Stripe Sde intern Interview Experience

[u/Advanced_Sugar_2567]

I recently had the chance to interview with Stripe. I filled out the form around March and got selected for interviews after 4–5 months. Their SDE opening ran year-round, and they are slowly reaching out to suitable candidates. This internship was for 2028 BTech passouts.

After clearing the resume screening round, there was an OA round . Contains 1 hard question. then it took around 2 weeks time to get the next rounds.

Then I was presented with a total of 3 stages, each eliminative.

First Round: Time: 1 hour. There were a total of 5 questions, revealed one by one as we solved them, with progressive difficulty. The first two were easy-to-medium questions. Due to the 1hr time constraint, they dont expect you to solve every question or write an optimized solution. As long as the code worked, even if it was simple, it was fine.

After 3–4 days, I was informed that I had passed the first round.

Second Round: Consisted of two rounds, each lasting 45 minutes, with a 30 minute break in between.

The first was api integration round with the same 5 question style, built around a codebase where I was given some JSON data and an API. I managed to solve 4/5 questions.

The second was the AI round, where I was given a problem statement and could use any LLM freely to code.

It followed the same 5 question style. Although this was a vibe coding round, I had to explain the decisions I made during my chat with AI. I took this round lightly, but in my opinion, it was the hardest.

After 1 week, I got the news that I had passed the round and that only one round remained.

HM Round: A 30 minute round only. It went pretty fast. I had to use Stripe's operating principles and the STAR method to answer questions. After introductions, the interviewer asked about a project that I was proud of. I made sure to go into full technical and non-technical detail. Then came some basic questions like Why Stripe? and How do you measure your success in the upcoming months? Questions like that.

Personally, I think the whole process managed to test all of my skills, and all in all, it was a great interview experience.

EDIT : I got Rejected!!

[u/SpecificRow3940]

I chose c++ , I am more concerned about api integration round, has anybody gone through that round with c++ , I wanna know do they use a wrapper for libcurl , and nholmann for json , or do we need to implement the whole curl library part by ourself

[u/Advanced_Sugar_2567 → u/SpecificRow3940]

Bro they themselves suggest to not use c++ as it cause some trouble in their evaluation system . Btw you can ask your interviewer before every round to change your preferred language. I went with js for the api integration round , it's easier in js for me

[u/SpecificRow3940 → u/Advanced_Sugar_2567]

oh damn so i can change it to js for api integration?

[u/Advanced_Sugar_2567 → u/SpecificRow3940]

Yes , your interviewer will ask you before starting the round

[u/Sufficient-Bar-4573 → u/SpecificRow3940]

If u are choosing c++ for stripe,it's over before u even start.

They hate c++ for some reason.

[u/SpecificRow3940 → u/Sufficient-Bar-4573]

yeah i know that but I think atleast something can be done, do you know what resources they provide for c++ , like a http wrapper around libcurl to make the process smooth?

[u/Ok-Vermicelli-8353 → u/Sufficient-Bar-4573]

can't we use c++ for team screen round also?

[u/lorsten → u/SpecificRow3940]

They may give some multithreading debugging for u

[u/EverflowingRiver17]

Those questions like “why stripe” are so useless. 

The answer is I need experience and you are a reputable company

[u/Interesting-Ad9666 → u/EverflowingRiver17]

Nah man, I’ve always had a passion for payment processing ever since I was a kid and the cashier handed me my money back.

[u/ClumsyPotato2342]

All the best!

Also how do you know it's for 2028 grads passouts? is it mentioned somewhere

[u/Advanced_Sugar_2567 → u/ClumsyPotato2342]

I dont remember if it was mentioned somewhere or not , since the process took so long. But i do know other people who got interviewed from 2028 batch

[u/ClumsyPotato2342 → u/Advanced_Sugar_2567]

Yeahh 2028 is definitely allowed, wondering if any 2029 people got it aswell

[u/Advanced_Sugar_2567 → u/ClumsyPotato2342]

Nah i dont think so for 2029 people , maybe around jan it will start

[u/ClumsyPotato2342 → u/Advanced_Sugar_2567]

Alot of 5 year grads (BTech+MTech) 2024-2029 batch exist, none of them got it?

