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Interview questions from top companies, mapped to the exact round they show up in. Prep for what you will actually face.

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Online AssessmentDSA / CodingMachine CodingLow-Level Design

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The Loop aggregates publicly shared interview experiences and curated commonly-asked questions, each labeled with its source. Not affiliated with any company listed.

MIT · © 2026

← Airtable

Senior Backend at Airtable

BackendSeniorRejected◆ Commonly asked· 2025

A senior backend loop. Balanced across coding, design, and collaboration.

The loop · 6 rounds

01

Round 01 · 3 questions

DSA / Coding

Data structures & algorithms on a whiteboard or shared editor.

  • Implement a trie (prefix tree).
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #trie
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
  • Set matrix zeroes.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #matrix
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
  • Edit distance.
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #dp#string
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
02

Round 02 · 2 questions

Machine Coding

Build a working component or service under time pressure.

  • Design and build a URL-shortener service (API + storage).
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #api#hashing
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Implement an idempotent "charge" endpoint.
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #idempotency#payments
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
03

Round 03 · 2 questions

System Design

High-level architecture of a large-scale system.

  • Design a leaderboard for millions of players.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #redis#ranking
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Design a file-sharing service with permissions.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #storage#acl
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
04

Round 04 · 3 questions

Tech Deep-Dive

Deep questions on your core stack and fundamentals.

  • SQL vs NoSQL — how do you choose for a given workload?
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #databases
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Explain connection pooling and why it matters.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #databases
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • How do you design an idempotency-key system for payments?
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #idempotency#payments
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
05

Round 05 · 1 question

Hiring Manager

Scope, ownership, and role-fit discussion with the manager.

  • Where do you want to grow in the next two years?
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #growth
06

Round 06 · 2 questions

Behavioral / HR

Values, collaboration, and past-experience (STAR) questions.

  • Tell me about receiving hard feedback and acting on it.
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #feedback#star
  • Tell me about a time you had to learn something quickly.
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #learning#star

◆ This experience is composed from commonly reported questions for this role and level. Real, individually-shared interviews will be layered in over time.