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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.

CC BY-NC 4.0 · © 2026

← DigitalOcean

Senior Backend at DigitalOcean

BackendSeniorOffer◆ Commonly asked· 2024

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.

  • Valid Parentheses — check balanced brackets.
    SeniorEasy◆ Commonly asked
    #stack#string
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
  • Combination sum.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #backtracking
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
  • Sort colors.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #two-pointers#array
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
02

Round 02 · 2 questions

Machine Coding

Build a working component or service under time pressure.

  • Implement an idempotent "charge" endpoint.
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #idempotency#payments
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Build a mini ORM query builder (select/where/join).
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #parsing#sql
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
03

Round 03 · 2 questions

System Design

High-level architecture of a large-scale system.

  • Design a webhook delivery system with retries.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #reliability#queues
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Design a chat application like WhatsApp.
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #websocket#fanout#storage
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
04

Round 04 · 3 questions

Tech Deep-Dive

Deep questions on your core stack and fundamentals.

  • How do you design a public API for backward compatibility?
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #api-design
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Difference between at-least-once and exactly-once delivery.
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #messaging
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • What is backpressure and how do you handle it?
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #streaming#reliability
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
05

Round 05 · 1 question

Hiring Manager

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

  • How do you balance tech debt against feature work?
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #prioritization
06

Round 06 · 2 questions

Behavioral / HR

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

  • Tell me about the hardest bug you have debugged.
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #debugging#star
  • Tell me about a time you had to learn something quickly.
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #learning#star

Practice each round across every company

  • DSA / Coding
  • Machine Coding
  • System Design
  • Tech Deep-Dive
  • Hiring Manager
  • Behavioral / HR

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