instacart | Software Engineer | Interview Experience
Interview Date: Not specified
Result: Fail
Difficulty: Average
Interview Process
The interview process included an online assessment (OA) focused on a task management system. The first two questions involved CRUD operations and ranking, which were straightforward. The third question required creating an assignment class to manage tasks assigned to multiple users, with task metadata being stored separately. The fourth question could not be completed due to time constraints, and only three questions were answered before moving to the next round.
The next round consisted of three coding interviews. The first was conducted through AI Karat, where the interviewer moved quickly, not allowing time to review code. The question involved bus schedules and priority boarding, where the candidate suggested using a priority queue for improvements. The candidate felt overwhelmed during this round.
The first coding question was to decode a password. The interviewer was supportive, and the candidate completed it quickly. The question involved reading only the length of the first password file and identifying the start of the second password using a duplicate index. The candidate was also asked how to refactor the solution for production.
The second coding question was to calculate an expression, which was similar to a previously encountered question. The candidate was reminded to consider parsing expressions carefully, as they could have up to two variables and may not always include spaces. The candidate struggled with time complexity initially but managed to complete the question with some extra time provided by the interviewer.
The candidate received feedback two days later, indicating they did not pass. They expressed dissatisfaction with the AI Karat round but noted that the interviewers from Instacart were very nice and emphasized the company’s good culture and work-life balance.
Technical Questions
- Merge Intervals (System Design, Class Design, Object-Oriented Programming)
- Distribute Repeating Integers (System Design, Priority Queue, Data Structures)
- Decode String (File Handling, Cycle Detection, Data Structures)
Tips & Insights
- Prepare thoroughly for the online assessment, especially on the specific topics mentioned.
- During coding interviews, manage time effectively and clarify any assumptions about the questions.
- Familiarize yourself with parsing expressions and handling edge cases in coding problems.