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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

← Zoom

Senior Backend at Zoom

BackendSeniorRejected◆ Commonly asked· 2025

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.

  • Group anagrams from a list of strings.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #hashmap#string
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
  • Best time to buy and sell stock.
    SeniorEasy◆ Commonly asked
    #array#greedy
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
  • Coin change — fewest coins to make an amount.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #dp
    PracticeLeetCode↗GeeksforGeeks↗
02

Round 02 · 2 questions

Machine Coding

Build a working component or service under time pressure.

  • Build an in-memory pub/sub with topic subscriptions.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #pub-sub
    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 a pastebin with expiring links.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #storage#ttl
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Design a news feed / timeline.
    SeniorHard◆ Commonly asked
    #fanout#ranking#cache
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
04

Round 04 · 3 questions

Tech Deep-Dive

Deep questions on your core stack and fundamentals.

  • Explain the difference between horizontal and vertical scaling.
    SeniorEasy◆ Commonly asked
    #scale
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Message queues vs pub/sub — when to use each.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #messaging
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
  • Compare rate-limiting algorithms and their trade-offs.
    SeniorMedium◆ Commonly asked
    #rate-limit
    PracticeGeeksforGeeks↗Search↗
05

Round 05 · 1 question

Hiring Manager

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

  • What does a great engineering culture look like to you?
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #values
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 time you disagreed with a teammate. How did it resolve?
    Senior◆ Commonly asked
    #conflict#star

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