Flexport || SWE-1 || Rejected || Bangalore

Flexport Interview Experience (Offer Received, SWE-1) 🚀

I wanted to share my recent Flexport interview journey (for the Shopify team they acquired) so it might help others preparing.

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Round 0 – Online Assessment

Format: 4 questions — 3 DSA + 1 API question.
Cleared this round and moved on to interviews.

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Round 1 – DSA Round

Problem:

• Infinite Grid Game: Players drop colored balls (colors numbered 1..n) from the top.
• If a player gets 3 balls in a column of the same color → they win.

Follow-ups:

1. Win condition: 3 in a row or 3 in a column.
2. Win condition: k in a row or k in a column (generalized case).

My Approach:

• Used unordered_map<int, vector<int>> to store ball positions for rows and columns.

• For the generalized k case, used a sliding window approach:

  • If current position is x, check range [x-(k-1), x+(k-1)].
  • Maintain frequency counts in a window of size k.
  • Apply this for both rows and columns.

Outcome:

• Coded and explained the first 2 follow-ups successfully.
• For k case, my logic was correct but had a small coding bug (returning early instead of checking all windows). I figured it out seconds after the interview ended.
• Discussed diagonals but didn’t code them.
• Positive feedback from the interviewer — moved to next round.

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Round 2 – Low-Level Design (LLD)

Part 1: Discussion about my current project — design patterns I use, why I use them, and their benefits. (~30 mins)

Part 2:

• Problem: Design Splitwise.
• I explained the solution end-to-end clearly.
• Due to time limits, I coded a simple version without design patterns but got the correct output.

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Round 3 – Managerial Round

Topics Covered:

• My current work, reasons for shifting, and why Flexport.

• Checked my LinkedIn profile live.

• HLD topics:

  • CAP Theorem
  • How to choose a database
  • ACID properties

• Explained the role was for Shopify team, not Flexport core.

• Asked situational & managerial problem-solving questions.

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Verdict & Offer

• Offer: SWE-1 (Bangalore)

  • Base: ₹30 LPA
  • Joining Bonus: ₹3 LPA
  • Annual Bonus: ₹3 LPA
  • RSUs: $12,000

• Decision: Rejected — had another SWE-2 opportunity at a public company with similar base + better stock options.

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💡 Takeaways for Candidates:

• Practice grid-based problems with dynamic win conditions.
• Be comfortable explaining design patterns and when to apply them.
• For LLD rounds, even if you can’t finish the perfect design, show end-to-end clarity.
• Managerial rounds can get deep into system design fundamentals + situational problem-solving.
• Recurtier was so helpful and explained about every round before hand itself

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I hope this helps anyone preparing for Flexport or similar companies.
Happy to answer questions in the comments! 🙌