I applied online. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Cisco (Bengaluru) in Jun 2025
Interview
Interview was a decent experience. It took 10 days for interviews to complete. 1st round was virtual interview, then they called over to their office for 3 more rounds of interview. After couple of days, had a virtual round with Director.
Interview questions [5]
Question 1
Round 1:
1. Reverse array in-place.
2. Construct target string using characters from origin string.
3. Construct linux file path from an array of strings.
4. Explain memory space of process in linux.
5. Debug experience with gdb
6. IPC questions and design a server-client scenario.
Round-2:
1. Synchronization questions.
2. Given two dictionaries. Print pairs not common in the dictionaries.
3. Implement a program that tracks events from apps on a system (watchdog).
4. Spinlock purpose and usage.
5. Debug questions.
Round-4:
1. Tell me biggest challenge you faced.
2. Array with sorted integers, has been rotated m number of times. Construct the original array sequence.
3. Synchronization questions, and lockless.
4. Memory management, DMA.
5. Explain how fwrite() works from userspace till device.
6. If you disagree with your teammate on some task, how do you handle it?
Round-5:
1. Puzzle question
2. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
3. Tell me a time you worked on something and failed. What did you learn?
4. Explain your job role to a 5-year old.
I applied through a recruiter. I interviewed at Cisco (Chicago, IL)
Interview
March 13th; Took a hackerrank exam, 3 easy-med leetcode DSAs. One was rotating a matrix and the other was a binary search. And the third was a basic sql. Did not hear back until July.
Standard panel, very simple leetcodes. reverse linked list kind of vibe s . I was literarly asked about how a linked list is structured and reversing it. there was almost no friction which I was shocked by one of the reason I did not accept
I applied online. I interviewed at Cisco (Bengaluru) in Jun 2026
Interview
The interview started well and covered backend concepts, Java, system design, and coding. I answered the questions confidently and had a positive interaction throughout.
After receiving the rejection, I spoke with HR to understand the feedback. I was informed that the interviewer believed I was looking at answers during the interview. This came as a surprise because I was not referring to any external material. I have a habit of looking away while thinking or recalling concepts, which I believe may have been misunderstood.
I wish this concern had been raised during the interview so I could have clarified it immediately. If there are concerns about a candidate’s behavior, discussing them in real time or asking for a room scan can help avoid misunderstandings.
Overall, the interview questions were fair, but I feel my evaluation was influenced by this misunderstanding rather than my technical performance.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Sort a nearly sorted array. I was asked for an optimal solution and discussed the time and space complexity.