Scale Engineer

Software Engineer

Software EngineerL6Hard

The Software Engineer L6 interview at Whatnot is a comprehensive process designed to assess a candidate's technical expertise, problem-solving abilities, system design skills, and cultural fit. The process typically involves multiple rounds, including technical interviews, a system design interview, and a behavioral interview, with a focus on practical application and real-world scenarios.

Rounds·4

Timeline·~14d

Experience·5 - 10 yrs

Comp band·US$170000 - US$220000

Interview time·210 min

Evaluation

What they measure.

  • Technical proficiency in relevant programming languages and frameworks.
  • Problem-solving approach and analytical skills.
  • Ability to design scalable and robust systems.
  • Understanding of data structures and algorithms.
  • Code quality, efficiency, and maintainability.
  • Communication and collaboration skills.
  • Cultural fit and alignment with Whatnot's values.
  • Leadership potential and ability to mentor.

Preparation

How to prepare.

Tips

  1. Review core computer science concepts: Data Structures, Algorithms, Operating Systems, Databases, Networking.
  2. Practice coding problems on platforms like LeetCode, HackerRank, focusing on medium to hard difficulty.
  3. Study system design principles: scalability, availability, reliability, consistency, CAP theorem, load balancing, caching, message queues, databases (SQL vs. NoSQL).
  4. Prepare for behavioral questions using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result).
  5. Research Whatnot's products, values, and recent news.
  6. Understand the specific technologies used by Whatnot's engineering teams.
  7. Prepare questions to ask the interviewer about the role, team, and company culture.

Study plan

Fig · Study plan — 04 phases

01 / 04
01

Phase 01 of 04

Data Structures & Algorithms

Weeks 1-2: DSA fundamentals and practice.

Weeks 1-2: Focus on Data Structures and Algorithms. Cover arrays, linked lists, trees, graphs, hash maps, heaps, sorting, searching, dynamic programming, and graph traversal algorithms. Practice implementing these and analyzing their time and space complexity.

Questions

Commonly asked.

  • Describe a complex system you designed or significantly contributed to. What were the challenges and how did you overcome them?
  • How would you design a system to handle millions of concurrent users for a live auction?
  • Given a scenario of a sudden traffic spike, how would you ensure the stability and performance of our platform?
  • Tell me about a time you disagreed with a technical decision made by your team. How did you handle it?
  • How do you approach debugging a production issue in a distributed system?
  • What are your thoughts on microservices vs. monolithic architectures for a growing e-commerce platform?
  • Explain the concept of eventual consistency and when it's appropriate to use.
  • How would you design a recommendation engine for Whatnot?
  • Describe your experience with performance optimization at scale.
  • What are the key metrics you would track for a live-streaming service?

Locations

Regional differences.

Fig · Regions — 02 locations

01 / 02

Location

United States

Interview focus

Deep understanding of distributed systems and microservices architecture.Experience with high-throughput, low-latency systems.Proficiency in at least one major cloud provider.Strong problem-solving and debugging skills in complex environments.Ability to mentor junior engineers and lead technical initiatives.

Common questions

  • How would you design a real-time notification system for a platform like Whatnot?
  • Discuss a challenging technical problem you solved and how you approached it.
  • Explain the trade-offs between different database technologies for a high-traffic e-commerce site.
  • How do you ensure scalability and reliability in distributed systems?
  • Describe your experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) and specific services you've used.

Tips

  • For US-based roles, emphasize experience with large-scale systems and cloud-native architectures.
  • Highlight any experience with specific technologies prevalent in the US tech scene (e.g., Kubernetes, Kafka, specific database solutions).
  • Be prepared to discuss your contributions to open-source projects if applicable.
  • Showcase leadership potential and experience in driving technical decisions.

Rounds

Round-by-round.

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

DSA

Coding questions at Whatnot.

Frequently reported on Whatnot loops

View all at Whatnot

Other guides

More at Whatnot.