Background
I got a referral from my previous colleague who currently works at Nutanix.
Current YOE ~ 6 years
Senior Software Engineer at a product based MNC
CSE from IIT
Even though I felt MTS-4 would suit my experience, I appeared for the interview for this open MTS-3 role.
Round-1: with an MTS-4 - virtual interview
Discussion about one of my projects that matched the role. Followed up with two coding questions on hackerrank.
- https://leetcode.com/problems/buildings-with-an-ocean-view/description/
- https://leetcode.com/problems/rotting-oranges/description/
Once I cleared round 1, I got asked if it would be possible for me to attend in person interview at Nutanix, since I stayed nearby, this question was asked. I said yes since it felt exciting to attend an in person interview. I was told I would have two rounds on the same day. I ended up having three continuous rounds on the same day.
Round-2: with another MTS-4 - in person interview ~ 1 hour
Discussion about some of my current projects. Then went ahead with two leetcode problems. I had to come with the logic and write a running code on whiteboard. Option was given to write code in whatever language of my choice. I chose python. Interviewer wanted atleast one intial working code and then told me to think about optimizing it if needed.
- https://leetcode.com/problems/longest-palindromic-substring/description/
- https://leetcode.com/problems/maximum-subarray/description/
I wasn't completely prepared with dynamic programming problems at that point of time and was a bit hesitant to write the best approach for the first problem. I wrote the brute force approach.
Round-3: with a Staff Engineer - in person interview ~ 1 hour - HLD round
Discussion around one of my projects in resume and then went ahead with HLD round.
I had to explain the HLD starting with requirements, API design, Database design, Rough back of the envelope estimates and overall flow of the system on whiteboard.
I was asked to design an employee expense reimbursement tool like SAP concur where the employees could submit receipts and get reimbursements. It had to include components to interface with the employee's manager as well as finance team members.
I was prepared for this round and I think I did really well this round. Thanks to videos on youtube.
Special mention: https://www.youtube.com/@pratikshabakrola/videos , there are many channels on youtube but I felt she always had a standard approach to every problem and was easy get into the flow and not be vague about how I went with the approach.
Also, System Design Interview and Insider's guide by Alex xu helped me a lot.
Round 4: With Hiring Manager - In person interview ~ 1 hour ~ LLD and behavioral
I wasn't in much touch with LLD when I attended this interview, I designed a lot in the past never cared to remember the names and stuff around design patterns. Never knew about SOLID priniciples and stuff but unknowingly was using them in work. Anyway, I learnt about all these as I kept attending different interviews.
The round started with discussion around my current roles and some of my projects.
Whether I had any experience with leading the teams etc.
I was asked to create LLD for a system that manages all bookmarks created by a user on different browsers in his laptop. I was expected to draw some UML diagrams and show interactions. I don't think I did great in this round.
Verdict
I personally felt that the recruiter/HR is completely unprofessional at the end of the interview process. I was told that the interviewers gave me mixed feedback in round 2 and round 4. The recruiter told I was being put on hold and that's it. I followed up multiple times with the HR but was told that the decision was not taken yet. I felt maybe I was being considered as a backup option if someone who was given offer didn't accept the offer.
Anyway, I moved on and I attended other interviews and ended up being selected in a better company. I am yet to join that organisation, will share more post joining. Thanks to LeetCode community I was really motivated to solve problems and maintain a streak to be in the loop.