Zoho Software Development Engineer 2 (SDE-2) Interview Experience

I recently interviewed for the Software Development Engineer (SDE) - Level 2 role at Zoho.
Here’s a detailed breakdown of my experience across all rounds.

Round 1: Online Assessment (Coding & Aptitude)

• Level: Medium
• Duration: 90 minutes
• Mode: Remote

This was the first hurdle, consisting of two sections:

Coding Problems (2–3)

1. Maximum Sum of a Contiguous Subarray
   Kadane’s Algorithm variation.

2. Palindrome String Check
   Check if a string is palindrome (ignoring case & non-alphanumeric characters).

3. Kth Smallest Element in Unsorted Array

Aptitude & Logical Reasoning

• Series completion
• Data interpretation
• Basic probability & logical reasoning

Round 2: Technical Interview 1 (DSA Focus)

• Level: Medium
• Duration: 60 minutes
• Mode: Remote

This was a live coding round focusing on problem-solving skills and DSA clarity.

Problems Asked:

1. Vertical Order Traversal of Binary Tree
   Discussed BFS vs DFS and when to use each.

2. Intersection Point of Two Singly Linked Lists

3. Implement a Trie
   Operations: insert, search and startsWith.

4. Merge Overlapping Intervals

   Example:

    Input: [[1,3],[2,6],[8,10],[15,18]]
    Output: [[1,6],[8,10],[15,18]]

Round 3: Technical Interview 2 (System Design & Core CS)

• Level: Hard
• Duration: 75 minutes
• Mode: Remote

This was the most challenging round, covering System Design + Core CS Fundamentals.

Key Topics:

• System Design:
  Design a URL Shortener (like Bitly). Discussed schema design, scalability and collision handling.

• Databases:
  Explained ACID properties and how databases enforce them.

• OS Concepts:
  Difference between process vs thread and when to use each.

• Project Deep Dive:
  Walked through a complex resume project, explaining design decisions and challenges faced.

Round 4: HR Round

• Level: Medium
• Duration: 45 minutes
• Mode: Remote

Conversational round testing cultural fit and career aspirations.

Sample Questions:

• Tell me about yourself and your journey into software development.
• Why do you want to join Zoho?
• What do you know about our culture/products?
• Where do you see yourself in 3–5 years?
• Describe a challenging situation at work and how you overcame it.
• What are your salary expectations?

Outcome:
I was thrilled to be selected!

Preparation Tips

• Practice coding regularly.
  Focus on arrays, strings, linked lists, trees, graphs and dynamic programming.

• Understand time & space complexity deeply.

• Revise System Design patterns: caching, load balancing, database types etc.

• During interviews, explain your thought process clearly before coding.

• Don’t hesitate to ask clarifying questions – it shows engagement and critical thinking.

General Advice:

Consistency matters more than last-minute cramming.
Build strong problem-solving habits, stay calm during interviews and always communicate your reasoning.