Scale Engineer

Software Engineer

Software EngineerMG1Medium to Hard

Mercari's Software Engineer (MG1) interview process is designed to assess a candidate's technical proficiency, problem-solving abilities, and cultural fit within the company. The process typically involves multiple rounds, starting with an initial screening and progressing through technical interviews, a system design round, and a final managerial or behavioral interview. The goal is to identify candidates who can contribute effectively to Mercari's innovative and collaborative environment.

Rounds·4

Timeline·~14d

Experience·3 - 7 yrs

Comp band·US$110000 - US$150000

Interview time·195 min

Evaluation

What they measure.

  • Problem-solving skills
  • Algorithmic thinking
  • Data structure knowledge
  • Coding proficiency
  • Code quality and best practices

Preparation

How to prepare.

Tips

  1. Review fundamental data structures (arrays, linked lists, trees, graphs, hash maps) and algorithms (sorting, searching, dynamic programming, graph traversal).
  2. Practice coding problems on platforms like LeetCode, HackerRank, or AlgoExpert, focusing on medium to hard difficulty.
  3. Study system design concepts, including scalability, availability, consistency, databases, caching, load balancing, and microservices.
  4. Prepare to discuss your past projects in detail, highlighting your contributions and the technical challenges you overcame.
  5. Understand Mercari's business model, products, and company culture. Research their engineering blog and recent news.
  6. Practice behavioral questions using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your answers.
  7. Be ready to explain your thought process clearly and articulate your solutions effectively.

Study plan

Fig · Study plan — 04 phases

01 / 04
01

Phase 01 of 04

Data Structures and Algorithms Fundamentals

Weeks 1-2: Data Structures & Basic Algorithms. Solve 20-30 easy/medium LeetCode problems.

Weeks 1-2: Focus on core data structures (arrays, linked lists, stacks, queues, trees, graphs, hash tables) and their common operations. Practice basic algorithms like sorting (quicksort, mergesort) and searching (binary search). Solve 10-15 easy and medium LeetCode problems per week.

Questions

Commonly asked.

  • Given an array of integers, find the contiguous subarray with the largest sum.
  • Design a system like Instagram's news feed.
  • How would you implement a rate limiter?
  • Tell me about a time you failed and what you learned from it.
  • Explain the difference between TCP and UDP.
  • How do you handle concurrency in your applications?
  • Describe the process of deploying a new feature in a production environment.
  • What are the trade-offs when choosing between different database technologies?
  • How do you approach debugging a complex issue in a distributed system?
  • Tell me about a project you are particularly proud of.

Locations

Regional differences.

Fig · Regions — 02 locations

01 / 02

Location

Tokyo, Japan

Interview focus

Emphasis on practical application of data structures and algorithms relevant to e-commerce.Strong focus on system design principles and scalability for high-traffic applications.Behavioral questions often probe collaboration and problem-solving in a team context.Understanding of cloud technologies (AWS, GCP) and their application in e-commerce.

Common questions

  • How would you design a system to handle real-time notifications for Mercari's app?
  • Describe a challenging technical problem you faced and how you solved it.
  • What are your thoughts on microservices architecture for an e-commerce platform?
  • How do you ensure code quality and maintainability in a large project?
  • Tell me about a time you had to disagree with a team member or manager. How did you handle it?

Tips

  • Be prepared to discuss specific examples from your past projects that demonstrate your skills.
  • Research Mercari's tech stack and recent product launches.
  • Practice explaining complex technical concepts clearly and concisely.
  • Understand Mercari's company values and how they align with your own.

Rounds

Round-by-round.

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

Med

Technical Interview (Coding) · 45 min · Software Engineer

This round focuses on your fundamental programming skills. You will be asked to solve one or two coding problems that test your knowledge of data structures and algorithms. The interviewer will assess your ability to write clean, efficient, and correct code, as well as your approach to problem-solving and communication.

What they look for

Clean, well-organized code.Logical and systematic approach to problem-solving.Understanding of time and space complexity.Ability to test their code.Clear communication of their thought process.

Evaluation

  • Correctness of the solution
  • Efficiency of the solution (time and space complexity)
  • Code readability and maintainability
  • Problem-solving approach
  • Ability to communicate the solution

Sample questions

  • Given a binary tree, invert the tree.

    TreeRecursionBinary Tree

  • Find the kth largest element in an unsorted array.

    ArraySortingHeapQuickSelect

Prep for this round

  1. 01Practice coding problems on platforms like LeetCode.
  2. 02Focus on understanding the underlying data structures and algorithms.
  3. 03Write pseudocode before coding.
  4. 04Test your code thoroughly with edge cases.
  5. 05Explain your thought process as you code.

Common rejection reasons

  • ×Inability to articulate thought process.
  • ×Poorly structured or inefficient code.
  • ×Fundamental misunderstanding of data structures or algorithms.
  • ×Not asking clarifying questions.

DSA

Coding questions at Mercari.

Frequently reported on Mercari loops

View all at Mercari

Other guides

More at Mercari.