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PHONEPE · SDE 2

PhonePe SDE 2 interview

The SDE 2 (mid-level software engineer) level at PhonePe is Software Engineer 2, for engineers with about 2 to 5 years of experience. The rounds at this level, how each one is scored, and the questions to practise first.

From public candidate reports and PhonePe's careers pages, checked November 2026. Processes vary by team. AlgoRung is not affiliated with PhonePe.

Track my PhonePe prep
PhonePe titleSoftware Engineer 2
ExperienceEngineers with about 2 to 5 years of experience
Interviews after screeningAbout 4
System design roundYes

The SDE 2 rounds, in order

  1. Phone / recruiter screen · 20 min

    An HR call on experience and expectations.

    At SDE 2: One or two problems, a little faster. Some companies mix in a design question.

  2. Low-level design / machine coding · 90 min

    Machine coding: about 90 minutes to build a working in-memory app, then a 30-minute debrief full of 'why' questions.

    At SDE 2: The core round at many product companies: working, modular, extensible code with validation, error handling and tests, finished on time.

  3. Coding (DSA) · 60 min

    PSDS: two problems candidates often rate hard; a well-explained approach can earn partial credit.

    At SDE 2: Two or three rounds at medium to hard level. You are expected to reach the optimal approach with fewer hints and to test without being asked.

  4. System design (HLD) · 60 min

    Database choice, auth at the gateway, token propagation between services, and scaling.

    At SDE 2: Present at most companies. A sound end-to-end design with sensible components and basic scaling is enough.

  5. Hiring manager · 55 min

    Your current project's architecture in depth (sharding, replication, APIs), sometimes with a design problem.

    At SDE 2: Ownership of features, handling production issues, working with product and other teams.

What PhonePe interviewers look for

Coding questions to practise for PhonePe SDE 2

Two or three rounds at medium to hard level. You are expected to reach the optimal approach with fewer hints and to test without being asked.

Difficulty
Topic
4 questions
  1. Distribute Coins in Binary Tree Medium Trees & BST also Amazon
  2. Word Search Medium Recursion & Backtracking also Microsoft
  3. LRU Cache Medium Design Data Structures also Amazon, Microsoft, Apple +4
  4. Subarray Sum Equals K Medium Arrays & Hashing also Meta

How the coding round is scored · The online assessment

System design at SDE 2

Every level faces machine coding, and it is the main filter: code that works but is poorly structured or not thread-safe gets rejected. SDE-2 and above add an HLD round.

All PhonePe system design questions

Questions people ask

How many rounds are in the PhonePe SDE 2 interview?

About 4 interviews after the screening: phone / recruiter screen, low-level design / machine coding, coding (dsa), system design (hld), hiring manager.

Is there a system design round for PhonePe SDE 2?

Yes. Every level faces machine coding, and it is the main filter: code that works but is poorly structured or not thread-safe gets rejected. SDE-2 and above add an HLD round.

What coding questions does PhonePe ask at SDE 2?

The same question pool is used across levels; the bar rises with level. Most reported: Distribute Coins in Binary Tree, Word Search, LRU Cache, Subarray Sum Equals K.

What does PhonePe expect in coding rounds at SDE 2?

Two or three rounds at medium to hard level. You are expected to reach the optimal approach with fewer hints and to test without being asked.

SDE 2 interviews at other companies

SDE 2 interview questions across all companies · Behavioral questions