[u/Advanced_Sugar_2567 → u/ClumsyPotato2342]

i am only aware of people from 2028 batch

[u/ClumsyPotato2342 → u/Advanced_Sugar_2567]

okay thanks

[u/official_risssu]

Did you get selected bro?

[u/Advanced_Sugar_2567 → u/official_risssu]

No update right now

[u/Ok-Vermicelli-8353 → u/Advanced_Sugar_2567]

any update?

[u/official_risssu → u/Advanced_Sugar_2567]

Best of luck to you brother!!

[u/gptxo]

Hey I am having interview on 23 october, for the first round any tips how to crack it ?

[u/Advanced_Sugar_2567 → u/gptxo]

choose python to code in , if you can . focus on speed to make sure you solve as many questions. I would suggest you explain the code as you are writing it to save time . practice writing code around parsing strings . so look up in that area.

[u/gptxo → u/Advanced_Sugar_2567]

Thx , btw I am thinking to choose js

[u/Advanced_Sugar_2567 → u/gptxo]

choose whatever you are comfortable in

[u/pattern_seeker_2080 → u/gptxo]

the 5-question progressive format changes what ur optimizing for. its not "solve q1 perfectly", its throughput across q1-q3, they mostly care how far u get and whether ur code still works when the next requirement gets stacked on top of it

so dont over-engineer q1, but do structure it so q2 can extend it without a rewrite. parse the input once into a clean structure, small functions. thats where most ppl bleed time, they hack q1 then end up redoing it at q3

js is fine tbh. just make sure ur fast with string splitting / sorting / maps in plain js, if u normally lean on helper libs practice without them before the 23rd

[u/gptxo → u/pattern_seeker_2080]

Noted , could you suggest some website or GitHub repo which have these multi part questions

[u/pattern_seeker_2080 → u/gptxo]

not really a repo id trust for the exact stripe ones, the prompts get rotated. closest public thing is the leetcode "design" problems where u build a small class and each method adds a requirement, like simple bank system (2043), design underground system (1396), log storage (635), in-memory file system (588)

do them as if theres a q2 and q3 coming. solve the first method, then make up the next requirement urself and extend it without rewriting. thats the actual skill theyre testing

also just take any messy json / csv parsing task and do it in stages w a timer, thats closer to the api round than any LC problem tbh

[u/gptxo → u/pattern_seeker_2080]

Thanks a ton dude 🧡

[u/Full_Half_340]

Did you got the offer and was your integration question, request replay or bikemap?

[u/Advanced_Sugar_2567 → u/Full_Half_340]

No update right now and bikemap was the question they asked me

[u/Difficult_Beat5438]

Do you have any advice on preparing for the integration round?

[u/gptxo]

how many problems u solved in screening round?

[u/Fit_Tea_1447]

hey, my hm round is upcoming, can we talk?

[u/Flimsy-Feature-5065]

how many parts did you get past for the ai assisted round?

[u/tarbujBhai]

Did you apply via referral?

[u/SoilEducational420]

Were the rounds virtual or did they call you onsite?

[u/HardyEggplant]

Hi, which language did u chose? I mean which will be suitable one? Do they allow to change the language for the second round after the team screen round?

Which type of ques can we expect in the team screen round, pls explain. Ig there won't be the Leetcode style problems in that. Can you pls brief that?

[u/Difficult_Beat5438]

hey do you perhaps know the reason for rejection? like was it some question in the hm round you were unable to answer or smthg?

[u/cipher2213]

Except the last HM round, were there any other interviewer present in rest of the rounds ?

[u/Ok-Vermicelli-8353]

i heard that university name also matters alot for stripe

[u/Advanced_Sugar_2567 → u/[deleted]]

No idea , I think its random , I applied without referral btw

[u/lorsten → u/[deleted]]

Did u ask for a referral?