Scale Engineer

Software Engineer

Software EngineerMTS3Medium to Hard

This interview process is for a Software Engineer position at Pure Storage, specifically for the MTS3 level. It is designed to assess a candidate's technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and cultural fit within the company.

Rounds·3

Timeline·~14d

Experience·3 - 5 yrs

Comp band·US$110000 - US$150000

Interview time·150 min

Evaluation

What they measure.

  • Problem-solving approach
  • Algorithmic thinking
  • Code quality and efficiency
  • Data structure knowledge
  • System design capabilities
  • Communication skills
  • Behavioral and cultural fit

Preparation

How to prepare.

Tips

  1. Review fundamental data structures and algorithms (arrays, linked lists, trees, graphs, sorting, searching).
  2. Practice coding problems on platforms like LeetCode, HackerRank, or AlgoExpert.
  3. Study system design principles and common architectural patterns.
  4. Prepare to discuss your past projects in detail, focusing on your contributions and challenges.
  5. Understand Pure Storage's products and technologies.
  6. Research common behavioral interview questions and prepare STAR method responses.
  7. Be ready to ask insightful questions about the role, team, and company culture.

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. Practice 2-3 problems/day.

Weeks 1-2: Focus on core data structures (arrays, linked lists, stacks, queues, hash maps, trees, heaps, graphs) and their common operations. Practice basic algorithms like sorting (merge sort, quicksort), searching (binary search), and recursion. Aim for 2-3 coding problems per day.

Questions

Commonly asked.

  • Given an array of integers, find the contiguous subarray with the largest sum.
  • Design a system like TinyURL.
  • Explain the difference between a process and a thread.
  • Tell me about a time you disagreed with a team member. How did you handle it?
  • How would you design a rate limiter?
  • What are the trade-offs between SQL and NoSQL databases?
  • Implement a function to reverse a linked list.
  • Describe a challenging bug you encountered and how you debugged it.

Locations

Regional differences.

Fig · Regions — 02 locations

01 / 02

Location

USA

Interview focus

System design and distributed systems knowledgeScalability and performance optimizationUnderstanding of cloud-native technologies

Common questions

  • Discuss a challenging technical problem you solved in a distributed system.
  • How would you design a system to handle a large volume of real-time data?
  • Explain the trade-offs between different database technologies for a specific use case.

Tips

  • Be prepared to discuss your experience with cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or GCP.
  • Familiarize yourself with containerization technologies like Docker and Kubernetes.
  • Practice explaining complex system designs clearly and concisely.

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, typically involving data structures and algorithms. The interviewer will assess your ability to understand the problem, devise an efficient solution, write clean and correct code, and explain your approach.

What they look for

Strong grasp of data structures and algorithms.Ability to translate requirements into working code.Logical thinking and systematic approach to problem-solving.Clear communication of thought process.

Evaluation

  • Correctness of the solution
  • Efficiency of the solution (time and space complexity)
  • Code clarity and readability
  • Problem-solving approach and communication

Sample questions

  • Given a binary tree, find its inorder traversal.

    Data StructuresTreesRecursion

  • Implement a function to find the k-th smallest element in an unsorted array.

    AlgorithmsSortingQuickselect

Prep for this round

  1. 01Practice coding problems on platforms like LeetCode, focusing on medium-difficulty questions.
  2. 02Be comfortable explaining your thought process step-by-step.
  3. 03Write clean, well-commented code.
  4. 04Consider edge cases and test your solution thoroughly.

Common rejection reasons

  • ×Inability to solve coding problems within the given time.
  • ×Poor understanding of fundamental data structures and algorithms.
  • ×Inefficient or incorrect code implementation.
  • ×Lack of clear thought process during problem-solving.

DSA

Coding questions at Pure Storage.

Frequently reported on Pure Storage loops

View all at Pure Storage

Other guides

More at Pure Storage.