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

← Rakuten

Senior Backend at Rakuten

BackendSeniorRejected◆ Commonly asked· 2025

6-round senior backend process. Balanced across coding, design, and collaboration.

The loop · 6 rounds

01

Round 01 · 3 questions

DSA / Coding

Data structures & algorithms on a whiteboard or shared editor.

  • Reverse a linked list.
    SeniorEasy◆ Commonly asked
    #linked-list
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
  • Kth smallest element in a BST.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #tree#bst
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
  • Best time to buy and sell stock.
    SeniorEasy◆ Commonly asked
    #array#greedy
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
02

Round 02 · 2 questions

Machine Coding

Build a working component or service under time pressure.

  • Build a background job runner with priorities.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #queue#workers
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Build a mini ORM query builder (select/where/join).
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #parsing#sql
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
03

Round 03 · 2 questions

System Design

High-level architecture of a large-scale system.

  • Design a feature-flag service.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #config#rollout
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Design a search autocomplete at Google scale.
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #trie#ranking#cache
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
04

Round 04 · 3 questions

Tech Deep-Dive

Deep questions on your core stack and fundamentals.

  • Explain how a hash index differs from a B-tree index.
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #databases#indexing
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Message queues vs pub/sub — when to use each.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #messaging
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Difference between at-least-once and exactly-once delivery.
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #messaging
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
05

Round 05 · 1 question

Hiring Manager

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

  • How do you measure the success of a project after launch?
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #metrics
06

Round 06 · 2 questions

Behavioral / HR

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

  • Describe a time you improved a process or tool for your team.
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #ownership#star
  • Tell me about the most impactful project of your career.
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #impact#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.