I) Karat Qualify (Offline Test) - 15 mins

It was a 15-question MCQ test where I could choose between topics such as Backend, General Coding Logic, and Algorithms & Data Structures.

Upon passing this test, I received an instant invite to schedule the interview.

II) Karat Core (Online Live Video Interview - Virtual) - 60 mins

Topics covered in this interview included:

• Discussion and Analysis Questions (System Design)
• Live Coding Questions (Data Structures & Algorithms)

This was a 1-hour technical interview that I could schedule according to my comfort and availability. I also had a redo opportunity if I felt the interview did not go my way. Therefore, I scheduled the first interview attempt within a few hours so I could give a redo as soon as possible.

1. System Design (15 mins):

Q1. How can we reduce server farm costs for a mobile app that animates children's drawings and downloads interactive environments?

Q2. How can we reduce the impact of unreliable third-party APIs with frequent outages on a sports statistics web service?

Q3. What information is required to estimate next year's resource costs for a popular video-sharing app?

1. Coding Questions (45 mins):

Q1. A 2-D grid that consists of '0' and '+'. '+' means impassable and '0' means passable. Return the rows and columns indices that are completely passable (all 0's).

Q2. Modified version of Q1. You are now given a starting cell, which is on one corner of the grid. You can travel in all 4 directions of cells that are passable. You have to reach any other passable cell that is on the corner of the grid, which has the minimum distance from the starting cell. Return the coordinates of the destination cell. Return -1 if not possible.