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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

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Senior Backend at Pinterest

BackendSeniorOffer◆ Commonly asked· 2025

6-round senior backend process. 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.

  • Word search in a grid.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #backtracking#grid
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
  • Kth smallest element in a BST.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #tree#bst
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
  • Reverse a linked list.
    SeniorEasy◆ Commonly asked
    #linked-list
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
02

Round 02 · 2 questions

Machine Coding

Build a working component or service under time pressure.

  • Implement a leaderboard API backed by a sorted set.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #redis#ranking
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Build auth middleware that verifies a JWT.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #auth#security
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
03

Round 03 · 2 questions

System Design

High-level architecture of a large-scale system.

  • Design a video streaming service like YouTube.
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #cdn#storage#transcoding
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Design a file-sharing service with permissions.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #storage#acl
    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 database replication lag and how to mitigate it.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #databases#replication
    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 give difficult feedback to a peer?
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #leadership
06

Round 06 · 2 questions

Behavioral / HR

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

  • Describe handling a tight deadline with competing priorities.
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #prioritization#star
  • When did you change your mind after seeing new evidence?
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #judgment#star

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