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

SDE - Intern

5 rounds | 7 Coding problems

Selected candidate experience

Interview preparation journey

Journey

I started my journey in the first year of college by building a strong foundation in programming with Java. Soon after, I moved into Data Structures and Algorithms, which I consistently practiced across my first three semesters. During this time, I regularly participated in contests, which helped me sharpen my problem-solving skills and think under pressure. This consistency paid off as I achieved the Knight badge and even earned a T-shirt. Alongside DSA, I explored Machine Learning to broaden my skill set and apply my knowledge in practical scenarios. This led me to participate in multiple hackathons, where I focused on building impactful solutions. Over time, I won three hackathons, including the Qualcomm VisionX Hackathon conducted by IIT Bombay, which was a significant milestone and boosted my confidence. As I progressed, I shifted my focus toward interview preparation. I revised DSA thoroughly and strengthened my understanding of core computer science subjects like Operating Systems, DBMS, and Computer Networks. This phase was more about depth, ensuring I not only knew concepts but could also apply them effectively. Eventually, this consistent effort translated into results. I secured an on-campus offer from Zeta and later cracked an off-campus opportunity at MathWorks. After careful consideration, I chose MathWorks because it aligned well with my interests and long-term goals. Overall, my journey has been about staying consistent, exploring different domains, and continuously improving. From learning the basics in my first year to solving complex problems, building projects, and succeeding in interviews, it has been a gradual but rewarding process.

Application story

I began my application process in August by applying through a referral. Shortly after, I received an initial call from HR, where they conducted a background check and asked a few preliminary questions. Following this, I was given an Online Assessment link that included DSA problems and multiple-choice questions. Based on my performance, I was shortlisted for onsite interviews, where multiple rounds were conducted in a single day. After about a week, the company scheduled an additional interview round focused on C++. I requested some time to prepare, and after completing this final round, I received a confirmation call informing me that I had been selected.

Why selected/rejected for the role?

I was selected because of a consistent foundation in DSA, solid understanding of core CS subjects, and the ability to clearly communicate my approach during interviews. My experience with projects and hackathons also helped me think beyond just coding and explain real-world trade-offs. A key factor was adaptability; I took time to prepare when an additional C++ round was introduced and handled it confidently. The main learning is that selection isn’t about perfection, but about strong fundamentals, clear thinking, and consistent preparation.

Preparation

Duration: 24 months

Topics: Data Structure and Algorithms, Java, Machine Learning, DBMS, Deep Learning

Tip

Tip 1: Consistency is key—not the amount of hard work you do in a single day or month.
Tip 2: Start as early as possible.
Tip 3: As competition increases, the difficulty level rises, so be prepared for everything.

Application process

Where: Referral

Eligibility: 8 CGPA, (Stipend: 60k per month)

Resume tip

Tip 1: Highlight impact with measurable results (numbers, improvements, scale).
Tip 2: Keep your resume concise and role-focused; include only what you can confidently explain.

Interview rounds

Round

Easy

Online Coding Interview

Duration90 minutes

Interview date8 Oct 2025

Coding problem0

Online test consisted of 30 MCQs based on Core Fundamentals, DSA, C++/C.

Round

Easy

Face to Face

Duration80 minutes

Interview date12 Nov 2025

Coding problem4

1. Palindromic Substrings

Moderate

20m average time

80% success

0/80

Asked in companies

You have been given a string STR. Your task is to find the total number of palindromic substrings of STR.

Example :

If the input string is "abbc", then all the possible palindromic substrings would be: ["a", "b", "b", c", "bb"] and hence, the output will be 5 since we have 5 substrings in total which form a palindrome.

Note :

A string is said to be a 'Palindrome' if it is read the same forwards and backwards. 
For example, “abba” is a palindrome, but “abbc” is not.

A 'Substring' is a contiguous sequence of characters within a string. 
For example, "a", "b", "c", "ab", "bc", "abc" are substrings of "abc".

Problem approach

I approached this using DP. I observed that every single character is a palindrome, and substrings of length 2 are palindromes only if both characters are the same.
For longer substrings, I used the relation that a substring is a palindrome if its first and last characters match and the inner substring is already a palindrome. So I built a DP solution from smaller substrings to larger ones and marked valid cases.
While filling this, I kept counting each palindromic substring and returned the final count.

Save this for later

2. DBMS

What are ACID properties in transactions? (Learn)
What is indexing? Types of indexes and when to use them. (Learn)

3. Second Highest Salary

Find the second highest salary from an Employee table. (Practice)

4. Operating System

Code for Producer-Consumer problem. (Learn)
What is virtual memory? (Learn)
How does paging work? (Learn)
Difference between paging and segmentation. (Learn)
What is synchronization and why is it needed? (Learn)

Round

Medium

Face to Face

Duration60 minutes

Interview date12 Nov 2025

Coding problem1

The interview began with a brief introduction about myself followed by behavioural questions.

1. Behavioural Questions

A situation where I had a conflict with team members and how I resolved it.
A situation where I didn’t know the solution initially but still handled the problem.
An example where I demonstrated leadership in a team.
How I manage stress and pressure in a work environment.
Initiatives I have taken in my academic or personal journey.

Problem approach

Tip: Be confident in what you say.

Round

Medium

HR Round

Duration60 minutes

Interview date12 Nov 2025

Coding problem1

1. Project Discussion

Motivation behind choosing the project topic.
Whether the project was done individually or in a team.
Key challenges faced during the project and approach taken to overcome those challenges.
Feedback received from the professor on performance.
Suggestions given by the professor for improvement and how those suggestions were implemented for self-improvement.

Round

Medium

Video Call

Duration60 minutes

Interview date18 Nov 2025

Coding problem1

This round was primarily focused on C++, covering OOP concepts, pointers, and core language fundamentals.

1. C++

Explain OOP concepts in C++ (encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism, abstraction). (Learn)
Difference between pointers and references. (Learn)
What are virtual functions and how does runtime polymorphism work? (Learn)
What is a constructor/destructor and their types? (Learn)
Explain memory management in C++ (stack vs heap). (Learn)