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Rejected

Software Engineer 1 at Intuit

Difficulty
Process took
2-3 Weeks
Rounds
3
Format
Remote
Applied via
Company Website

How it went

  • When you face tough problems, don’t rush. Take a moment to think through the problem, and then explain your thought process aloud. This not only helps you organize your approach, but it also gives the interviewer a clear insight into how you solve problems. Even if you're unsure, don't hesitate to ask for clarification or discuss possible approaches with the interviewer.

What they would tell you

  • When you face tough problems, don’t rush. Take a moment to think through the problem, and then explain your thought process aloud. This not only helps you organize your approach, but it also gives the interviewer a clear insight into how you solve problems. Even if you're unsure, don't hesitate to ask for clarification or discuss possible approaches with the interviewer.

How to prepare

  • The key is to build a solid foundation in arrays, strings, and dynamic programming. Make sure you're comfortable with problems like binary search, sliding windows, and greedy algorithms. I worked through problems on different platforms.
  • Be sure you can explain OOP principles clearly and have solid examples ready. I also had to live-code and explain my logic, so I practiced coding problems that involve object-oriented design and data encapsulation.

Their background

I have 1.5 years of experience and currently work as an Assistant Developer at a service-based company.

Round by round

  1. 1

    Online Assessment90 min

    The Online Assessment had 5 coding questions, and I managed to solve 4 out of them.

    • Easy Problem: These were basic array questions that I solved pretty quickly.
    • Math & Coordinate Geometry: This one was a bit tougher and made me brush up on some math concepts.
    • Binary Search: A medium-level problem that needed binary search for optimization. It took some time, but I got through it.
    • Grid-Based Problem: This one was similar to something I’d solved before. It was tricky but I pulled it off.
    • Fifth Problem: Honestly, I don’t quite remember what it was about. Overall, the test felt well-balanced, and solving 4 out of 5 gave me a good boost. About 5 days later, the recruiter called to tell me I had cleared the OA and my technical interviews were lined up.
  2. 2

    Technical Interview 160 min

    We began by diving into my past work experience and projects. I talked about my internships, especially one where I made strong use of Object-Oriented Programming concepts. From there, the conversation moved into OOP. They asked some deep questions on runtime polymorphism, scope resolution, and the use of virtual functions. At one point, they showed me a piece of code and asked me to predict its output, that part was fun and a bit tricky. We also touched on Operating Systems, topics like virtual memory and thrashing came up, and I explained how I understood their role in real systems. Towards the end, we discussed databases. I shared how I’d worked with MongoDB and MySQL in past projects and why I chose one over the other in different situations. The interviewers were really supportive and even gave a few hints when I was thinking aloud during the OOP questions. It felt more like a thoughtful discussion than a strict evaluation.

  3. 3

    Technical Interview 260 min

    The second technical round was a bit hard, two engineers were on the call, including a Senior Software Engineer. It had a good mix of basic system design concepts and DSA questions. We started discussion around my previous work again, particularly the choices I made regarding databases and system architecture in my projects. Then came a deep dive into core concepts from OS and DBMS. They asked me to explain things like Mutex, Semaphores, Transactions, and Concurrency, and how I’d apply them in real-world systems. It felt more like a conversation around practical design than just theory. Next, we moved to coding:

    • 132 Pattern: A problem that involves identifying a specific pattern in an array. I had to come up with an efficient solution that handled edge cases well.
    • Basic Calculator IV: This one was more complex, I had to build a calculator that could evaluate expressions with variables and operators. I went with a recursive approach using stacks. After walking through my solutions and explaining my logic, the interviewers seemed quite satisfied.

What came up

MediumRemote1 2 years

A candidate-reported account, lightly edited. Interview processes change by team and date.

Sources