Ion Trading interview experience Real time questions & tips from candidates to crack your interview

SDE - 1

Ion Trading
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5 rounds | 10 Coding problems

Interview preparation journey

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Preparation
Duration: 3 Months
Topics: Data Structures, Algorithms, OOPS, DBMS, Puzzles, SDLC
Tip
Tip

Tip 1 : Make sure to understand the usage of Data structures, rather than just focussing on the number of questions. Move from basic questions to medium level which helps you understand the applications of DS.
Tip 2 : Study core subjects(DBMS, OOPS, OS) alongside your preparation so you don't panic at the last moment. During interviews you should just revise these topics through some Notes.
Tip 3 : A few companies also focus on Case Studies and Guesstimates. So if you are preparing for companies like : ZS, ION Trading, Bain & Company. Prepare for these topics as well because such companies have elimination rounds focussing on just case studies.

Application process
Where: Campus
Eligibility: 0 backlogs
Resume Tip
Resume tip

Tip 1 : Have at least 1-2 good projects that you are prepared to discuss in case any interviewer wants to discuss the projects. Deploy the project and attach the link in the resume.
Tip 2 : Make sure to properly mention the academic details, experience( if any), achievements. Do not write anything in the resume that you are not aware of.

Interview rounds

01
Round
Medium
Online Coding Interview
Duration90 minutes
Interview date16 Sep 2021
Coding problem2

It was of 2 hours with 4 sections - Coding, Quant, LR, English

1. Maximum sum of non-adjacent elements

Moderate
15m average time
85% success
0/80
Asked in companies
American ExpressAdobeMicrosoft

You are given an array/list of ‘N’ integers. You are supposed to return the maximum sum of the subsequence with the constraint that no two elements are adjacent in the given array/list.

Note:
A subsequence of an array/list is obtained by deleting some number of elements (can be zero) from the array/list, leaving the remaining elements in their original order.
Try solving now

2. Minimum Time To Solve The Problems

Hard
50m average time
50% success
0/120
Asked in companies
SprinklrQuikrBarclays

There are 'N' number of subjects and the ith subject contains subject[i] number of problems. Each problem takes 1 unit of time to be solved. Also, you have 'K' friends, and you want to assign the subjects to each friend such that each subject is assigned to exactly one friend. Also, the assignment of subjects should be contiguous. Your task is to calculate the maximum number of problems allocated to a friend is minimum. See example for more understanding.

For Example:
If N = 4, K = 2 and subjects = {50,100,300,400}
Assignment of problems can be done in the following ways among the two friends.
{} and {50,100,300,400}. Time required = max(0, 50+100+300+400) = max(0, 850) = 850
{50} and {100,300,400}. Time required = max(50, 100+300+400) = max(50, 800) = 800
{50, 100} and {300,400}. Time required = max(50+100, 300+400) = max(150, 700) = 700
{50,100,300} and {400}. Time required = max(50+100+300, 400) = max(450, 400) = 400
{50,100,300, 400} and {}. Time required = max(50+100+300+400, 0) = max(850, 0) = 850

So, out of all the above following ways, 400 is the lowest possible time.
Try solving now
02
Round
Medium
Video Call
Duration60 Minutes
Interview date18 Sep 2021
Coding problem4

This round lasted for about an hour. Topics covered - DSA questions, Puzzles, OOPS. Started with introductions from both and then we started with questions.

1. Puzzle

You have a 3 liter jug and a 5 liter jug (this could also be in gallons). The jugs have no measurement lines on them either. How could you measure exactly 4 liter using only those jugs and as much extra water as you need?

Problem approach

Tip 1 : Try to think of different possible ways and dont get stuck on a particular solution

2. Sort Array of 0s and 1s.

Easy
10m average time
90% success
0/40
Asked in companies
WalmartIon TradingHashedIn

You are given an array ‘A’ of size ‘N’ containing only 0s and 1s. You have to sort the array by traversing the array only once.

For Example:
For the following array:
[0 1 1 1 0 0 1]

The output should be [0 0 0 1 1 1 1].
Note:
You have to sort the array in place.
Problem approach

I started with the 2 pointer approach. Basically 2 pointer( i & j ) would divide the array in 2 halves : 
0 - i ->half for 0s; 
i+1 - j ->half for 1s;

Keep on iterating the array with an increasing j, depending on the element we encounter, if its 0, we replace it with i+1 position element; if its 1, we simply increase the half of 1.
Interviewer was satisfied with this approach. time complexity - O(n). Space complexity - O(!)

Try solving now

3. Implement Stack With Linked List

Moderate
30m average time
73% success
0/80
Asked in companies
AmazonMathworksDell Technologies

You must implement the Stack data structure using a Singly Linked List.


Create a class named 'Stack' which supports the following operations(all in O(1) time):


getSize: Returns an integer. Gets the current size of the stack

isEmpty: Returns a boolean. Gets whether the stack is empty

push: Returns nothing. Accepts an integer. Puts that integer at the top of the stack

pop: Returns nothing. Removes the top element of the stack. It does nothing if the stack is empty.

getTop: Returns an integer. Gets the top element of the stack. Returns -1 if the stack is empty
Problem approach

I created a class stack and implemented stack through a LinkedList. Implemented function of pop() and push();

Try solving now

4. OOPS Question

Explain main concepts of OOPS. Discussed in details the concept of abstraction.

Problem approach

Tip 1 : be thorough with your concepts
Tip 2 : focus on real world usage of such concepts.

03
Round
Medium
Video Call
Duration40 Minutes
Interview date18 Jul 2022
Coding problem1

This was a Case study round. I was given a case study with some data. I got 10 minutes to analyse the scenario and formulate my answer and approach. then I discussed it with the interviewer. He will counter question as to why you chose a particular actions

1. Puzzle

There is a Urban Company like startup providing salon, beauty, house cleaning services, etc door to door to working individuals. They provide such services at odd timings as per the convenience of individuals and thus they charge a premium for this. They are well set in Hyderabad and now looking to expand in other cities. Which cities would you suggest and why ?
3 cities were provided along with their population : Delhi, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram

Problem approach

Tip 1 : Go in depth to understand the business requirements
Tip 2 : Ask questions to interviewer to clarify the doubts
Tip 3 : There is no correct answer. You should be able to justify your answer with proper reasoning.

04
Round
Medium
HR Round
Duration60 minutes
Interview date20 Sep 2021
Coding problem3

The round was with a VP of Engineering. This round covered typical HR questions along with some questions focussing on SDLC and Agile.

1. Basic HR Question

Where do you see yourself in 5 years down the line? Weakness and strengths ? why ION?

Problem approach

Tip 1 : Prepare in advance to such questions.
Tip 2 : Be clear what you to showcase in your answers.
Tip 3 : Study a bit about the company.

2. Technical Question

Regarding my project, which framework is used and why? how is it better than others?

Problem approach

Tip 1 : Have in depth knowledge about your project

3. Technical Question

Showed some pictures on agile, asked what you understand from this images. One of the image compared 2 different sdlc models, discussed which is better.

Problem approach

Tip 1 : Study SDLC models, particularly Agile because this is widely used in industry.

05
Round
Easy
Group Discussion
Duration60 Minutes
Interview date20 Sep 2021
Coding problem0

This round was with the director of India's division of ION. It was more of a group discussion than an interview. He asked us about our self, something which is not mentioned in the resume. Then this discussion led to some other discussion and so on.

Here's your problem of the day

Solving this problem will increase your chance to get selected in this company

Skill covered: Programming

What is the purpose of the return keyword?

Choose another skill to practice
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