Scale Engineer

Software Engineer II

Software EngineerIC14Medium to Hard

This interview process is for a Software Engineer II (IC14) position at Pinterest. It is designed to assess a candidate's technical skills, problem-solving abilities, system design knowledge, and cultural fit within the company.

Rounds·3

Timeline·~7d

Experience·3 - 6 yrs

Comp band·US$130000 - US$170000

Interview time·150 min

Evaluation

What they measure.

  • Problem-solving skills
  • Algorithmic thinking
  • Data structure knowledge
  • Code quality and clarity
  • Testing and debugging abilities

Preparation

How to prepare.

Tips

  1. Review fundamental data structures (arrays, linked lists, trees, graphs, hash tables) and algorithms (sorting, searching, dynamic programming, graph traversal).
  2. Practice coding problems on platforms like LeetCode, HackerRank, focusing on medium to hard difficulty.
  3. Study system design concepts: scalability, availability, consistency, databases (SQL/NoSQL), caching, load balancing, message queues.
  4. Prepare for behavioral questions using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result). Think about your past projects and experiences.
  5. Understand Pinterest's products and business to better contextualize system design and behavioral questions.
  6. Practice explaining your thought process clearly and concisely.
  7. Mock interviews can be very helpful to simulate the interview environment.

Study plan

Fig · Study plan — 04 phases

01 / 04
01

Phase 01 of 04

Foundational Data Structures and Algorithms

Weeks 1-2: Data Structures & Basic Algorithms.

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 (Merge Sort, Quick Sort) and searching (Binary Search).

Questions

Commonly asked.

  • Given a stream of data, how would you find the k most frequent elements?
  • Design a rate limiter for an API.
  • Tell me about a time you disagreed with a technical decision and how you handled it.
  • How would you design a system to detect duplicate pins?
  • Explain the difference between a process and a thread.
  • What are the trade-offs of using microservices vs. a monolith?
  • Describe a situation where you had to mentor a junior engineer.
  • How would you implement a cache for frequently accessed data?
  • Write a function to find the lowest common ancestor of two nodes in a binary tree.
  • How do you ensure the quality of your code?

Locations

Regional differences.

Fig · Regions — 02 locations

01 / 02

Location

San Francisco Bay Area

Interview focus

Emphasis on practical application of data structures and algorithms relevant to Pinterest's scale.Behavioral questions often probe for collaboration and impact within a team.System design questions may lean towards real-time data processing and recommendation systems.

Common questions

  • How would you design a URL shortener for Pinterest?
  • Discuss a time you had to deal with a difficult stakeholder.
  • Explain the trade-offs between SQL and NoSQL databases for a specific Pinterest feature.

Tips

  • For SF/Bay Area: Be prepared for highly competitive technical questions and a strong emphasis on impact and ownership.
  • For Seattle: Expect a focus on collaborative problem-solving and clear communication of technical concepts.
  • For New York: Behavioral questions might delve deeper into adaptability and handling ambiguity in a fast-paced environment.

Rounds

Round-by-round.

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

DSA

Coding questions at Pinterest.

Frequently reported on Pinterest loops

View all at Pinterest

Other guides

More at Pinterest.