Stripe | Software Engineer Intern | Interview Experience
Interview Date: Not specified
Result: Not specified
Difficulty: Not specified
Interview Process
The interview consisted of two main parts. The first part involved a programming question where I was given several workers and tasks, each with a time cost. I needed to print out which worker would be assigned to each task. This was similar to a classic LeetCode problem and required the use of a heap.
The second part introduced additional constraints. Each worker had specific areas of expertise, and each task had a type. When assigning tasks, I needed to ensure that the task was given to the worker best suited to handle that specific type. The third part added even more complexity, where each task was associated with an account. If an account had already been assigned to a worker, subsequent tasks for that account would go to the same worker, unless that worker could not handle the new task type, in which case I had to revert to the logic used in the second part. I completed the first two parts quickly, but I struggled with the third part and only managed to explain my thought process to the interviewer.
The integration portion of the interview was rescheduled due to the interviewer not being available initially. The question was a classic bike map problem, which I completed in under 30 minutes. The interviewer then asked me to improve my code, focusing on making it more modular and adaptive.
Technical Questions
- Meeting Rooms II (Priority Queue, Heap, Hash Map)
Tips & Insights
- Familiarize yourself with classic algorithm problems, especially those involving heaps and priority queues.
- Practice explaining your thought process clearly, as communication is key during technical interviews.
- Be prepared to refactor and improve your solutions, as interviewers often look for code quality and adaptability.