SDE-1 at JioHotstar

How it went

What they would tell you

How to prepare

Their background

Round by round

1. 1

   HR Pre-Screening15 min

   The journey started with an introductory call from the HM, followed by a quick HR screening to confirm expectations, & background. This step set the stage for technical interview process.

2. 2

   DSA 160 min

   Question was finding the maximum sum of two non-overlapping subarrays in a given array, this required a combination of prefix sums and sliding window logic. The interviewer wanted not only a working solution but also clean code and a discussion of edge cases, and why particular approaches scale better as input size grows.

   • Finding the maximum sum of two non-overlapping subarrays in a given array
3. 3

   DSA 260 min

   The first question was a classic: check if a string of parentheses is valid, requiring careful stack usage and attention to edge cases. The second problem was unique: implement a custom parser for an XML-like input. This tested my ability to break big problems into manageable chunks, adhere to clean code principles, and explain my rationale for function design and error handling.

4. 4

   LLD60 min

   I was asked to design a stock exchange order matching engine. I decided to use priority queues to efficiently process buy and sell orders, and I modeled the order book and transaction flow. The discussion went deep into how I’d ensure performance as the number of orders scaled up, which data structures I’d pick, and how to avoid bottlenecks and race conditions. I also highlighted how I would support both market and limit orders while ensuring fairness and throughput.

What came up