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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

← Instacart

Senior Backend at Instacart

BackendSeniorOutcome unknown◆ Commonly asked· 2023

Senior backend interview. Coding-heavy early, design and behavioral later.

The loop · 6 rounds

01

Round 01 · 3 questions

DSA / Coding

Data structures & algorithms on a whiteboard or shared editor.

  • Serialize and deserialize a binary tree.
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #tree#dfs
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
  • Container with most water.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #two-pointers#array
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
  • Pow(x, n).
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #math#recursion
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
02

Round 02 · 2 questions

Machine Coding

Build a working component or service under time pressure.

  • Implement an exponential-backoff HTTP client.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #reliability
    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 ride-matching backend (riders ↔ nearby drivers).
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #geospatial#matching#realtime
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Design a metrics/time-series ingestion pipeline.
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #time-series#ingestion
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
04

Round 04 · 3 questions

Tech Deep-Dive

Deep questions on your core stack and fundamentals.

  • How does a bloom filter work and when would you use one?
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #data-structures#probabilistic
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Explain how DNS resolution works end to end.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #networking
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Trade-offs of gRPC vs REST vs GraphQL.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #api-design
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
05

Round 05 · 1 question

Hiring Manager

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

  • Walk me through a technical trade-off you regret.
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #judgment
06

Round 06 · 2 questions

Behavioral / HR

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

  • When did you take ownership of something outside your scope?
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #ownership#star
  • Describe a conflict with your manager and the outcome.
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #conflict#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.