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Twilio is a US-based cloud communications platform-as-a-service company that allows software programmers to receive and make phone calls, send and receive text messages, and carry out other communication-related functions. Twilio enables developers to perform these functions through its web service APIs.
Since it was founded in 2008, Twilio has raised millions of dollars through multiple rounds of funding. It has over a billion dollars in revenue and offers a wide range of communication-related services.
Twilio is a great place to work for software developers. The company has a standard technical interview to recruit developers with good analytical and problem-solving capabilities. In this article, we’ll look at Twilio’s technical interview process, some Twilio phone interview questions, coding and design interview questions, and some noteworthy tips to crack Twilio’s technical interview.
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Take a look at what this article will cover:
- Twilio’s technical interview process
- Twilio’s coding interview questions
- Twilio’s systems design interview questions
- Twilio’s behavioral interview questions
- Tips to crack Twilio’s technical interview
- FAQs on Twilio technical interview
Twilio’s Technical Interview Process
Twilio has a standard interview process that typically evaluates your analytical coding skills and problem-solving capabilities. The technical interview process can be different for domain-specific positions but remains more or less standard for software development roles. Note that domain interviews also have all the elements of a typical software engineering interview.
The Twilio interview process typically consists of three main stages. See below:
- Recruiter screen
- Technical phone screen interview
- On-site interview
Recruiter Screen
The recruiter screen round is where you’re contacted by a recruiter who locates your profile either through LinkedIn or through the Twilio recruitment portal, depending on the platform you’ve applied on. The recruiter will ask you very basic questions about your experience and skills and expectations from Twilio. The recruiter primarily evaluates if your profile is the right fit for the role.
You can also be asked a few Twilio phone interview questions like why you’re interested in working at Twilio, why you want to switch companies, etc. If the recruiter finds your profile eligible, you’ll be invited to the technical phone screen.
Read How to Prepare for and Crack Phone Screen Interviews at FAANG to learn more about what to expect during the phone screen or recruiter interview at big tech companies.
Technical Phone Screen Interview
During this round, you’ll be asked to solve one or two coding problems around data structures and algorithms. The main motive is to understand your approach to problem-solving and how you can leverage your analytical abilities to arrive at the optimal solution.
A hiring manager conducts this round. You’ll first be asked to brute-force the problem solution and then proceed to write error-free code. The technical phone screen round usually happens remotely, particularly after COVID-19.
On-Site Interview
This round will test your coding abilities, knowledge of distributed systems, and behavioral attributes. The coding round is similar to the technical phone screen interview, where you’re asked to solve coding problems (1 or two problems) on data structures and algorithms.
In the on-site interview round, you’re asked questions about concepts in systems engineering. You can also be asked to design an arbitrary system by accounting for a list of parameters.
The behavioral round during the on-site interview essentially evaluates your attitude, personality, and response to workplace situations. Recruiters in this round can also ask you questions about leadership and project management if you apply to senior developer or engineering manager roles.
Twilio’s Coding Interview Questions
Coding is a crucial component in technical interviews at Twilio. Coding interviews primarily test your ability to analytically solve complex coding problems by applying advanced concepts in DSA. The following topics are essential in the context of coding interviews at Twilio:
- Arrays, strings, and linked lists
- Sorting algorithms — quicksort, merge sort, heap sort, etc.
- Hash tables and queues
- Recursion
- Trees and graphs
- Graph algorithms, including greedy algorithms
- Dynamic programming
Let’s look at some sample Twilio coding interview questions:
- You are given a linked list “L.” Write a program function to pick a random node from the linked list.
- You are given a positive array with n positive integers. Write a program to determine the inversion count of the array.
- You are given a binary tree T. Write a program to print the right view of the tree.
- You’re given a binary tree T. Write a code to print the height of the binary tree.
- For a given binary tree, write a program to connect the nodes of the binary tree that are at the same level.
- For a binary search tree with unique values, two node values are given. Write a program to find the lowest common ancestors of the two nodes.
- Write a code to convert a given binary tree to a Doubly Linked List (DLL) in place. The left and right pointers in the nodes are to be used as previous and next pointers, respectively, in the converted DLL.
- Write a code to count the leaves in a given binary search tree BT.
- Write a program function to implement the serialize and deserialize functions for a given binary search tree.
