# P2
**Role:** Software Engineer · **Level:** Software Engineer (SWE)
**Company:** [Splunk](https://scaleengineer.com/companies/splunk)
**Difficulty:** Medium to Hard
**Salary:** US$110000 - US$150000
**Experience:** 2 - 5
**Timeline:** ~10 days
The P2 Software Engineer interview at Splunk is designed to assess a candidate's technical proficiency, problem-solving abilities, and cultural fit within the company. It typically involves multiple rounds, including technical assessments, behavioral questions, and a discussion about past projects and experiences. The goal is to identify engineers who can contribute effectively to Splunk's innovative environment and complex technical challenges.
Canonical: https://scaleengineer.com/interviews/splunk/software-engineer-(swe)-software-engineer
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## Overall evaluation

- Technical Skills
- Communication
- Behavioral and Cultural Fit

## Questions asked

- Given an array of integers, find the contiguous subarray with the largest sum.
- Design a URL shortening service like bit.ly.
- How would you design a system to track user activity on a website?
- Tell me about a time you had to deal with ambiguity in a project.
- What are the trade-offs between microservices and a monolithic architecture?
- Explain the concept of eventual consistency.
- Describe a situation where you had to influence a decision made by your team.
- How do you approach testing your code?
- What is a deadlock and how can it be prevented?
- Tell me about your experience with distributed systems.

## Preparation tips

### lists

- Review fundamental computer science concepts: data structures, algorithms, operating systems, and networking.
- Practice coding problems on platforms like LeetCode, HackerRank, or Coderbyte, focusing on medium to hard difficulty.
- Study system design principles and common architectural patterns.
- Prepare to discuss your past projects in detail, focusing on your contributions, challenges, and outcomes.
- Research Splunk's products, culture, and recent news.
- Prepare answers to common behavioral questions using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result).
- Practice explaining technical concepts to both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Prepare questions to ask the interviewer about the role, team, and company.

### studyPlan

- {"title":"Data Structures and Algorithms","longDescription":"Weeks 1-2: Focus on Data Structures and Algorithms. Cover arrays, linked lists, trees, graphs, hash tables, sorting, and searching algorithms. Practice implementing these and analyzing their time and space complexity. Aim for 2-3 coding problems per day.","shortDescription":"Weeks 1-2: DSA fundamentals and practice (2-3 problems/day)."}
- {"title":"System Design","longDescription":"Weeks 3-4: Dive into System Design. Study concepts like scalability, availability, reliability, load balancing, caching, databases (SQL vs. NoSQL), and message queues. Work through common system design interview questions and practice drawing diagrams.","shortDescription":"Weeks 3-4: System Design principles and practice."}
- {"title":"Behavioral and Project Experience","longDescription":"Week 5: Behavioral and Project Deep Dive. Reflect on your past projects and prepare detailed STAR method answers for common behavioral questions related to teamwork, problem-solving, leadership, and handling failure. Also, prepare to discuss your resume in detail.","shortDescription":"Week 5: Behavioral questions (STAR method) and resume review."}
- {"title":"Company Research and Mock Interviews","longDescription":"Week 6: Splunk Specifics and Mock Interviews. Research Splunk's products, values, and recent news. Conduct mock interviews with peers or mentors, focusing on both technical and behavioral aspects. Refine your answers and identify areas for improvement.","shortDescription":"Week 6: Splunk research and mock interviews."}

## Location differences

- {"location":"San Francisco Bay Area","differences":{"tips":["Be prepared to discuss specific examples of large-scale systems you've worked on.","Practice explaining complex technical concepts clearly and concisely.","Highlight instances where you've influenced technical decisions or mentored junior engineers."],"interviewFocus":["Emphasis on distributed systems and scalability.","Strong focus on practical problem-solving and debugging skills.","Assessment of collaboration and communication in a team setting."],"commonQuestions":["How would you design a distributed caching system for a web application?","Describe a challenging bug you encountered and how you debugged it.","Tell me about a time you had to work with a difficult stakeholder."]}}
- {"location":"Seattle","differences":{"tips":["Familiarize yourself with Splunk's cloud offerings and how they are used.","Be ready to discuss your experience with CI/CD pipelines and DevOps practices.","Showcase your ability to learn new technologies quickly and apply them."],"interviewFocus":["Focus on cloud-native technologies and services.","Assessment of data management and database optimization skills.","Evaluation of adaptability and learning agility in a fast-paced environment."],"commonQuestions":["How would you optimize a SQL query for performance?","Describe your experience with cloud platforms like AWS or Azure.","Tell me about a time you disagreed with a team member and how you resolved it."]}}
- {"location":"Remote","differences":{"tips":["Understand Splunk's core products and their use cases in data analytics.","Prepare to discuss your approach to code quality and maintainability.","Be open about your learning process and how you handle challenges."],"interviewFocus":["Emphasis on real-time data processing and analytics.","Assessment of ability to manage and refactor legacy code.","Evaluation of resilience and learning from setbacks."],"commonQuestions":["How would you design a real-time data processing pipeline?","Describe a project where you had to deal with significant technical debt.","Tell me about a time you failed and what you learned from it."]}}

## Round 0: HR Screen
**Type:** HR/Recruiter Screen · **Difficulty:** Easy · **Duration:** 30 min
Initial screening for basic qualifications and alignment.
This initial or final touchpoint with HR or a recruiter is to ensure alignment on basic qualifications, expectations, and logistics. They will discuss the role in more detail, answer any questions you might have about compensation, benefits, and the overall hiring process. This is also an opportunity for them to gauge your interest and cultural fit.
**Interviewers look for:** Clear understanding of the role.; Genuine interest in Splunk.; Professionalism and good communication.; Alignment on expectations (salary, role, growth).
**Evaluation criteria:** Candidate's understanding of the role and responsibilities.; Alignment of candidate's expectations with the company's offerings.; Candidate's enthusiasm and engagement.; Logistics and administrative details.
**Common rejection reasons:** Lack of alignment between candidate's expectations and the role/company.; Unrealistic salary expectations.; Poor understanding of the role's responsibilities.; Lack of enthusiasm or engagement.
## Questions

- What are your salary expectations for this role?
- What do you know about Splunk?
- Do you have any questions for me about the role or the company?

