Google Software Engineer Interview Experience

Software Engineer

June 15, 2025
11 Questions

Summary

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The Google interview experience consisted of five rounds, focusing on a variety of technical and behavioral assessments. Candidates can expect to tackle CPU scheduling challenges and matrix manipulation problems in the first two rounds, followed by BFS and graph-related questions. The later rounds delve into behavioral assessments, including handling team dynamics and time management. Overall, the experience is technically rigorous and demanding, making candidates demonstrate strong problem-solving skills throughout the process.

1

Round 1 (TPS)

#1

Minimum Time for Task Completion

Given N tasks with incoming time, where each task takes S time to execute on a total of C CPUs, determine the minimum time required to complete all tasks.
cpu-scheduling
task-execution
time-complexity
Medium
#2

Minimize CPU Usage

Given N tasks that each take S time, minimize the total time required to complete the tasks and return the minimum number of CPUs needed to finish in the shortest time possible.
cpu-scheduling
optimization
task-execution
Medium
2

Round 2 (OS 1)

#1

Rain Drop Flow in Matrix

Given a matrix of distinct positive integers representing heights, find the final destination for raindrops on all cells. A raindrop flows to the lowest adjacent cell. **Input:** 2 4 6 8 5 9 1 3 10 13 7 20 **Output:** 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
matrix-manipulation
adjacent-cells
water-flow
Medium
#2

Expanded Rain Drop Flow in Matrix

In this variation of the previous problem, raindrops can flow to any lower adjacent cell. Find the final destinations for all matrix cells. **Input:** 2 4 6 8 5 9 1 3 10 13 7 20 **Output:** 0 0 0,1 0,1 0 0,1 1 0,1 0 0,1 0,1 0,1
matrix-manipulation
water-flow
adjacent-cells
Medium
3

Round 3 (OS 2)

#1

Shortest Path Avoiding Banned Countries

Given a list of edges representing connections between countries (0 to n-1) and a list of banned countries that cannot be visited, find the shortest path from a specified source to a destination. Use BFS and keep track of previous countries.
bfs
graph-theory
pathfinding
Hard
#2

Shortest Path Minimizing Banned Countries VISITS

Given edges between countries and a list of banned countries, find the shortest path from the source to the destination while minimizing visits to banned countries.
bfs
graph-theory
pathfinding
Hard
4

Round 4 (OS GnL)

#1

Handling Additional Tasks Under Deadline

Describe a situation where you had to take on an additional task with a strict deadline while already working on a current project. How did you manage it?
behavioral
time-management
project-management
Medium
#2

Managing Team Disagreements

Can you discuss a time when a team member had a differing opinion? How did you address their opinion fairly and what was the final decision?
behavioral
team-dynamics
conflict-resolution
Medium
#3

Onboarding Challenges

Reflect on a situation when you were an experienced member of the team and a new hire struggled to keep up. What steps did you take to assist them in getting onboarded and help them with technical tasks?
behavioral
team-dynamics
mentorship
Medium
5

Round 5 (OS 3)

#1

Link to Continuous Increasing Subsequence Problem

Refer to the problem on LeetCode regarding the longest continuous increasing subsequence.
dynamic-programming
subsequences
coding-challenge
Medium
#2

Link to Longest Increasing Subarray Problem

Refer to the problem from GeeksforGeeks about the longest increasing subarray with one change allowed.
dynamic-programming
subarrays
coding-challenge
Medium
A

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Google Software Engineer Interview Experience | InterviewRecap | InterviewRecap