SAP·Software Engineer·Technical Phone Screen·Intermediate

Intermediate

Apr 2026

Summary

SAP technical screen for a software engineer role, pretty focused on async JavaScript and API chaining. One question that looked simple on the surface turned into a whole conversation about parallelization.

Questions Asked (1)

Write an async function that fetches the first 10 Pokemon from the list endpoint, then retrieves each one's detail endpoint in parallel, and returns an array of objects containing name, height, weight, and the front sprite image URL.

API & IntegrationsTechnical Trade-offs

Author's notes

I got the basic structure down pretty fast, map over the names, fetch each detail, pull out the fields.

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AI HintsAI Generated

Suggested Approach

Start by clarifying the API endpoints and expected response shapes, then outline the async function using fetch with Promise.all for parallel detail requests. Emphasize error handling, data transformation, and performance considerations like avoiding sequential awaits.

Pro tip: Mention that you would handle partial failures gracefully—e.g., using Promise.allSettled—so one failed Pokemon doesn't break the entire batch, and note that this is a common production concern.

1. Clarify requirements and endpoints

Confirm the list endpoint URL (e.g., https://pokeapi.co/api/v2/pokemon?limit=10) and the detail endpoint pattern (e.g., /pokemon/{name}). Ask about error handling expectations and whether the function should throw or return partial results.

2. Fetch the list and extract detail URLs

Use fetch to get the list, parse JSON, and extract the array of Pokemon (each with name and url). Slice to first 10 if the API returns more.

3. Fetch details in parallel

Map each Pokemon to a fetch call for its detail URL, then use Promise.all (or allSettled) to await all requests concurrently. This avoids sequential delays.

4. Transform and return the data

For each detail response, extract name, height, weight, and sprites.front_default. Return an array of objects with these fields.

5. Add error handling and discuss trade-offs

Wrap in try/catch, handle non-200 responses, and discuss using Promise.allSettled for resilience. Mention rate limiting, caching, and aborting requests if needed.

Key Points to Mention

Use of async/await with Promise.all for parallel requests to improve performance
Error handling strategies: try/catch, checking response.ok, and Promise.allSettled for partial failures
Data transformation: mapping API response fields to the required output shape
Consideration of API rate limits and potential need for throttling or batching
Clarifying assumptions about the API (e.g., PokeAPI) and endpoint structures
Trade-offs between Promise.all (fail-fast) and Promise.allSettled (resilient)

AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.