Synthesized from 33 candidate submissions for ALL.
PhonePe maintains a rigorous, high-bar interview process that heavily emphasizes strong fundamentals in Data Structures, Algorithms, and Object-Oriented Design. Candidates typically face a multi-round technical assessment that includes an Online Assessment (OA), a specialized Machine Coding round to evaluate code quality, and deep-dive System Design and Hiring Manager interviews.
The candidate reached out through a referral and completed three rounds: Machine Coding, PS/DS, and HM. The Machine Coding round went well, while the PS/DS and HM rounds were average. The candidate was rejected primarily due to low confidence in the HM round and an average performance in the DSA round.
Solved an LLD problem in 2 hours, followed by a discussion with a Senior SDE about tradeoffs and approach. The round lasted 1 hour.
Round taken by a senior SDE with 2 questions and 1 puzzle. The questions involved solving a greedy algorithm problem (Chocolate distribution) and a course prerequisite problem (optimizing beyond BFS). The puzzle involved implementing rand12() using rand6().
Chocolate distribution problem (Greedy): Given an array arr[] consisting of N positive integers representing the ratings of N children, find the minimum number of candies required for distributing to N children such that every child gets at least one candy and children with higher ratings get more candies than their neighbors.
Course prerequisite problem: Given numCourses and prerequisites array, find a solution better than BFS for determining course order.
Puzzle: Implement rand12() using rand6() with equal probability.
Round taken by a Senior Engineering Manager, focusing on behavioral questions and technical discussions about past experience. Questions included reasons for switching jobs, recent project details, datastore comparisons (SQL vs NoSQL), and staying updated with new technologies.
Why are you looking for a switch?
Tell about a recent project.
What datastore is used in your team, SQL vs NoSQL?
How do you keep yourself up-to-date with new technologies?
The candidate successfully cleared all rounds of PhonePe's interview process for the SDE-Tools Internship role. The process included a coding round, two technical interviews covering DSA, Python, system design, and networking concepts, and a final discussion with the manager. The candidate received an internship offer for their final year, highlighting the importance of tech awareness and confidence in the process.
Coding round on DoSelect Test platform with 3 questions: two on dynamic programming and one on mathematics and string formatting.
Coding round conducted on DoSelect Test platform with 3 questions: two on dynamic programming and one on mathematics and string formatting. All questions were answered correctly, and the candidate proceeded to the next round.
A member of the Tools team interviewed the candidate. The round started with a problem similar to 'Factorial Trailing Zeroes' (LeetCode). The candidate initially provided a naive solution and then optimized it to logarithmic time. Follow-up questions included Python-specific topics (file loading with open(), decorators), system concepts (virtual memory, caching mechanisms, LRU cache), database theorems (CAP and ACID), and Linux commands (grep).
Factorial Trailing Zeroes (LeetCode problem)
Python file loading with open()
Python decorators implementation
Virtual memory
CAP and ACID theorems
Naive caching method and LRU cache
Linux commands and grep usage
The manager of the Tools team interviewed the candidate. The discussion focused on broader tech awareness, including the future of technology, machine learning, 5G, and cloud computing, computer networking concepts (proxy servers, IPv4/IPv6, UTF-8), content distribution (e.g., Netflix), hashing vs encryption, blockchain, and synchronization primitives (mutex vs semaphores). The intent was to assess the candidate's surface-level awareness of these topics.
Future of technology and fields like machine learning, 5G, and cloud computing
Computer networking concepts (proxy servers, IPv4/IPv6, UTF-8)
Content distribution in networks (e.g., Netflix)
Hashing vs encryption
Blockchain
Mutex vs semaphores
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