The Software Engineer (SDE 3) interview at Groupon is a comprehensive process designed to assess a candidate's technical expertise, problem-solving abilities, system design skills, and cultural fit. It typically involves multiple rounds, including technical screenings, coding challenges, system design discussions, and behavioral interviews.
Rounds·3
Timeline·~14d
Experience·5 - 10 yrs
Comp band·US$140000 - US$180000
Interview time·150 min
Evaluation
Preparation
Tips
Study plan
Fig · Study plan — 04 phases
01 / 04Phase 01 of 04
Weeks 1-2: Data Structures & Algorithms (Medium/Hard LeetCode)
Weeks 1-2: Focus on core data structures (arrays, linked lists, trees, graphs, hash maps) and algorithms (sorting, searching, dynamic programming, graph traversal). Practice medium to hard difficulty problems on LeetCode.
Phase 02 of 04
Weeks 3-4: System Design Fundamentals & Patterns
Weeks 3-4: Dive into system design principles. Cover topics like distributed systems, databases (SQL vs. NoSQL), caching strategies, load balancing, message queues, and API design. Study common system design interview patterns.
Phase 03 of 04
Week 5: Behavioral Questions (STAR Method)
Week 5: Prepare for behavioral questions. Use the STAR method to structure your answers for common questions related to teamwork, problem-solving, leadership, and handling challenges. Reflect on your career experiences.
Phase 04 of 04
Week 6: Company Research & Question Preparation
Week 6: Research Groupon's business, products, and recent news. Understand the company's mission and values. Prepare questions to ask the interviewer about the role, team, and company culture.
Questions
Locations
Fig · Regions — 03 locations
01 / 03Location
Interview focus
Common questions
Tips
Location
Interview focus
Common questions
Tips
Location
Interview focus
Common questions
Tips
Rounds
Expand a step for evaluation criteria, sample questions, and prep notes.
Technical Screening (Coding) · 45 min · Software Engineer
This round focuses on assessing your core programming skills. You will be asked to solve one or two coding problems, typically involving data structures and algorithms. The interviewer will evaluate your ability to write clean, efficient, and correct code, as well as your problem-solving approach and communication skills.
What they look for
Evaluation
Sample questions
Given an array of integers, return indices of the two numbers such that they add up to a specific target.
Implement a function to reverse a linked list.
Find the kth smallest element in a Binary Search Tree.
Prep for this round
Common rejection reasons
System Design Interview · 60 min · Senior Software Engineer / Architect
This round assesses your ability to design complex software systems. You'll be given an open-ended problem, such as designing a specific service (e.g., a social media feed, a URL shortener, a ride-sharing app). The interviewer will expect you to discuss requirements, high-level design, data modeling, API design, component breakdown, scalability, and potential bottlenecks.
What they look for
Evaluation
Sample questions
Design a system like Twitter's news feed.
Design an API rate limiter.
Design a distributed key-value store.
Prep for this round
Common rejection reasons
Behavioral Interview · 45 min · Hiring Manager / Senior Team Member
This round focuses on your past experiences, work style, and how you handle various workplace situations. You'll be asked behavioral questions designed to understand your strengths, weaknesses, how you collaborate with others, and how you approach challenges. Using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) is highly recommended for answering these questions.
What they look for
Evaluation
Sample questions
Tell me about a time you failed and what you learned from it.
Describe a situation where you had to work with a difficult colleague.
How do you prioritize your work when you have multiple competing deadlines?
Prep for this round
Common rejection reasons
DSA
Frequently reported on Groupon loops
Other guides
