theloop
CompaniesRoundsQuestionsSearchProgress
theloop

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

View source

Browse

CompaniesSearchAll rounds

Rounds

Online AssessmentDSA / CodingMachine CodingLow-Level Design

Contribute

Share an interviewReport an issueStar on GitHub

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

← Grafana Labs

Senior Backend at Grafana Labs

BackendSeniorNo offer◆ Commonly asked· 2024

Senior backend interview. Pragmatic questions — more real-world than pure puzzles.

The loop · 6 rounds

01

Round 01 · 3 questions

DSA / Coding

Data structures & algorithms on a whiteboard or shared editor.

  • Trapping rain water.
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #two-pointers#array
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
  • Contains duplicate.
    SeniorEasy◆ Commonly asked
    #array#hashmap
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
  • Valid Parentheses — check balanced brackets.
    SeniorEasy◆ Commonly asked
    #stack#string
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
02

Round 02 · 2 questions

Machine Coding

Build a working component or service under time pressure.

  • Build auth middleware that verifies a JWT.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #auth#security
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Build a file-upload service with chunking and resume.
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #streaming#storage
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
03

Round 03 · 2 questions

System Design

High-level architecture of a large-scale system.

  • Design a chat application like WhatsApp.
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #websocket#fanout#storage
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Design an event-driven order pipeline with retries.
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #events#queues
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
04

Round 04 · 3 questions

Tech Deep-Dive

Deep questions on your core stack and fundamentals.

  • How do you prevent and detect N+1 queries?
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #databases#orm
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Idempotency in APIs — why and how.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #api-design#idempotency
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • How would you design and version a public REST API?
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #api-design
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
05

Round 05 · 1 question

Hiring Manager

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

  • How do you decide what to build vs. buy vs. defer?
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #judgment
06

Round 06 · 2 questions

Behavioral / HR

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

  • Tell me about a time you led without a title.
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #leadership#star
  • Describe mentoring or unblocking another engineer.
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #mentorship#star

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