Cracking the Intense Snapchat Mobile Interview: LRU Cache & iOS Challenges

snapchat | Mobile | Interview Experience

Interview Date: Not specified
Result: Not specified
Difficulty: Not specified

Interview Process

The interview process was rather intense and covered a range of topics. It started with a technical phone screen that lasted about an hour, where the interviewer asked me to solve a couple of coding problems. I was introduced to different aspects of iOS development, including best practices and frameworks commonly used in Snapchat.

During the onsite interview, I faced multiple rounds. The first round was focused on data structures and algorithms, where I was given problems to solve on a whiteboard. One of the problems was about implementing a cache using the LRU eviction strategy, and I had to explain my thought process while coding.

The second round involved system design, where I was asked to design an architecture for a feature similar to Stories, considering scale, user experience, and performance.

Finally, I had a behavioral interview where they probed into my past experiences and how I would handle different situations within a team. The interviewers were friendly and made sure I was comfortable throughout the process.

Technical Questions

  1. LRU Cache (Hash Table, Linked List, Design)
  2. Design a Social Media Feature (System Design, Scalability)

Tips & Insights

Be prepared to explain your thought process clearly during coding challenges, and focus on both the technical and user experience aspects during system design discussions.