Senior Software Engineer, Site Reliability Engineering, Google Cloud

Google

Given a tree data structure, and a set of nodes within that tree, how do you find all of their common parents? For example, consider a tree where node A is the root, and it has children B and C. Node B has children D and E, and node C has a child F. If the input set of nodes is {D, E, F}, then the common parents would be {B, C, A}. If the input set of nodes is {D, E}, then the common parents would be {B, A}. Design an algorithm to efficiently find these common parents, considering potential optimizations for different tree structures and sizes.

Google

Let's design a web proxy. Consider the following requirements: Basic Functionality: The proxy should be able to forward HTTP and HTTPS requests from clients to web servers and return the responses. Caching: Implement caching to reduce latency and bandwidth usage for frequently accessed resources. How would you handle cache invalidation? Security: The proxy should support HTTPS and protect client data. How would you handle SSL/TLS certificates? Scalability: The proxy should be able to handle a large number of concurrent connections. What architectural choices would you make to ensure scalability? Authentication: Implement basic authentication (username/password) to control access to certain websites. Logging: Log requests and responses for debugging and monitoring purposes. What information should be logged, and how would you manage log files? Blocking: Implement the functionality to block access to certain websites based on a blacklist. Discuss the architecture, components, and algorithms involved in building such a web proxy. Include considerations for performance, security, and maintainability. Provide example scenarios and solutions to potential challenges.

Google

Can you describe a time you had to work with a difficult team member and how you handled the situation? This is a common behavioral interview question designed to assess your interpersonal skills, conflict resolution abilities, and ability to work effectively in a team environment, even when faced with challenges. When answering this question, it's crucial to provide a specific example, detailing the situation, your actions, and the resulting outcome. This allows the interviewer to understand your approach and evaluate your effectiveness. For instance, you might discuss a project where a team member consistently missed deadlines, hindering the team's progress. In your response, you should: Describe the Situation: Clearly outline the project, the team member's role, and the specific behaviors that made them difficult to work with (e.g., missed deadlines, lack of communication, negative attitude). Be objective and avoid accusatory language. Explain Your Actions: Detail the steps you took to address the situation. Did you have a one-on-one conversation with the team member? Did you involve a supervisor or mentor? Did you try to understand the reasons behind their behavior? Did you adjust your own approach to accommodate their needs? Highlight the Result: Explain the outcome of your actions. Were you able to resolve the issue? Did the team member improve their performance? What did you learn from the experience? Even if the outcome wasn't ideal, focus on the lessons learned and how you would approach a similar situation in the future. Remember, the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) can be a helpful framework for structuring your answer. The interviewer wants to see that you can navigate challenging interpersonal dynamics professionally and contribute to a positive team environment.