- Given an array of integers, write a program to return the next greater element for each element in the array. The array comprises all distinct numbers. If a greater element doesn’t exist to the right of a given element, the value returned in that position should be -1.
- You are given a set of 2 sorted arrays, “X” and “Y” with respective sizes “n” and “m,” Write a code to merge the two sorted arrays such that their characters appear in decreasing order.
- You are given a set of 2 arrays, “X” and “Y,” consisting of positive integers; write a code to find the total number of pairs to satisfy the condition x^y>y^x, where “x” is an element of array “X” and “y” is an element of array “Y.”
Want to check out more problems along with comprehensive solutions deemed most optimal for technical interviews?
Check out our Problems Page to access a list of coding problems along with solutions.
Twilio’s Systems Design Interview Questions
Systems design questions are asked at technical, programming, and domain-specific interviews at Twilio. Design interviews are more important than coding interviews for senior developer and managerial (engineering manager) roles at Twilio.
Below is the list of concepts that feature at Twilio’s systems design interviews:
- Basics of systems design
- Network protocols and databases
- Caching
- Scaling distributed applications
- Replication
- Storage and retrieval
- MapReduce and distributed file systems
- Basics of API design
- Sharding techniques
- Measuring system performance
Below are some sample systems design interview questions asked at Twilio interviews.
- How do you design an API rate-limiter?
- How would you design a URL shortener?
- How would you design a file-sharing service like Dropbox?
- What is your approach to designing a cloud communications system?
- How would you design a chatbot service?
- How would you ensure that your system is secure to end-users?
- How would you design a system like Instagram?
- What factors would you account for while designing an e-commerce system?
- What is your approach to designing a cab-hailing service?
- What is your strategy to design a proximity server?
Twilio’s Behavioral Interview Questions
Behavioral questions are an important component in Twilio’s on-site interview. Questions asked are mostly around workplace conduct, past projects, workplace relationships, work-life balance, and your general attitude to situations and circumstances.
Below are some sample behavioral questions that you can expect at Twilio’s on-site interview:
- Tell us about a time when you worked on a challenging project that required you to learn new skills
- Tell us about a time when you had to make a big decision based on little available information
- Tell us about a time when a coworker was uncooperative. What did you do to mend the situation?
- What are your thoughts about Twilio’s platform as a service offering? Why do you want to work at Twilio?
- How do you ensure to maintain a good work-life balance?
- How do you ensure to keep stress in your personal and professional life at bay?
- Tell us about a time when you had a conflict with a coworker?
- What was the most difficult project that you’ve worked on?
The best way to answer behavioral questions is through the STAR method. Find out more by checking out this piece on How to Answer Situational Interview Questions.
For more behavioral interview questions, check out this comprehensive article on Behavioral Interview Questions for Software Engineers and Developers.
Tips to Crack Twilio’s Technical Interview
Here are some useful tips that will help you nail Twilio’s technical interview.
- Begin your prep at least 8 weeks before your interview and aim to practice at least one problem in data structures and algorithms every day.
- Identify patterns in problems that you solve and classify problems based on analogous patterns. Apply these patterns to solve new problems that you haven’t encountered before. Power patterns are the best way to build your problem-solving skills.
- Use the STAR method to answer behavioral interview questions.
- Spend at least 1 to 2 weeks brushing up concepts in systems design.
- Get good with concepts in the programming language of your choice.
- Practice mock interviews with experienced professionals who can give you the right feedback.
With Interview Kickstart, you can practice mock interviews with expert professionals who are hiring managers at FAANG+ companies. You can also schedule one-on-one mentor sessions with experts who have 25+ years of industry experience.
Check out our comprehensive piece on How to Crack the Coding Interview With 2 Months of Prep to get insightful ideas on adopting the right prep strategies.
FAQs on Twilio Technical Interviews
Q. What coding concepts are important for technical interviews at Twilio and other companies?
Below are the coding concepts you should prepare for technical interviews at top companies: arrays, strings, linked lists, recursion, sorting, hash tables, trees, graphs, and dynamic programming.
Q. What systems design concepts are important for Twilio’s technical interview?
The following concepts in distributed systems design are essential for Twilio’s technical interview: network protocols, sharding techniques, databases, caching, API modeling, and concurrency.
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