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.
3 months ago
Average Positive Amarāvati, Andhra Pradesh
I interviewed through my university for the SDE-I role at Kotak, and the process ended up being just a single round. It was an okay experience overall…
3 months ago
My recruiter conversation was followed by a later round that was described as low-level design, and that’s pretty much what I experienced. The intervi…
4 months ago
Easy Neutral Bengaluru
I started with a recruiter/HR screening that was pretty short—around 20 to 30 minutes. They asked about my current compensation, what I expected, noti…
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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.
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.
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.