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

← HP

Senior Backend at HP

BackendSeniorRejected◆ Commonly asked· 2024

A senior backend loop. 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.

  • Daily temperatures.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #stack#monotonic-stack
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
  • Maximum product subarray.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #array#dp
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
  • Binary tree level order traversal.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #tree#bfs
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
02

Round 02 · 2 questions

Machine Coding

Build a working component or service under time pressure.

  • Build a URL health checker with a concurrency limit.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #concurrency
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Build a REST endpoint with pagination, filtering and sorting.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #api#pagination
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
03

Round 03 · 2 questions

System Design

High-level architecture of a large-scale system.

  • Design a distributed key-value store.
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #replication#consistency
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Design a content delivery network (CDN).
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #cdn#cache#edge
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
04

Round 04 · 3 questions

Tech Deep-Dive

Deep questions on your core stack and fundamentals.

  • How does a write-ahead log guarantee durability?
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #databases
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Explain how a hash index differs from a B-tree index.
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #databases#indexing
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • SQL vs NoSQL — how do you choose for a given workload?
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #databases
    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.

  • Describe working with an ambiguous or shifting requirement.
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #ambiguity#star
  • Describe something you shipped that you were not proud of.
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #tradeoffs#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.