Aggregated from 2 candidate experiences for ALL.
Ola Cabs’ hiring process for engineering roles is highly structured, consisting of five distinct rounds: Technical (DSA), Machine Coding/Low-Level Design, System Design/High-Level Design, Managerial/Behavioral, and HR/Compensation. Candidates who progress typically demonstrate strong problem-solving skills, hands-on coding ability, and a deep understanding of scalable system design. The process is rigorous, with a focus on both algorithmic proficiency and practical implementation, ensuring alignment with Ola’s fast-paced and innovation-driven environment.
The interview process consisted of five rounds covering DSA, LLD, HLD, and behavioral aspects. The candidate successfully received an offer after salary negotiations.
A problem-solving round focusing on data structures and algorithms.
Maximum sum increasing subsequence
Print all permutations of a string
A machine coding and low-level design round involving parsing JSON data from a URL and processing queries.
Parse a JSON from a given URL and return counts based on queries
A high-level design round focused on designing a rate-limiting system and discussing various algorithms.
Design an API rate limiter system
A hiring manager round covering past projects, domain-specific technical knowledge, and a high-level design problem.
Android Tombstone
AIDL
HIDL
Tracing ANR
Tracing crashes
Design a recommendation system algorithm
A discussion with a talent acquisition member regarding compensation, notice period, and company culture.
Current CTC
Offer status
Notice period
Expected CTC
Reason for leaving
The candidate underwent five rounds of interviews, including problem-solving, machine coding, system design, managerial, and HR rounds. They received an offer after successful negotiations within 8 days.
Problem-solving and data structures/algorithms round with two questions.
Maximum sum increasing subsequence
Print all permutations of a string
A 2-hour round focused on machine coding and low-level design. The task involved parsing JSON data from a URL and processing queries to return counts based on specific conditions.
Parse JSON from a URL and return counts based on queries like username equals a value, city equals a value, or city in a list of values
A 1.15-hour round focused on designing a system for API rate limiting. The discussion included multiple rate-limiting algorithms and their implementation in a system.
Design an API rate limiter system
A 45-minute round focused on the candidate's current projects, experience in the system domain, and specific technical questions related to Android and system design.
Current projects
Experience in the system domain
Android Tombstone
AIDL
HIDL
Tracing ANR
Tracing crashes
Design recommendation system algorithm
A 15-minute round with the Senior Talent Acquisition team, discussing compensation, current job status, and work culture.
Current CTC
Any offer in hand
Notice period details
Expected CTC
Reason for leaving current organization
Explanation of Ola's 6-day work culture
InterviewDigest