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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

← Waymo

Senior Backend at Waymo

BackendSeniorWithdrew◆ Commonly asked· 2023

Senior backend interview. 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.

  • Number of islands in a 2D grid.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #bfs#dfs#grid
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
  • Set matrix zeroes.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #matrix
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
  • Contains duplicate.
    SeniorEasy◆ Commonly asked
    #array#hashmap
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
02

Round 02 · 2 questions

Machine Coding

Build a working component or service under time pressure.

  • Implement an LRU + TTL cache library.
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #cache#ttl
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Build a file-upload service with chunking and resume.
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #streaming#storage
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
03

Round 03 · 2 questions

System Design

High-level architecture of a large-scale system.

  • Design an online code judge / evaluator.
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #sandboxing#queues
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Design a URL shortener like TinyURL.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #hashing#cache#sharding
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
04

Round 04 · 3 questions

Tech Deep-Dive

Deep questions on your core stack and fundamentals.

  • How do you secure secrets and handle auth tokens?
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #security
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • What is backpressure and how do you handle it?
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #streaming#reliability
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • How do circuit breakers and bulkheads improve resilience?
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #reliability
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
05

Round 05 · 1 question

Hiring Manager

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

  • How do you scope and staff a multi-month project?
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #planning#leadership
06

Round 06 · 2 questions

Behavioral / HR

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

  • Describe a time you disagreed with a teammate. How did it resolve?
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #conflict#star
  • Tell me about the hardest bug you have debugged.
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #debugging#star

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