Scale Engineer

Software Engineer

Software EngineerL7Hard

The Software Engineer L7 interview at Whatnot is a comprehensive process designed to assess a candidate's technical expertise, problem-solving abilities, system design skills, and cultural fit. It typically involves multiple rounds, including technical interviews, a system design interview, and a behavioral/managerial interview. The focus is on evaluating a candidate's ability to design, build, and scale complex systems, mentor junior engineers, and contribute to a collaborative team environment.

Rounds·4

Timeline·~14d

Experience·8 - 15 yrs

Comp band·US$180000 - US$250000

Interview time·195 min

Evaluation

What they measure.

  • Technical proficiency in relevant programming languages and frameworks.
  • Ability to write clean, efficient, and maintainable code.
  • Strong understanding of data structures, algorithms, and complexity analysis.
  • Problem-solving skills and analytical thinking.
  • System design capabilities, including scalability, reliability, and maintainability.
  • Communication skills and ability to articulate technical concepts clearly.
  • Collaboration and teamwork abilities.
  • Leadership potential and ability to mentor others.
  • Cultural fit and alignment with Whatnot's values.

Preparation

How to prepare.

Tips

  1. Review fundamental computer science concepts, including data structures and algorithms.
  2. Practice coding problems on platforms like LeetCode, HackerRank, or similar.
  3. Study system design principles and common architectural patterns.
  4. Prepare examples of your past projects and technical challenges you've overcome.
  5. Research Whatnot's products, services, and company culture.
  6. Practice behavioral interview questions using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result).
  7. Understand the specific technologies and tools used at Whatnot.
  8. Prepare thoughtful questions to ask the interviewer about the role, team, and company.

Study plan

Fig · Study plan — 04 phases

01 / 04
01

Phase 01 of 04

Data Structures and Algorithms

Weeks 1-2: Data Structures & Algorithms. Practice coding problems.

Weeks 1-2: Focus on Data Structures and Algorithms. Cover arrays, linked lists, trees, graphs, hash tables, heaps, sorting, searching, dynamic programming, and graph traversal algorithms. Practice coding problems related to these topics, aiming for optimal time and space complexity.

Questions

Commonly asked.

  • Design a URL shortening service like bit.ly.
  • How would you design a news feed for a social media platform?
  • Describe a time you had to deal with a difficult stakeholder.
  • What are the trade-offs between monolithic and microservices architectures?
  • How do you ensure code quality and maintainability in a large codebase?
  • Tell me about a project you are particularly proud of and your role in it.
  • How would you optimize the performance of a slow-running database query?
  • What are your thoughts on testing strategies for distributed systems?
  • Describe a situation where you had to learn a new technology quickly.
  • How do you handle production incidents and post-mortems?

Locations

Regional differences.

Fig · Regions — 02 locations

01 / 02

Location

San Francisco Bay Area

Interview focus

Deep dive into distributed systems and scalability challenges relevant to e-commerce.Emphasis on architectural decision-making and trade-offs.Assessment of leadership potential and ability to drive technical initiatives.Understanding of operational excellence and on-call responsibilities.

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.
  • Describe a time you had to influence a technical decision within your team or organization.
  • How do you handle technical debt and prioritize its resolution?
  • What are your strategies for ensuring the scalability and reliability of a distributed system?

Tips

  • Be prepared to discuss large-scale system design patterns and their application.
  • Highlight experience with cloud-native technologies and microservices architecture.
  • Showcase leadership qualities and experience mentoring other engineers.
  • Demonstrate a strong understanding of performance optimization and cost management.
  • Be ready to articulate your thought process clearly and justify your design choices.

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.