Scale Engineer

Software Engineer

Software Engineer2Medium to Hard

Arista Networks is looking for talented Software Engineers to join our innovative teams. This interview process is designed to assess your technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and cultural fit within our dynamic environment. We value collaboration, continuous learning, and a passion for building high-quality, scalable networking solutions.

Rounds·4

Timeline·~10d

Experience·2 - 5 yrs

Comp band·US$110000 - US$140000

Interview time·180 min

Evaluation

What they measure.

  • Problem-solving skills
  • Algorithmic thinking
  • Data structure knowledge
  • Coding proficiency
  • System design capabilities
  • Understanding of networking concepts
  • Communication skills
  • Teamwork and collaboration
  • Cultural fit

Preparation

How to prepare.

Tips

  1. Review fundamental computer science concepts: data structures, algorithms, operating systems, and networking.
  2. Practice coding problems on platforms like LeetCode, HackerRank, focusing on medium to hard difficulty.
  3. Understand common networking protocols (TCP/IP, UDP, HTTP, BGP, OSPF) and their workings.
  4. Prepare for system design questions, focusing on scalability, reliability, and performance.
  5. Research Arista Networks, its products, and its position in the networking industry.
  6. Prepare behavioral questions using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result).
  7. Be ready to discuss your past projects in detail, highlighting your contributions and challenges.
  8. Practice explaining complex technical concepts clearly and concisely.
  9. Prepare questions to ask the interviewer about the role, team, and company culture.

Study plan

Fig · Study plan — 05 phases

01 / 05
01

Phase 01 of 05

Data Structures and Algorithms

Weeks 1-2: DSA fundamentals and practice.

Weeks 1-2: Focus on Data Structures and Algorithms. Cover arrays, linked lists, trees, graphs, hash tables, heaps, sorting, searching, dynamic programming, and graph traversal algorithms. Practice implementing these and analyzing their time and space complexity.

Questions

Commonly asked.

  • Write a function to find the kth smallest element in a sorted matrix.
  • Design a URL shortening service.
  • Explain the difference between TCP and UDP and when to use each.
  • How would you design a system to handle millions of concurrent users?
  • Describe a time you disagreed with a teammate and how you resolved it.
  • What are the challenges in building a distributed system?
  • Implement a function to reverse a linked list.
  • Discuss the trade-offs between monolithic and microservices architectures.
  • How do you approach debugging a performance issue in a production environment?
  • Tell me about a project you are particularly proud of.

Locations

Regional differences.

Fig · Regions — 02 locations

01 / 02

Location

Santa Clara, CA

Interview focus

Deep dive into distributed systems and networking concepts.Emphasis on practical problem-solving and debugging skills.Understanding of network protocols and their implementation.Assessing ability to work with large-scale systems.

Common questions

  • Discuss a challenging technical problem you solved in a previous role.
  • How do you approach debugging complex issues in a distributed system?
  • Describe your experience with network protocols (e.g., TCP/IP, BGP, OSPF).
  • Explain the trade-offs between different data structures for a specific use case.
  • How do you ensure the scalability and performance of your code?
  • What are your thoughts on containerization technologies like Docker and Kubernetes in networking?

Tips

  • Thoroughly review networking fundamentals and common protocols.
  • Be prepared to discuss specific examples of distributed systems you've worked on.
  • Practice coding problems related to concurrency, data structures, and algorithms.
  • Familiarize yourself with Arista's product portfolio and the networking industry.

Rounds

Round-by-round.

Expand a step for evaluation criteria, sample questions, and prep notes.

Med

Data Structures And Algorithms Interview · 45 min · Software Engineer / Senior Software Engineer

This round focuses on your core computer science fundamentals. You will be asked to solve coding problems that test your knowledge of data structures (arrays, linked lists, trees, graphs, hash maps) and algorithms (sorting, searching, dynamic programming, graph traversal). The interviewer will assess your ability to write clean, efficient, and correct code, as well as your approach to problem-solving and debugging.

What they look for

Strong grasp of data structures and algorithms.Ability to translate a problem into efficient code.Clear communication of thought process.Problem-solving aptitude.

Evaluation

  • Correctness of the solution
  • Efficiency of the solution (time and space complexity)
  • Code clarity and readability
  • Ability to handle edge cases

Sample questions

  • Given an array of integers, return indices of the two numbers such that they add up to a specific target.

    ArrayHash TableTwo Pointers

  • Implement a function to check if a binary tree is a valid Binary Search Tree (BST).

    TreeBinary Search TreeRecursion

  • Find the length of the longest substring without repeating characters.

    StringSliding WindowHash Table

Prep for this round

  1. 01Practice coding problems on platforms like LeetCode, HackerRank, focusing on 'Easy' and 'Medium' difficulties.
  2. 02Review common data structures and algorithms and their use cases.
  3. 03Practice explaining your thought process out loud while solving problems.
  4. 04Pay attention to time and space complexity analysis.

Common rejection reasons

  • ×Inability to solve basic algorithmic problems.
  • ×Poor understanding of fundamental data structures.
  • ×Difficulty in explaining code logic.
  • ×Lack of attention to detail in coding.

DSA

Coding questions at Arista Networks.

Frequently reported on Arista Networks loops

View all at Arista Networks

Other guides

More at Arista Networks.