# Software Engineer **Role:** Software Engineer · **Level:** MTS6 **Company:** [Cohesity](https://scaleengineer.com/companies/cohesity) **Difficulty:** Medium to Hard **Salary:** US$140000 - US$180000 **Experience:** 5 - 10 **Timeline:** ~14 days This interview process is for a Software Engineer position at Cohesity, specifically for the MTS6 level. It is designed to assess a candidate's technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and cultural fit within the company. Canonical: https://scaleengineer.com/interviews/cohesity/mts6-software-engineer --- ## Overall evaluation - Technical Skills - Problem Solving - Communication - Teamwork and Collaboration - Cultural Fit ## Questions asked - Design a URL shortening service. - Implement a function to find the k-th largest element in an unsorted array. - Explain the difference between TCP and UDP. - Describe a time you disagreed with a teammate and how you resolved it. - How would you design a distributed cache? - What are the trade-offs of using microservices? - Write a function to reverse a linked list. - How do you handle concurrency issues? - Tell me about a challenging bug you fixed. - What are your thoughts on test-driven development (TDD)? ## Preparation tips ### lists - Review core computer science concepts, including data structures, algorithms, and operating systems. - Practice coding problems, focusing on efficiency and edge cases. - Study system design principles, focusing on scalability, reliability, and distributed systems. - Prepare to discuss your past projects in detail, highlighting your contributions and challenges. - Research Cohesity's products, technologies, and company culture. - Prepare behavioral questions using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result). - Formulate thoughtful questions to ask the interviewers. ### studyPlan - {"title":"Data Structures and Algorithms","longDescription":"Weeks 1-2: Focus on Data Structures and Algorithms. Cover arrays, linked lists, trees, graphs, hash tables, sorting, searching, dynamic programming, and greedy algorithms. Practice problems on platforms like LeetCode (Easy/Medium).","shortDescription":"Weeks 1-2: DSA fundamentals and practice (Easy/Medium)."} - {"title":"System Design","longDescription":"Weeks 3-4: Dive into System Design. Study concepts like load balancing, caching, databases (SQL/NoSQL), message queues, microservices, and CAP theorem. Review common system design interview questions and practice designing systems.","shortDescription":"Weeks 3-4: System Design principles and practice."} - {"title":"Behavioral and Company Research","longDescription":"Week 5: Focus on Behavioral and Situational Questions. Prepare examples using the STAR method for common questions related to teamwork, leadership, conflict resolution, and handling failure. Also, research Cohesity's values and recent news.","shortDescription":"Week 5: Behavioral questions (STAR method) and Cohesity research."} - {"title":"Mock Interviews and Refinement","longDescription":"Week 6: Mock Interviews and Refinement. Conduct mock interviews to simulate the actual interview environment. Get feedback on your technical explanations, problem-solving approach, and communication. Refine your answers and strategies based on feedback.","shortDescription":"Week 6: Mock interviews and final preparation."} ## Location differences - {"location":"USA","differences":{"tips":["Be prepared to discuss large-scale system design challenges.","Highlight experience with cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or GCP.","Showcase your ability to write clean, efficient, and well-tested code.","Emphasize collaboration and teamwork skills."],"interviewFocus":["Deep dive into system design and distributed systems concepts.","Problem-solving skills with a focus on scalability and performance.","Experience with cloud-native technologies (e.g., Kubernetes, Docker).","Understanding of data structures and algorithms in practical scenarios."],"commonQuestions":["Discuss a challenging project you worked on and how you overcame obstacles.","How do you approach debugging complex issues?","Describe your experience with distributed systems.","What are your thoughts on microservices architecture?","How do you ensure code quality and maintainability?"]}} - {"location":"India","differences":{"tips":["Brush up on fundamental data structures and algorithms.","Practice coding problems on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank.","Be ready to articulate your thought process clearly.","Show enthusiasm for learning and contributing to the team."],"interviewFocus":["Core computer science fundamentals (data structures, algorithms).","Problem-solving and analytical thinking.","Coding proficiency and ability to translate requirements into code.","Teamwork and communication skills."],"commonQuestions":["Tell me about a time you had to work with a difficult stakeholder.","How do you handle tight deadlines and pressure?","What are your strengths and weaknesses as a software engineer?","Describe your experience with agile methodologies.","How do you stay updated with new technologies?"]