# Software Engineer
**Role:** Software Engineer · **Level:** L5A
**Company:** [Rokt](https://scaleengineer.com/companies/rokt)
**Difficulty:** Medium to Hard
**Salary:** US$140000 - US$180000
**Experience:** 5 - 8
**Timeline:** ~14 days
This interview process is for a Software Engineer (L5A) role at Rokt. It is designed to assess technical skills, problem-solving abilities, and cultural fit within the company.
Canonical: https://scaleengineer.com/interviews/rokt/l5a-software-engineer
---
## Overall evaluation

- Technical Skills
- Communication & Collaboration
- Experience & Impact

## Questions asked

- Tell me about a time you had to debug a complex production issue.
- How would you design a system to handle millions of concurrent users?
- Describe your experience with asynchronous programming.
- What are the trade-offs between different caching strategies?
- How do you stay updated with new technologies and trends?
- Tell me about a project you are particularly proud of and your role in it.
- How do you handle disagreements within a team?
- What are your thoughts on test-driven development (TDD)?
- Design an API for a real-time notification service.
- How would you optimize the performance of a slow database query?

## Preparation tips

### lists

- Review core computer science concepts, including data structures and algorithms.
- Practice coding problems on platforms like LeetCode or HackerRank.
- Study system design principles and common architectural patterns.
- Prepare to discuss your past projects and experiences in detail, focusing on your contributions and impact.
- Research Rokt's products, values, and recent news.
- Understand the specific requirements of the L5A role and tailor your preparation accordingly.
- Practice behavioral questions using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result).

### studyPlan

- {"title":"Data Structures & Algorithms","longDescription":"Weeks 1-2: Focus on Data Structures and Algorithms. Cover arrays, linked lists, trees, graphs, hash tables, sorting, searching, and dynamic programming. Practice implementing these in your preferred language. Aim for 2-3 coding problems per day.","shortDescription":"Weeks 1-2: DSA fundamentals and practice."}
- {"title":"System Design","longDescription":"Weeks 3-4: Dive into System Design. Study concepts like scalability, availability, reliability, load balancing, caching, databases (SQL/NoSQL), message queues, and microservices. Work through common system design case studies.","shortDescription":"Weeks 3-4: System Design principles and case studies."}
- {"title":"Behavioral & Situational","longDescription":"Week 5: Prepare for Behavioral and Situational questions. Reflect on your past experiences and identify examples that showcase leadership, teamwork, problem-solving, and handling conflict. Practice articulating these using the STAR method.","shortDescription":"Week 5: Behavioral and situational question preparation."}
- {"title":"Company & Role Specific","longDescription":"Week 6: Research Rokt. Understand their business model, technology stack, company culture, and recent achievements. Prepare questions to ask the interviewers about the role, team, and company.","shortDescription":"Week 6: Company research and question preparation."}

## Location differences

- {"location":"New York","differences":{"tips":["Be prepared to discuss specific examples of large-scale systems you've worked on.","Familiarize yourself with common cloud services and their use cases.","Practice explaining complex technical concepts clearly and concisely.","Research Rokt's technology stack and recent news."],"interviewFocus":["Deep understanding of distributed systems and scalability.","Experience with high-throughput, low-latency systems.","Proficiency in cloud-native technologies.","Strong problem-solving and debugging skills in a production environment."],"commonQuestions":["How would you design a system to handle real-time bidding for ad impressions?","Describe a complex technical challenge you faced and how you overcame it.","How do you approach performance optimization in a distributed system?","What are your thoughts on microservices vs. monolithic architectures in the context of e-commerce?","Discuss your experience with cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or GCP."]}}
- {"location":"Sydney","differences":{"tips":["Review common data structures and algorithms, and be ready to implement them.","Prepare examples of your contributions to team projects and your ability to collaborate.","Think about how you approach problem-solving systematically.","Understand Rokt's business model and how software engineering contributes to it."],"interviewFocus":["Strong software development fundamentals.","Experience with data structures and algorithms.","Ability to design and implement robust software solutions.","Collaboration and communication skills.","Understanding of software development lifecycle and best practices."],"commonQuestions":["How would you design a recommendation engine for an e-commerce platform?","Explain the trade-offs between different database technologies (SQL vs. NoSQL) for specific use cases.","Describe a situation where you had to mentor junior engineers.","How do you ensure code quality and maintainability in a team environment?","What are your strategies for dealing with technical debt?"]}}

## Round 1: HR Screening Call
**Type:** HR Screening · **Difficulty:** Easy · **Duration:** 30 min
Initial screening to assess fit and motivation.
This initial round is conducted by an HR representative or recruiter to understand your background, career aspirations, and motivation for applying to Rokt. They will also provide an overview of the company and the role, and answer any initial questions you may have. This is a good opportunity to showcase your personality and enthusiasm.
**Interviewers look for:** Clear communication.; Genuine interest in Rokt.; Alignment with basic role requirements.
**Evaluation criteria:** Basic understanding of resume and career goals.; Communication skills.; Enthusiasm for the role and company.
**Common rejection reasons:** Lack of clear communication.; Inability to articulate thought process.; Poor understanding of fundamental concepts.; Not asking clarifying questions.
## Questions

- Tell me about yourself.
- Why are you interested in Rokt?
- What are your salary expectations?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses?
- Why are you looking to leave your current role?

