Software Engineer

Meta

Describe the difference between a stack and a queue. Provide an example of when you might use each data structure. Write functions to implement the push and pop methods for a stack and the enqueue and dequeue methods for a queue. Explain the time complexity of each of these operations. Additionally, discuss a scenario where you might need to implement a stack using a queue or a queue using a stack.

Meta

Let's design a system to efficiently manage meeting room bookings for a large company. Consider the following: Scalability: The system should handle a large number of meeting rooms and employees. Concurrency: Multiple users should be able to book rooms simultaneously without conflicts. Features: Room availability search based on time, date, and number of attendees. Recurring meeting support. Integration with employee calendars (e.g., Google Calendar, Outlook). Conflict detection and resolution. Reporting and analytics (e.g., room utilization). Example: Imagine a company with 100 meeting rooms and 5000 employees. A user wants to book a room for a daily stand-up meeting with 10 attendees, recurring every weekday for the next month. How would your system handle this request, ensuring no double bookings and updating the user's calendar? Specifically, discuss the system architecture, data models, key algorithms, and potential bottlenecks. How would you address these bottlenecks to ensure the system remains responsive and reliable?

Meta

Tell me about a time you had a conflict with a colleague. What was the nature of the conflict, and how did you approach resolving it? What was the outcome, and what did you learn from the experience? For example, perhaps you disagreed on the best approach to a technical problem, or maybe there was a misunderstanding about responsibilities. How did you communicate your perspective, and how did you listen to theirs? What steps did you take to find a mutually agreeable solution? Did you involve a mediator or supervisor, or were you able to resolve it yourselves? What were the key takeaways from that situation, and how have you applied those lessons to future collaborations? It is important to show that you can handle conflict well.