Disney+ Hotstar Interview Experience for SDE- I (Off-Campus)

Disney+ Hotstar recently conducted an off-campus hiring drive for Engineering Graduates passing out in 2021. I learned about the opportunity through LinkedIn and applied for the position with a referral.

Round 1(Online Assessment – 75 minutes): There were two coding questions to solve: 

1. https://www.chegg.com/homework-help/questions-and-answers/square-grid-two-cells-connected-share-edge-share-value-sharing-edge-left-right-diagonal-gi-q54626323
2. https://leetcode.com/discuss/interview-question/1067098/dunzo-online-test-hackerrank. 

I was able to complete the test with around 25-30 minutes to spare. I received a call 2 weeks later mentioning that I had been shortlisted for the interviews.

Round 2(Technical Interview – 45 minutes)

1. Introduce yourself.
2. Brief discussion about my projects.
3. He then gave me this problem(https://snowan.gitbook.io/study-notes/leetcode/30daychallenge/leftmost-column-with-at-least-a-one) to solve.

I started with explaining the brute-force approach which would take O(n²) time. I then suggested a method that would take O(n log m) time, which he asked me to code for. He then suggested that I think of a way to optimize the solution further, which is when I came up with a solution in O(n+m) time. He asked me to code this solution as well. We then had a brief discussion on which of the two solutions would be optimal if the number of rows was very large.

I received a call later that evening mentioning that I was shortlisted for the next round.

Round 3(Technical Interview – 45 minutes): This round was majorly resume-based, with a brief discussion on array rotation and the logic behind it. We spoke about my projects and internships in great detail. I received a call 2 days later mentioning that I was shortlisted for the next round.

Round 4(Managerial Round – 50 minutes)

1. Introduce yourself.
2. Which application do you like/use the most?
3. What is one feature you’d like to change in this application?
4. Brief discussion about the design of the application.
5. Teach me something in 15 minutes.

I mentioned that WhatsApp was my most frequently used application and that I wished the groups on WhatsApp could hold more than 256 members. He then delved deep into the logic behind the group member limit, questioned me on the design behind the ‘Broadcast’ and ‘Delete for everyone features. He asked me how messages would get delivered if the recipient was offline. This was roughly a 25-minute discussion.

He then set a timer for 15 minutes and asked me to teach him anything (not necessarily technical) in 15 minutes. I thought to teach him how to solve a Sudoku. I explained the objective of the game, the logic behind it, and ways to solve it, in the minimum amount of time. He engaged in trying to solve the Sudoku I found online.

The last 10 minutes were utilized in answering the questions I had for him at the end of the interview. I received a call later that evening mentioning that I was shortlisted for the last round.

Round 5(HR Round – 30 minutes)

1. Introduce yourself.
2. My background: where I’ve lived, my hometown, my schooling, my parents, etc.
3. Who is your role model?
4. What are some of your hobbies?
5. What was the toughest decision you’ve ever had to make?
6. What are the principles that define your personality?
7. Have you used the Hotstar App before?
8. Mention 3 things you liked, and 3 areas of improvement for the application.

This round was more of a friendly discussion rather than an interview. It was supposed to be for about 15 minutes only, but it stretched on for a little over 30 minutes, since we got carried away in the discussion. 

Final Result: Selected