (HLD) problem statement, which was quickly discussed. The interviewer then moved to projects the candidate had worked on and standard behavioral questions. The candidate noted that project-specific questions were similar to those encountered in other interviews.

The overall process emphasized development skills and general tooling, differing from typical big tech interviews.