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KotakSoftware Engineer
Updated Jul 28, 2026

Kotak Software Engineer Interview Experiences 2026

Real, anonymous reports from people who interviewed for Software Engineer at Kotak, newest first and distilled into what to expect across the loop.

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Hot & recentNewest first
1 month ago
Average Negative India

I started with a BarRaiser-style first round that felt like a mix of DSA, low-level design, and distributed systems. The whole thing lasted about 1.5 hours, and it leaned pretty hard on fundamentals—there wasn’t much time spent on my resume. On the DSA side, I got classic array problems like Two Sum and also a buy/sell stocks style question. Then the low-level design part had me design a food delivery system along the lines of Swiggy/Zomato, where I had to talk through classes, relationships, and how the pieces interacted rather than focusing on writing a full implementation.

After that, distributed systems came in with conceptual questions around topics like consistency and distributed workflow ideas, and I had to reason about trade-offs while keeping the design grounded. Across the round, I was expected to navigate from a clear approach to an efficient one, and I remember explaining edge cases as I went.
3 months ago

My first round for the SDE-I role ran through an external vendor and was framed as a BarRaiser round. It lasted about 1.5 hours and stayed broad: DSA, LLD, and HLD all showed up. The DSA questions were mostly LeetCode-style problems—things like Climbing Stairs and merging two sorted arrays in place.

For low-level design, I was given requirements for a library management system and asked to define entities and relationships as part of the design. The interviewer wanted the structure to be clear rather than me jumping straight into coding. Overall, I felt the round moved fast across topics and kept me thinking end-to-end, from data structures to the shape of a design.

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What to expect

Distilled from the reports

The Loop & Timeline

The interview process typically starts with a recruiter call, followed by a BarRaiser round and several technical interviews, often culminating in an HR round. The overall timeline can feel lengthy, with multiple rounds that may stretch over several days or weeks.

Recruiter callBarRaiserHR round

BarRaiser Round

The BarRaiser round is a critical component, lasting about 90 minutes and focusing on DSA, low-level design (LLD), and sometimes high-level design (HLD). Candidates should expect a mix of coding problems and conceptual discussions, often with a strong emphasis on reasoning and efficiency.

DSALLDHigh-level design

Technical Rounds

Subsequent technical rounds often include a blend of DSA questions, LLD, and discussions about previous projects or technologies relevant to the role. Candidates should be prepared for a variety of problem-solving scenarios and practical applications of their knowledge.

Problem-solvingProject discussionTechnical knowledge

Focus on DSA and Design

Interviews heavily emphasize data structures and algorithms, with candidates facing common LeetCode-style problems. Additionally, low-level design questions require candidates to articulate their design choices and reasoning clearly.

LeetCodeDesign choicesData structures

Interview Environment

The interview atmosphere is generally supportive and constructive, with interviewers guiding candidates through problems rather than creating a high-pressure environment. This approach helps candidates feel more at ease during the process.

SupportiveConstructive feedbackInterview atmosphere

Feedback and Communication

Candidates often report delays in feedback and communication throughout the process, which can lead to frustration. It's advisable to follow up proactively if updates are not received in a timely manner.

Feedback delaysCommunicationFollow-up