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

SDE - 1

Urban Company
upvote
share-icon
3 rounds | 6 Coding problems

Interview preparation journey

expand-icon
Journey
I graduated from Delhi Technological University with a decent GPA of 9.02. I had a strong hold on problem-solving skills, including data structures, algorithms, and web development. I was able to secure two internships through campus recruitments: one at a global MNC and the other at a tech startup. Having previous industrial experience boosted my confidence in exploring new opportunities and building a strong profile.
Application story
I was looking for a new role after completing my graduation and was impressed by the work culture and pay scale at UC. Hence, I decided to give it a shot and asked a friend for a referral through LinkedIn.
Why selected/rejected for the role?
I was rejected in the Engineering Manager round (the last technical round before HR) and was given the reason that I lacked knowledge in core subjects.
Preparation
Duration: 3 months
Topics: Data Structures and Algorithms, System Design, Object-Oriented Programming, Computer Networks, Database Management System
Tip
Tip

Tip 1: Read books for in-depth knowledge of the concepts and refer to videos for broader coverage.

Tip 2: Practice on online coding platforms to simulate time-based conditions.

Tip 3: Maintain notes and try to give at least 2–3 mock interviews.

Application process
Where: Referral
Eligibility: No criteria as such mentioned. (Salary Package: 30 LPA (CTC) = 14 L base + 1 L joining bonus + 15 L RSU's)
Resume Tip
Resume tip

Tip 1: Keep your resume simple and readable, and be honest about any projects or past experience you include.

Tip 2: Be confident and well-prepared regarding the tech stack you mention.

Interview rounds

01
Round
Medium
Video Call
Duration60 Minutes
Interview date17 Jul 2024
Coding problem2

The interview was scheduled at 2 PM on Google Meet. The interviewer was kind and asked if I had lunch. It was a coding round, and the interviewer shared a Google Doc link with the problem details. A complete working code was expected, with all given and edge cases passing, along with a thorough dry run. The interviewer expected fully optimized code and asked me to try different approaches for the problem.

1. Recent Apps

Design a class in C++ to implement a recent apps functionality. The expectation is to create a recent apps drawer that shows the last used apps in the order they were launched, always displaying the most recent apps first.

Problem approach

I first clarified the problem and tried to explain an array-based approach, discussing the time complexity of the solution. Later, I moved on to a map/set-based approach to reduce the complexity slightly. I then implemented a class-based solution similar to the LRU cache problem, as it resembles most of the use cases for this problem. The interviewer asked about the overall complexities of the operations and was satisfied with the solution. I coded the answer in an online compiler, and the interviewer asked me to submit a complete working code.

2. Minimize Max Distance to Gas Station

Moderate
0/80
Asked in company
Urban Company

You are given a sorted array ‘arr’ of length ‘n’, which contains positive integer positions of ‘n’ gas stations on the X-axis.


You are also given an integer ‘k’.


You have to place 'k' new gas stations on the X-axis.


You can place them anywhere on the non-negative side of the X-axis, even on non-integer positions.


Let 'dist' be the maximum value of the distance between adjacent gas stations after adding 'k' new gas stations.

Find the minimum value of dist.


Example:
Input: ‘n' = 7 , ‘k’=6, ‘arr’ = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7}.

Answer: 0.5

Explanation:
We can place 6 gas stations at 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, 4.5, 5.5, 6.5. 

Thus the value of 'dist' will be 0.5. It can be shown that we can't get a lower value of 'dist' by placing 6 gas stations.


Note:
You will only see 1 or 0 in the output where:
  1 represents your answer is correct.
  0 represents your answer is wrong. 
Answers within 10^-6 of the actual answer will be accepted.
Problem approach

I understood the problem since I had done it before, and I implemented a step-wise solution for it. A working code was not required; a pseudo code on Google Doc was expected.

Try solving now
02
Round
Easy
Video Call
Duration70 minutes
Interview date18 Jul 2024
Coding problem1

The interview was scheduled at the same time, 2 PM, and the same interviewer from Round 1 was allotted. The interview was on Google Meet and again used a Google Doc. The problem statement was shared on the Google Doc.

1. System Design

Design a train management system similar to IRCTC. The expectation was to design a proper ER diagram for the models and their relationships.

Problem approach

Tip 1: Consider scalability while proposing a solution. Make models less dependent on each other so that minimal changes are required when adding new functionality.

Tip 2: Try to break the problem into as many chunks as possible and have a solid understanding of all system design principles.

Tip 3: Be technical in your solution and try to implement relevant algorithms. For example, in my scenario, I proposed a job scheduler for maintaining train schedules.

03
Round
Easy
Video Call
Duration40 minutes
Interview date22 Jul 2024
Coding problem3

This was the last technical round (before the cultural fitment) and was conducted by a Senior Engineering Manager. The interviewer was on time, and the round was again on Google Meet. No document was shared this time, as it was meant to be a general engineering discussion.

The interview ended with discussions about the company’s work culture, and I asked 2–3 questions about the role being offered.

1. Software Architecture

Explain the difference between monolithic and microservice architectures, including how and where each architecture should be used. (Learn)

2. DBMS

  • Questions were asked on database indexing and its implementation. (Learn)
  • I suggested the B+ tree method but was not fully prepared on the topic. (Learn)

3. Operating System

Some basic questions were asked about mutex locks, semaphores, etc. (Learn)

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 recursion?

Choose another skill to practice
Similar interview experiences
company logo
SDE - 1
4 rounds | 8 problems
Interviewed by Amazon
8518 views
0 comments
0 upvotes
Analytics Consultant
3 rounds | 10 problems
Interviewed by ZS
907 views
0 comments
0 upvotes
company logo
SDE - Intern
1 rounds | 3 problems
Interviewed by Amazon
3319 views
0 comments
0 upvotes
company logo
SDE - 2
4 rounds | 6 problems
Interviewed by Expedia Group
2580 views
0 comments
0 upvotes
Companies with similar interview experiences
company logo
SDE - 1
5 rounds | 12 problems
Interviewed by Amazon
114579 views
24 comments
0 upvotes
company logo
SDE - 1
4 rounds | 5 problems
Interviewed by Microsoft
57824 views
5 comments
0 upvotes
company logo
SDE - 1
3 rounds | 7 problems
Interviewed by Amazon
34961 views
7 comments
0 upvotes