The PhonePe SDE-1 (Software Development Engineer 1) interview process typically consists of 4-5 rounds, focusing on DSA, system design, problem-solving, and behavioral skills. Here’s a detailed breakdown:

📌 PhonePe SDE-1 Interview Process (2024)

1️⃣ Online Coding Round (HackerRank/CodeSignal)

• Duration: 60-90 mins
• Format: 2-3 coding questions (DSA-based)
• Difficulty: Medium to Hard (LeetCode medium+)
• Topics:
  • Arrays, Strings, Binary Trees, Graphs
  • Dynamic Programming (common in PhonePe interviews)
  • Sliding Window, Greedy Algorithms

2️⃣ Technical Round 1 (DSA & Problem-Solving)

• Duration: 45-60 mins
• What’s Tested?
  • Coding 1-2 problems on a shared editor (CodePair)
  • Optimized solutions (time/space complexity discussion)
• Example Questions:
  • Design a Trie-based autocomplete system
  • Solve minimum coins problem (DP)
  • Find longest substring with K unique characters

3️⃣ Technical Round 2 (Low-Level Design)

• Duration: 45-60 mins
• Focus: OOP, Design Patterns, Scalability
• Example Problems:
  • Design Splitwise (expense-sharing app)
  • Design Uber/Ola ride-matching system
  • Implement Snake & Ladder (multiplayer)

4️⃣ Technical Round 3 (System Design - Optional for SDE-1)

• Duration: 45-60 mins
• For SDE-1, this is sometimes simplified
• Example Problems:
  • Design PhonePe’s transaction ledger system
  • Design a scalable notification service

5️⃣ Hiring Manager/Behavioral Round

• Duration: 30-45 mins
• Focus:
  • Past projects, teamwork, conflict resolution
  • Why PhonePe?
  • Scenario-based questions (e.g., "How would you handle a failing micro

Design a payment gateway system.