Mastering Google’s Software Engineer OA: Tackling Unique Coding Challenges

Software Engineering
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google | Software Engineer | Interview Experience

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

Interview Process

I submitted my application through a referral on the second day of the job opening. I received the Online Assessment (OA) on November 12 and completed it by November 15. The OA consisted of two problems.

Technical Questions

  1. Collect C’s

    • Topic: String, Greedy
    • Description: Given a string made up of “T” and “C”, you can move T three spaces to the right. You cannot continue moving when you encounter a T, but you can collect C’s. The task is to find out how many C’s can be collected in total.

  2. Largest Group of Digit Similar Numbers

    • Topic: Hash Table, Counting
    • Description: Given an array containing integers from 10 to 99, if there are digits that are the same, they can form a group. The task is to determine the maximum number of such groups.

Tips & Insights

The Google OA interface is not very user-friendly. There are limited test cases provided, and if there is a compile error, it does not indicate which line has the error. For example, if you forget to close a bracket, it won’t auto-complete, which can lead to confusion during debugging. I spent a lot of time creating my own test cases to check for edge cases. I recommend that others also test extensively, as there may be many hidden test cases.