## Preparation tips

- Be prepared to discuss your salary expectations.
- Have questions ready about the role, team, company culture, and benefits.
- Reiterate your interest in the position and Splunk.
- Ensure your resume is up-to-date and you can speak to all points on it.

## Round 1: Coding Challenge
**Type:** Technical Coding Interview · **Difficulty:** Medium · **Duration:** 45 min
Assess core programming skills with coding problems.
This round focuses on your core programming skills. You will be given one or two coding problems, typically involving data structures and algorithms. The interviewer will assess your ability to understand the problem, devise a solution, write clean and efficient code, and test it thoroughly. Expect to explain your thought process and discuss the time and space complexity of your solution.
**Interviewers look for:** Clean, well-structured, and efficient code.; A systematic approach to problem-solving.; Understanding of time and space complexity.; Ability to communicate the solution effectively.
**Evaluation criteria:** Correctness of the solution; Efficiency of the solution (time and space complexity); Code readability and maintainability; Problem-solving approach; Ability to handle follow-up questions and edge cases
**Common rejection reasons:** Inability to articulate thought process clearly.; Poor coding practices or syntax errors.; Failure to consider edge cases or optimize solutions.; Lack of understanding of fundamental data structures and algorithms.
## Questions

- Given a binary tree, invert the tree.
- Find the kth largest element in an unsorted array.
- Implement a function to check if a string is a palindrome, ignoring non-alphanumeric characters and case.

## Preparation tips

- Practice coding problems on platforms like LeetCode, focusing on medium difficulty.
- Review common data structures (arrays, linked lists, trees, graphs, hash maps) and algorithms (sorting, searching, graph traversal).
- Practice writing code on a whiteboard or in a shared editor without relying on IDE features.
- Think out loud and explain your approach before you start coding.

## Round 2: System Design
**Type:** System Design Interview · **Difficulty:** Hard · **Duration:** 60 min
Assess ability to design scalable and reliable software systems.
This round evaluates your ability to design scalable, reliable, and maintainable software systems. You'll be presented with a high-level problem (e.g., design Twitter's feed, design a URL shortener) and expected to break it down, discuss requirements, propose an architecture, and justify your design choices. Focus on components, data flow, APIs, databases, caching, and potential bottlenecks.
**Interviewers look for:** A structured approach to designing complex systems.; Knowledge of distributed systems principles.; Ability to identify and mitigate potential issues.; Clear communication of design choices.
**Evaluation criteria:** System design approach; Scalability and performance considerations; Reliability and fault tolerance; Understanding of trade-offs; Clarity of design and communication
**Common rejection reasons:** Lack of understanding of distributed system concepts.; Inability to design scalable and reliable systems.; Poor consideration of trade-offs and constraints.; Not addressing potential failure points or bottlenecks.
## Questions

- Design a system to count the number of views for a YouTube video.
- Design a rate limiter.
- Design a distributed key-value store.

## Preparation tips

- Study common system design patterns and concepts (e.g., load balancing, caching, databases, message queues).
- Practice designing well-known systems.
- Be prepared to discuss trade-offs between different design choices.
- Draw clear diagrams and explain your reasoning.
- Consider scalability, availability, and consistency.

## Round 3: Behavioral and Cultural Fit
**Type:** Behavioral Interview · **Difficulty:** Medium · **Duration:** 45 min
Assess past experiences, teamwork, and cultural fit.
This round focuses on your past experiences, how you handle different situations, and your overall fit with Splunk's culture. Expect questions about your strengths and weaknesses, how you work in a team, how you handle conflict, your motivations, and your career aspirations. Use the STAR method to provide specific, concise examples.
**Interviewers look for:** Examples of collaboration and teamwork.; Demonstrated problem-solving skills in real-world scenarios.; Alignment with Splunk's values (e.g., innovation, customer focus, integrity).; Enthusiasm and a positive attitude.
**Evaluation criteria:** Behavioral competencies (teamwork, communication, problem-solving); Past experiences and accomplishments; Cultural fit with Splunk; Motivation and career goals; Honesty and self-awareness
**Common rejection reasons:** Lack of self-awareness.; Inability to provide specific examples.; Negative attitude or blaming others.; Poor alignment with company values.; Lack of enthusiasm for the role or company.
## Questions

- Tell me about a time you had to work with a difficult teammate. How did you handle it?
- Describe a project where you faced a significant technical challenge. How did you overcome it?
- Why are you interested in working at Splunk?
- Tell me about a time you failed. What did you learn from it?

## Preparation tips

- Prepare specific examples for common behavioral questions using the STAR method.
- Reflect on your past projects and identify key challenges, successes, and learnings.
- Understand Splunk's company values and be ready to discuss how you embody them.
- Be prepared to talk about why you are interested in Splunk and this specific role.
- Be honest and authentic in your responses.