Role: Software Development Engineer (SDE2) / Full Stack Engineer
College: Not Specified
Interview Date: August 15, 2025 (implied by video upload date)
Interview Type: Full-Time
Result: Rejected
Difficulty: Not explicitly stated, but challenging in specific rounds
Rounds: 5 rounds
Topics Asked: Project discussions, stakeholder management, conflict resolution, project deadline management (Behavioral/Hiring Manager), Data Structures, Algorithms (maze problem/backtracking), Full-Stack Coding (ReactJS, NextJS, Golang, component structure, state management, event handlers, UI rendering, form validation, routing, API request handling, data structures), System Design (ad click aggregator service).
Experience:
This SDE2 candidate's interview process at Databricks involved five main rounds after an initial recruiter call.
- The **Hiring Manager Round** (45 minutes) was a screening round focused on a high-level overview of the candidate's projects, experience, and full-stack capabilities. Questions included describing a project in depth, dealing with stakeholders, resolving conflicts with managers, and managing project deadlines, which the candidate answered using the STAR method.
- The **Data Structure Algorithm/Coding Round** (45 minutes) involved a maze problem in a matrix (top-to-bottom, obstacles) solvable by backtracking. The interviewer emphasized clarifying questions, debugging, and explaining the thought process aloud. The interviewer stopped the candidate mid-code to run it, checking for basic edge cases.
- The **Pair Programming Round** was a full-stack coding problem. The candidate was asked to build a real-time dashboard powered by a frontend (React or NextJS) and a backend (Golang). Key evaluation points included pure implementation skills, full-stack knowledge (ReactJS, NextJS, Golang), frontend aspects (component structure, state management, event handlers, UI rendering, form validation), and backend aspects (routing, API requests, logic, data structures). The candidate found this round difficult due to a recent focus on backend development.
- The **System Design Round** was a typical system design interview, with a question similar to "design an ad click aggregator service."
- A **Behavioral Round** was also part of the process, similar to the hiring manager round.
The candidate was informed that they would not move forward due to a "soft no" in the pair programming round. Tips for DSA included practicing LeetCode medium problems, especially backtracking, DP, and graphs, focusing on thought process and clarity.