}} ## Round 1: Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA) Round **Type:** Technical - Coding · **Difficulty:** Medium · **Duration:** 45 min Coding round focusing on data structures and algorithms. This round focuses on your core programming skills. You will be asked to solve one or two coding problems, typically involving data structures and algorithms. The interviewer will assess your ability to write clean, efficient, and correct code, as well as your problem-solving approach and communication skills. **Interviewers look for:** Strong grasp of fundamental data structures and algorithms.; Ability to translate a problem into code.; Clear explanation of the thought process.; Consideration of edge cases and optimizations. **Evaluation criteria:** Correctness of the solution.; Efficiency of the algorithm (time and space complexity).; Code clarity and readability.; Ability to handle edge cases.; Problem-solving approach and communication. **Common rejection reasons:** Inability to articulate thought process.; Poor coding practices (e.g., inefficient code, lack of error handling).; Fundamental misunderstanding of data structures or algorithms.; Inability to solve the given problem within the time limit. ## Questions - Given a binary tree, find its inorder traversal. - Find the median of two sorted arrays. - Implement a function to check if a string is a palindrome. ## Preparation tips - Practice coding problems on platforms like LeetCode, HackerRank, or GeeksforGeeks. - Focus on understanding the time and space complexity of your solutions. - Be prepared to explain your approach and justify your choices. - Practice coding in a collaborative editor or whiteboard environment. ## Round 2: System Design Round **Type:** Technical - System Design · **Difficulty:** Hard · **Duration:** 60 min System design round focusing on scalability and architecture. This round assesses your ability to design scalable, reliable, and maintainable software systems. You will be presented with a high-level problem statement and asked to design a system to address it. The focus is on your architectural thinking, understanding of distributed systems, and ability to make informed design choices. **Interviewers look for:** Experience in designing complex, distributed systems.; Ability to think about system architecture at scale.; Understanding of trade-offs and ability to justify design decisions.; Knowledge of various technologies and their applications. **Evaluation criteria:** System design principles (scalability, reliability, availability).; Understanding of trade-offs in design choices.; Ability to handle large-scale data and traffic.; Knowledge of various system components (databases, caches, load balancers).; Clarity and structure of the design proposal. **Common rejection reasons:** Lack of understanding of distributed systems concepts.; Inability to design a scalable and reliable system.; Poor trade-off analysis.; Not considering failure scenarios or edge cases in the design. ## Questions - Design a system like TinyURL. - Design a news feed system. - How would you design a rate limiter? ## Preparation tips - Study common system design patterns and architectures. - Understand concepts like load balancing, caching, database scaling, and message queues. - Practice designing systems like Twitter's feed, a URL shortener, or a distributed key-value store. - Be prepared to discuss trade-offs and justify your design decisions. ## Round 3: Behavioral and Managerial Round **Type:** Behavioral / Managerial · **Difficulty:** Medium · **Duration:** 45 min Behavioral round to assess soft skills and cultural fit. This round focuses on your behavioral and situational responses. The interviewer will ask questions about your past experiences to understand how you handle various work scenarios, such as teamwork, conflict resolution, leadership, and dealing with failure. This helps assess your cultural fit and soft skills. **Interviewers look for:** How you handle challenges and conflicts.; Your ability to work with others.; Your motivation and career aspirations.; Your understanding of the role and company. **Evaluation criteria:** Communication skills.; Teamwork and collaboration abilities.; Problem-solving approach in past experiences.; Adaptability and learning agility.; Alignment with Cohesity's values and culture. **Common rejection reasons:** Poor communication skills.; Lack of self-awareness.; Inability to provide specific examples.; Negative attitude or lack of enthusiasm.; Poor cultural fit with the team or company values. ## Questions - Tell me about a time you faced a significant technical challenge and how you overcame it. - Describe a situation where you had a conflict with a colleague and how you resolved it. - What are your career goals for the next 3-5 years? ## Preparation tips - Prepare examples using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) for common behavioral questions. - Be honest and authentic in your responses. - Show enthusiasm for the role and the company. - Think about your strengths and weaknesses and how they relate to the job.