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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

← Western Digital

Senior Backend at Western Digital

BackendSeniorRejected◆ Commonly asked· 2025

Senior backend interview. Pragmatic questions — more real-world than pure puzzles.

The loop · 6 rounds

01

Round 01 · 3 questions

DSA / Coding

Data structures & algorithms on a whiteboard or shared editor.

  • Coin change — fewest coins to make an amount.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #dp
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
  • Course Schedule II.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #graph#topo-sort
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
  • Minimum window substring.
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #sliding-window#string
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
02

Round 02 · 2 questions

Machine Coding

Build a working component or service under time pressure.

  • Build a mini ORM query builder (select/where/join).
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #parsing#sql
    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 search autocomplete at Google scale.
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #trie#ranking#cache
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Design a typeahead / autocomplete service.
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #trie#cache#ranking
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
04

Round 04 · 3 questions

Tech Deep-Dive

Deep questions on your core stack and fundamentals.

  • Idempotency in APIs — why and how.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #api-design#idempotency
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • How do you prevent and detect N+1 queries?
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #databases#orm
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • How would you design and version a public REST API?
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #api-design
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
05

Round 05 · 1 question

Hiring Manager

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

  • What is the biggest system you have designed, and why those choices?
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #architecture
06

Round 06 · 2 questions

Behavioral / HR

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

  • Describe a time you had to deliver bad news.
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #communication#star
  • Tell me about a time you failed and what you learned.
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #growth#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.