Scale Engineer

Software Engineer

Software EngineerFellow EngineerHard

This interview process is designed to assess candidates for the Fellow Engineer role at InMobi, focusing on deep technical expertise, problem-solving abilities, and leadership potential. The process involves multiple rounds to evaluate a candidate's fit across technical skills, behavioral aspects, and alignment with InMobi's culture and values.

Rounds·4

Timeline·~14d

Experience·8 - 15 yrs

Comp band·US$180000 - US$250000

Interview time·225 min

Evaluation

What they measure.

  • Problem-solving skills
  • Algorithmic thinking
  • Data structures knowledge
  • Code quality and efficiency
  • Debugging skills

Preparation

How to prepare.

Tips

  1. Revisit fundamental computer science concepts: data structures, algorithms, operating systems, and databases.
  2. Practice coding problems on platforms like LeetCode, HackerRank, focusing on medium to hard difficulty.
  3. Deep dive into system design principles: scalability, availability, consistency, fault tolerance, load balancing, caching, databases, messaging queues.
  4. Study common distributed systems patterns and technologies (e.g., microservices, CAP theorem, consensus algorithms).
  5. Prepare to discuss your past projects in detail, focusing on your contributions, technical challenges, and learnings.
  6. Understand InMobi's business, products, and the adtech industry landscape.
  7. Develop a strong understanding of behavioral interview techniques (STAR method) and prepare examples for leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving scenarios.
  8. Research common interview questions for senior engineering roles and practice your answers.
  9. Be ready to articulate your technical vision and how you would approach complex problems.
  10. Prepare thoughtful questions to ask the interviewers about the role, team, and company.

Study plan

Fig · Study plan — 05 phases

01 / 05
01

Phase 01 of 05

Data Structures & Algorithms

Weeks 1-2: DSA fundamentals. Practice 2-3 problems/day.

Weeks 1-2: Focus on core Data Structures and Algorithms. Cover arrays, linked lists, trees, graphs, hash tables, heaps, sorting, searching, dynamic programming, and greedy algorithms. Practice implementing these and analyzing their time and space complexity. Aim for 2-3 problems per day.

Questions

Commonly asked.

  • Design a system to handle real-time analytics for a mobile application.
  • How would you optimize a database query that is causing performance issues?
  • Describe a situation where you had to lead a team through a difficult technical challenge.
  • What are the trade-offs between using a monolithic architecture versus a microservices architecture?
  • How do you ensure the security of a distributed system?
  • Tell me about a time you disagreed with a technical decision made by your manager or team.
  • How would you design a recommendation engine for an e-commerce platform?
  • What are the challenges of building a global, low-latency service?
  • How do you approach mentoring junior engineers and fostering their growth?
  • Explain the concept of eventual consistency and when it's appropriate to use.
  • Describe a time you failed and what you learned from it.
  • How do you handle technical debt and prioritize its resolution?
  • Design a distributed rate limiter.
  • What are your thoughts on the future of AI in the adtech space?
  • How do you ensure code quality and maintainability in a large codebase?

Locations

Regional differences.

Fig · Regions — 02 locations

01 / 02

Location

Bangalore

Interview focus

Deep dive into system design and architecture for high-traffic applications.Leadership and mentorship capabilities.Strategic thinking and long-term technical vision.Understanding of distributed systems and scalability challenges specific to the Indian market.Ability to drive technical initiatives and influence cross-functional teams.

Common questions

  • Discuss a complex technical challenge you faced and how you overcame it.
  • How do you mentor junior engineers?
  • Describe a time you had to influence a team or stakeholder to adopt your technical vision.
  • What are your thoughts on the future of mobile advertising technology?
  • How do you handle technical debt?
  • Explain a system you designed that scaled to millions of users.

Tips

  • Emphasize experience with large-scale, distributed systems relevant to the Indian market.
  • Highlight any contributions to open-source projects or technical communities.
  • Be prepared to discuss your leadership style and how you foster innovation.
  • Showcase your ability to adapt to rapidly changing technological landscapes.
  • Research InMobi's recent technological advancements and business strategies.

Rounds

Round-by-round.

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

DSA

Coding questions at InMobi.

Frequently reported on InMobi loops

View all at InMobi

Other guides

More at InMobi.