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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

← IBM

Mid Backend at IBM

BackendMidOutcome unknown◆ Commonly asked· 2024

5-round mid backend process. Pragmatic questions — more real-world than pure puzzles.

The loop · 5 rounds

01

Round 01 · 3 questions

DSA / Coding

Data structures & algorithms on a whiteboard or shared editor.

  • Construct binary tree from preorder and inorder traversal.
    MidMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #tree#recursion
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
  • Word ladder — shortest transformation sequence.
    MidHard◆ Commonly asked
    #bfs#graph
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
  • Merge k sorted lists.
    MidHard◆ Commonly asked
    #heap#linked-list
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
02

Round 02 · 2 questions

Machine Coding

Build a working component or service under time pressure.

  • Implement a bulk-upsert endpoint with validation.
    MidMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #api#validation
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Build a key-value store with TTL expiry.
    MidMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #cache#ttl
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
03

Round 03 · 1 question

Low-Level Design

Object-oriented / low-level design of a focused module.

  • Design a booking/reservation system core.
    MidMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #oop#concurrency
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
04

Round 04 · 3 questions

Tech Deep-Dive

Deep questions on your core stack and fundamentals.

  • Explain leader election and consensus (Raft) at a high level.
    MidHard◆ Commonly asked
    #distributed#consensus
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • How does a load balancer choose a backend?
    MidMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #networking
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • How would you design and version a public REST API?
    MidMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #api-design
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
05

Round 05 · 2 questions

Behavioral / HR

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

  • Describe a conflict with your manager and the outcome.
    Mid◆ Commonly asked
    #conflict#star
  • Why this company, and why this role?
    Mid◆ Commonly asked
    #motivation

Practice each round across every company

  • DSA / Coding
  • Machine Coding
  • Low-Level Design
  • Tech Deep-Dive
  • 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.