Inside DoorDash's Challenging Onsite Interview for Code Farmer Role: My Experience

Software Engineering
,
1

doordash | Software Engineer | Interview Experience

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

Interview Process

The interview consisted of an onsite format with a focus on coding and system design. The candidate felt the interview was neutral and average. There were several rounds, including coding questions, debugging tasks, and behavioral questions.

Technical Questions

  1. Code Craft:

    • Calculate the total salary for delivery personnel (Dashers) based on their working hours and additional peak hour fees.
    • Given a list of order entries, each containing dasher_id, timestamp, and amount, calculate the total salary considering a base wage and peak hour extra fee.
    • Example input:
      orders = [
  {'dasher_id': '001', 'timestamp': '2023-11-25T08:00:00', 'amount': 100},
  {'dasher_id': '001', 'timestamp': '2023-11-25T09:00:00', 'amount': 150},
]
base_wage = 10
peak_extra = 5
peak_hours = ['08:00', '10:00']
    • Expected output: {'001': 30}

  2. Debugging:

    • Fix a constructor issue in a class related to Dashers and adjust the key size without decrementing it by one. The candidate was also asked to write test cases for the code provided.

  3. System Design:

    • Discuss a donation system over a three-day period.

  4. Behavioral Questions:

    • Provide constructive feedback.
    • Discuss a conflict situation.
    • Explain the reasons for wanting to work at DoorDash.
    • Share a mistake or failure and how it was handled.

Tips & Insights

  • Be prepared to handle edge cases in coding problems, such as incorrect input formats.
  • Practice writing test cases for your code to demonstrate a thorough understanding of production-level coding.
  • Familiarize yourself with the company’s values and mission, as behavioral questions often relate to these topics.