databricks | Software Engineer | Interview Experience
Interview Date: Not specified
Result: Not specified
Difficulty: Not specified
Interview Process
The interview process included a coding challenge and a system design discussion. The first coding question involved string matching, where the candidate was asked to find all index pairs in a reference string that match a source string. The second part of this question required the candidate to determine how the output pairs would change if one character was deleted from the reference string, with the condition of maintaining maximum coverage. The second coding question involved using breadth-first search (BFS) to find the most cost-effective transportation method in a 2D matrix, where each grid had a cost for different transportation modes (bike, walk, bus) and switching between modes was not allowed. The system design question focused on designing a distributed file system. The second round was more of a casual discussion about storage systems.
Technical Questions
- String matching (string manipulation)
- Breadth-first search (BFS) for cost optimization
- System design (distributed file system)
- Storage systems (general discussion)
Tips & Insights
Be prepared for both technical coding questions and system design discussions. Understand the concepts behind BFS and string manipulation, and be ready to discuss storage systems in a broad sense.