## Preparation tips

- Be ready to talk about your resume and career journey.
- Research Rokt's mission, values, and products.
- Prepare questions to ask about the company culture and the role.
- Be enthusiastic and professional.

## Round 2: Technical Coding Interview
**Type:** Technical Interview - Coding · **Difficulty:** Medium · **Duration:** 60 min
Assess coding proficiency and problem-solving skills.
This round focuses on your core 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 write clean, efficient, and bug-free code, as well as your approach to problem-solving and your understanding of complexity.
**Interviewers look for:** Strong coding skills.; Logical thinking and problem-solving abilities.; Ability to translate requirements into code.; Understanding of fundamental CS concepts.
**Evaluation criteria:** Proficiency in data structures and algorithms.; Ability to write clean, efficient, and correct code.; Problem-solving approach.; Understanding of time and space complexity (Big O notation).
**Common rejection reasons:** Inability to solve coding problems efficiently.; Poor code quality or correctness.; Lack of understanding of time and space complexity.; Difficulty explaining the solution.
## Questions

- Reverse a linked list.
- Find the kth smallest element in a binary search tree.
- Implement a function to check if a string is a palindrome.
- Given an array of integers, find two numbers that add up to a specific target.
- Write a function to perform a breadth-first search (BFS) on a graph.

## Preparation tips

- Practice coding problems on platforms like LeetCode, HackerRank, or Coderbyte.
- Focus on common data structures (arrays, linked lists, trees, graphs, hash maps) and algorithms (sorting, searching, dynamic programming).
- Be prepared to explain your thought process as you code.
- Practice writing code on a whiteboard or in a shared editor.

## Round 3: System Design Interview
**Type:** Technical Interview - System Design · **Difficulty:** Hard · **Duration:** 60 min
Assess system design and architectural capabilities.
This round evaluates your ability to design and architect software systems. You'll be presented with a high-level problem (e.g., design Twitter, design a URL shortener) and expected to discuss various aspects like data modeling, API design, scalability, performance, and fault tolerance. The focus is on your thought process and ability to make reasoned design decisions.
**Interviewers look for:** Experience designing complex systems.; Understanding of scalability and performance.; Ability to think critically about trade-offs.; Knowledge of databases, caching, load balancing, etc.
**Evaluation criteria:** Ability to design scalable, reliable, and maintainable systems.; Understanding of distributed systems concepts.; Knowledge of various architectural patterns and technologies.; Trade-off analysis and decision-making.; Handling of edge cases and failure modes.
**Common rejection reasons:** Lack of understanding of system design principles.; Inability to handle scale and performance requirements.; Poor trade-off analysis.; Not considering edge cases or failure scenarios.
## Questions

- Design a URL shortening service like Bitly.
- Design a news feed system similar to Facebook's.
- How would you design a system to handle real-time analytics for a website?
- Design an API for a ride-sharing service.
- How would you design a distributed cache?

## Preparation tips

- Study system design concepts: scalability, availability, consistency, load balancing, caching, databases, message queues.
- Review common system design interview questions and case studies.
- Practice drawing system diagrams and explaining your design choices.
- Consider different trade-offs for each component of the system.

## Round 4: Hiring Manager Interview
**Type:** Behavioral & Managerial Interview · **Difficulty:** Medium · **Duration:** 45 min
Assess cultural fit, teamwork, and leadership potential.
This interview is typically with the hiring manager to assess your overall fit with the team and company culture. They will delve deeper into your past experiences, leadership style, and how you handle various work situations. This is also an opportunity for you to understand the team dynamics and the day-to-day responsibilities of the role.
**Interviewers look for:** Cultural fit.; Collaboration and teamwork.; Problem-solving approach.; Leadership qualities.; Passion and drive.
**Evaluation criteria:** Alignment with Rokt's values and culture.; Leadership potential and initiative.; Teamwork and collaboration skills.; Problem-solving in ambiguous situations.; Motivation and career growth.
**Common rejection reasons:** Poor cultural fit.; Lack of leadership or initiative.; Inability to handle conflict or difficult situations.; Not demonstrating alignment with company values.
## Questions

- Tell me about a time you disagreed with a teammate and how you resolved it.
- Describe a situation where you had to take initiative to solve a problem.
- How do you handle constructive criticism?
- What motivates you in a work environment?
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

## Preparation tips

- Reflect on your past experiences using the STAR method.
- Understand Rokt's company values and how you align with them.
- Prepare examples that demonstrate teamwork, leadership, and problem-solving.
- Think about your career goals and how this role fits into them.
- Ask thoughtful questions about the team and the role.