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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

← Gusto

Senior Backend at Gusto

BackendSeniorWithdrew◆ Commonly asked· 2025

Senior backend interview. Fundamentals mattered as much as getting to an answer.

The loop · 6 rounds

01

Round 01 · 3 questions

DSA / Coding

Data structures & algorithms on a whiteboard or shared editor.

  • Kth smallest element in a BST.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #tree#bst
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
  • Meeting rooms II — minimum rooms required.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #heap#intervals
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
  • Lowest common ancestor of a binary tree.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #tree
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
02

Round 02 · 2 questions

Machine Coding

Build a working component or service under time pressure.

  • Implement a JSON config loader with env overrides.
    SeniorEasy◆ Commonly asked
    #config
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Build an in-memory rate limiter as a middleware.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #rate-limit#middleware
    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 feature-flag service.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #config#rollout
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
04

Round 04 · 3 questions

Tech Deep-Dive

Deep questions on your core stack and fundamentals.

  • How does a load balancer choose a backend?
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #networking
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • How do you run a zero-downtime database migration?
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #databases
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Explain database replication lag and how to mitigate it.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #databases#replication
    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.

  • How do you handle competing priorities from two managers?
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #prioritization#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.