Online Assessment
The hiring process had two coding rounds.
Round 1 (Online)
- Duration: 3 hours
- 3 coding questions (Easy, Medium, Hard)
- Partial marking was available.
- No negative marking.
Topics included:
- Mathematical implementation
- Modular arithmetic
- Dynamic Programming (1D/2D)
The questions were not standard LeetCode problems but implementation-heavy.
Round 2 (Offline at Nirma University)
- 4 coding questions
- Difficulty: Easy → Medium → Hard → Complex
Topics included:
- Greedy
- Dynamic Programming
- Grid DP
- State transition DP
- Optimization problems
This round decides whether you're considered for the Specialist Programmer track.
Solved 2.5+ questions
Interview (Offline)
The interview happened in three consecutive phases on the same day.
Phase 1 – Paper Coding
I was given 20-30 minutes to write complete optimal code on paper.
Questions:
- Sort Colors (Dutch National Flag)
- Top K Frequent Elements
The interviewer expected:
- Correct syntax
- Optimal solution
- Proper edge case handling
- No compiler support
Phase 2 – Code Review
The interviewer reviewed my paper solutions and asked me to:
- Explain the approach
- Dry run the code
- Justify time complexity
- Explain space complexity
- Discuss why the solution was optimal
This phase focused more on reasoning than memorization.
Phase 3 – Technical Discussion
SQL
One SQL question:
Find employees having Top-K salaries department-wise without using LIMIT.
The expected solution involved:
- Subqueries
- Ranking functions (DENSE_RANK / RANK)
OOP & Programming
Questions included:
- Access modifiers in Java
- static vs private
- SOLID Principles (especially Liskov Substitution Principle)
Python questions:
- Generators
- Global Interpreter Lock (GIL)
- Multithreading
Operating Systems
Questions covered:
- Kernel
- Critical Section
- Mutual Exclusion
- Synchronization
- Deadlocks
- Demand Paging
- Memory Management
- Spooling
System Design
Basic Low-Level/System Design discussion on:
- Rate Limiting
- Load Balancers
- Consistent Hashing
Finally, I was asked to design an offline auto-save mechanism for a web application (similar to Google Docs). I discussed using browser storage (IndexedDB/local persistence), syncing changes later when the internet becomes available, and handling conflict resolution.
Result
Selected for Infosys Specialist Programmer L1
Preparation Tips
1. Focus on Dynamic Programming
The OA heavily emphasizes DP.
Practice:
- Grid DP
- State DP
- Optimization DP
- Greedy + DP combinations
2. Practice Writing Code on Paper
This is extremely important.
Writing code without an IDE feels very different.
Practice:
- Correct syntax
- Variable names
- Edge cases
- Dry runs
3. Revise Core Subjects
Prepare:
- OS
- DBMS
- OOP
- SQL
Interviewers can go quite deep into these topics.
4. SQL Matters
Practice:
- Subqueries
- Joins
- Window Functions
- DENSE_RANK
- RANK
- GROUP BY
5. System Design Basics
You don't need advanced HLD.
Know concepts like:
- Load Balancing
- Rate Limiting
- Consistent Hashing
- Caching
- Browser Storage
- Offline-first approaches
6. Resume Preparation
Know every project on your resume thoroughly.
Be ready to explain:
- Design decisions
- Trade-offs
- Optimizations
- Challenges faced
Final Advice
The biggest mistake I made was postponing Core CS preparation until after clearing the coding rounds, which made the one-month gap before the interview quite stressful.
My suggestion is to consistently revise DSA, OS, DBMS, SQL, and OOP throughout your preparation instead of treating them separately. Also, practice explaining your solutions aloud, since interviewers evaluate your thought process as much as the final answer.
Overall, the process was challenging but fair, and being strong in DSA along with a solid understanding of computer science fundamentals was enough to clear the Specialist Programmer interview. Best of luck!