Recently, I helped a student review his full interview process for a Cisco Data/Software Engineer role.
Many people still think of Cisco as a “network hardware company,” but the reality is that Cisco is now heavily investing in cloud computing, AI infrastructure, and cybersecurity — and their interviews have become much more software-oriented.
This candidate went through all stages: Online Assessment → Technical Interview → Manager Interview → Final Round.
Here’s the full breakdown.
1. Online Assessment (OA)
Platform: HackerRank
Duration: 90 minutes
Format: Two coding questions + multiple-choice (algorithm and networking basics)
Question 1: Network Packet Reordering
Given a sequence of packet IDs, some may be missing or out of order. Within a limited buffer size, reconstruct and output the correct sequence.
Key points:
- Use Queue or Heap
- Handle reordering logic
- Pay attention to edge cases like full or empty buffers
This question feels like a small simulation problem focused on careful implementation rather than advanced algorithms.
Question 2: Longest Stable Connection
Given several time intervals representing device activity, find the device with the longest continuous active time.
Key points:
- Merge intervals
- Use HashMap and sorting
- Many off-by-one edge cases
This one tests your ability to manage interval merging and aggregation efficiently.
The multiple-choice section covered:
- Network layers and protocols (TCP vs UDP)
- TCP three-way handshake
- Algorithm complexity and Big-O basics
2. Technical Interview
The interviewer was an engineer from India, speaking fluent English. The session lasted about 45 minutes.
First 10 minutes were self-introduction and project walkthrough.
Then came the technical questions:
System design scenario:
“How would you design a system to track packet loss in real time?”
The key idea was to use sliding windows and stream aggregation.Algorithm question:
Given a stream of integers, return the top K largest elements (heap-based solution).
The interviewer also asked about time complexity and trade-offs between using heap vs sorting.
The final part was a short discussion about performance optimization and scalability.
3. Manager Interview
This round focused mainly on soft skills and teamwork.
Common questions:
- How do you handle conflicting priorities?
- Tell me about a time you faced multiple deadlines.
- How do you collaborate with engineers from other teams?
The interviewer wanted to see leadership, ownership, and clear communication.
Using a STAR (Situation–Task–Action–Result) structure works really well here.
4. Final Round (Hybrid Technical + Culture Fit)
This was a higher-level discussion, more like a conversation than an exam.
Topics included:
- Ensuring reliability in large-scale systems
- Handling major outages
- The most complex technical challenge you’ve solved
They were checking for seniority, reasoning clarity, and team alignment.
5. Takeaways and Preparation Tips
- OA focuses on algorithm implementation and detail accuracy.
- Technical interview tests both coding and system design thinking.
- Manager round evaluates communication and team fit.
- Final round confirms alignment with the company’s direction.
For Data or Infra positions, review:
- Common system design (cache, streaming, logging)
- Core data structures (heap, hashmap, sliding window)
- Networking basics (TCP, UDP, DNS, routing)
Programhelp Remote Assistance
We offer stealth remote OA and interview assistance for platforms like HackerRank, Codility, and CoderPad.
Through secure remote connections (ToDesk / AnyDesk), we provide real-time voice hints and logic reminders, helping you stay calm and deliver accurate solutions.
If you’re preparing for Cisco, Amazon, or Meta OAs or interviews, feel free to reach out for more details about our remote support options.
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