What is expected in the phone screen at SDE 1?

Usually one medium problem. Explain your idea before coding and test by hand at the end.

What is expected in the phone screen at SDE 2?

One or two problems, a little faster. Some companies mix in a design question.

What is expected in the phone screen at SDE 3?

Often a coding problem plus questions about your past systems; some companies (Uber) use it to set your level.

What is expected in the phone screen at SDE 4?

Frequently a hiring-manager conversation about scope and impact instead of pure coding.

INTERVIEW ROUNDS

The phone screen

The first live conversation: either a recruiter call about your background and the role, or a 45 to 60 minute technical screen with one or two coding problems in a shared editor.

What happens

A recruiter screen checks fit, level, location, notice period and pay expectations, and tells you what the loop will look like. A technical screen is a shorter version of a coding round: one engineer, one or two problems, often in a shared document or editor without code execution. It decides whether you get the full loop.

What is expected at each level

Your level

SDE 1 · New grad to about 2 years: Usually one medium problem. Explain your idea before coding and test by hand at the end.
SDE 2 · About 2 to 5 years: One or two problems, a little faster. Some companies mix in a design question.
SDE 3 · Senior, about 5 to 10 years: Often a coding problem plus questions about your past systems; some companies (Uber) use it to set your level.
SDE 4 · Staff, principal and above: Frequently a hiring-manager conversation about scope and impact instead of pure coding.

How to prepare

Prepare a two-minute summary of your current work and the hardest problem you solved.
Practise coding in a plain editor without autocomplete or running the code.
Ask the recruiter how many rounds, which languages and whether AI tools are allowed.

Common mistakes

Coding before agreeing on the approach
Silence: the interviewer can only score what you say
Giving a salary number too early instead of asking for the band

Companies that use it

Google · All levels
One live data-structures-and-algorithms problem, sometimes two, in a shared doc with no code execution; a second screen is added only when the first gives too little signal.
Amazon · SDE 2, SDE 3, SDE 4
Experienced hires usually get one live coding screen that also includes Leadership Principle questions; new grads often go straight from the OA to the final loop.
Microsoft · All levels
One or two live coding problems, sometimes with resume questions, occasionally run by the hiring manager.
Meta · All levels
Two easy-to-medium coding problems in about 35 minutes of coding time, with code execution turned off.
Apple · All levels
One or two live coding screens, usually medium or a domain task such as a thread-safe cache; some teams use a take-home instead or as well.
Netflix · All levels
A recruiter call on background and motivation, which also checks whether you know the culture memo.
Uber · All levels
A recruiter call on background, the target business line and why Uber.
LinkedIn · All levels
A recruiter call to confirm level and track (applications vs. infrastructure) and which skills the onsite will cover.
Airbnb · All levels
A recruiter call on background, motivation and light behavioral questions.
Stripe · All levels
A recruiter call on background, a concrete 'why Stripe' and role fit.
Atlassian · All levels
A recruiter call about background, motivation, location and pay, where the target level gets set.
Goldman Sachs · All levels
A live coding screen with an engineer: one or two problems you must run and test, plus a short resume chat.
Salesforce · All levels
A recruiter screen on experience, notice period and expected pay.
Oracle · All levels
A recruiter call on your work history and why Oracle, sometimes with light technical questions.
Adobe · All levels
A recruiter or HR call on your current role and next steps.
Walmart Global Tech · SDE 2, SDE 3
A recruiter screen on projects and experience.
PhonePe · SDE 1, SDE 2, SDE 3
An HR call on experience and expectations.
Swiggy · SDE 2, SDE 3
A recruiter screen on stack, notice period and motivation.
Razorpay · SDE 1, SDE 2, SDE 3
An HR screen on stack, experience and compensation.

Other rounds

The online assessment (OA) · The coding round (DSA) · The AI-assisted coding round · Low-level design and machine coding · The system design round (HLD) · Team-specific rounds · The behavioral round · The hiring manager round · The bar raiser round · Team match and hiring committee