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Rubrik·Software Engineer·Technical Phone Screen·Intermediate

Intermediate
Jul 2026

Summary

Rubrik software engineer interview with a tree BFS validation problem. The question was more involved than it looked and I spent way too long second-guessing my approach before landing on something reasonable.

Questions Asked (1)

Q1

You're given an undirected tree as an edge list and a set of queries, each query being a permutation of all node labels. For each query, determine whether that permutation could be a valid BFS traversal output of the tree, given that neighbors can be enqueued in any order.

Algorithms & Data Structures
Author's notes

My first instinct was to just simulate BFS for each query and check, which works but blows up when q is large.

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AI HintsAI Generated

Suggested Approach

Root the tree at the first node of the permutation and verify that the permutation respects BFS level order and parent-child constraints. For each node, its parent must appear earlier, and all nodes at the same depth must appear before any node at the next depth. Additionally, the set of children of each node must appear as a contiguous block in the permutation.

Pro tip: Clarify that the tree is undirected and that BFS can start from any node, but the permutation fixes the start. Mention that the problem reduces to checking if the permutation is a valid BFS order for some ordering of neighbors, which can be done in O(n) time with a queue simulation.

1. Root the tree at the first node

Since the permutation starts with some node, treat that node as the root of the BFS tree. Build adjacency lists and compute parent-child relationships via BFS from that root.

2. Check level order property

Ensure that nodes appear in non-decreasing order of depth. Compute the depth of each node from the root and verify that the permutation is sorted by depth.

3. Verify parent-child contiguity

For each node, its children in the BFS tree must appear as a contiguous block in the permutation, and all children must appear after the parent. Use a queue to simulate BFS and check that the order of children matches the permutation.

4. Simulate BFS with a queue

Process nodes in the given permutation order. Maintain a queue of nodes whose children have not been fully processed. For each node in the permutation, it must be the next expected child of the front of the queue. If not, the permutation is invalid.

5. Handle edge cases and complexity

Consider cases like n=1, star graphs, and paths. Ensure the algorithm runs in O(n) per query, and discuss how to handle multiple queries efficiently if needed.

Key Points to Mention

  • BFS traversal order constraints: level order and parent-child relationships
  • The role of the starting node (first element of permutation) as the root
  • Contiguity of children for each node in the permutation
  • Using a queue to simulate BFS and validate the order
  • Time complexity: O(n) per query with O(n) space
  • Edge cases: single node, star tree, path tree, and invalid permutations

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