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Shopify·Software Engineer·Technical Phone Screen·Intermediate

Intermediate
Jun 2026

Summary

Two coding problems for a Shopify SWE round, both pretty self-contained. The LRU cache is a classic and the Secret Santa one was more fun than expected, though the derangement part tripped me up a bit.

Questions Asked (2)

Q1

Design and implement a bounded key-value cache that evicts the least recently used entry when full. Both get and put operations should run in O(1) time.

Algorithms & Data StructuresTechnical Trade-offs
Author's notes

Classic LRU problem.

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AI HintsAI Generated

Suggested Approach

Start by clarifying the requirements (e.g., capacity, thread-safety, eviction policy) and then propose a design using a hash map and a doubly linked list to achieve O(1) operations. Explain how the hash map provides direct access to nodes while the linked list maintains the recency order, and then walk through the implementation details for get and put.

Pro tip: Mention edge cases like updating an existing key, handling capacity 0 or 1, and discuss potential concurrency issues if the cache needs to be thread-safe. This shows attention to detail and real-world considerations.

1. Clarify Requirements

Ask questions to understand constraints: expected capacity, whether thread-safety is required, and if the eviction policy is strictly LRU. This ensures you design the right solution.

2. Choose Data Structures

Select a hash map for O(1) key lookup and a doubly linked list to track usage order. The hash map stores key-node pairs, and the linked list maintains nodes in order from most to least recently used.

3. Design Operations

For get: if key exists, move its node to the front of the list and return the value. For put: if key exists, update value and move to front; if not, create a new node, add to front, and if capacity is exceeded, remove the tail node and delete its key from the map.

4. Implement and Test

Write clean code with helper functions for adding to front and removing nodes. Test with scenarios like repeated gets, puts that trigger eviction, and updating existing keys.

5. Discuss Trade-offs

Mention alternative approaches (e.g., using an ordered dictionary) and their trade-offs. Also discuss potential improvements like thread-safety using locks or concurrent data structures.

Key Points to Mention

  • Hash map provides O(1) access to cache entries.
  • Doubly linked list maintains recency order with O(1) insertions and deletions.
  • Eviction removes the least recently used item from the tail of the list.
  • Updating an existing key requires moving its node to the front.
  • Edge cases: capacity 0, updating existing key, and thread-safety considerations.
  • Time complexity: both get and put are O(1) on average.

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

Q2

Write a program that reads a CSV of participants and assigns each person a gift recipient such that nobody gives to themselves and every person both gives and receives exactly once. The assignment should be randomized.

Algorithms & Data StructuresAPI & Integrations
Author's notes

This is basically asking for a random derangement.

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AI HintsAI Generated

Suggested Approach

Start by clarifying requirements and edge cases, then outline a randomized derangement algorithm (e.g., Fisher-Yates shuffle with rejection or cyclic shift) that guarantees no self-assignment. Discuss validation, error handling, and how to test the solution.

Pro tip: Mention that you would validate the assignment (e.g., check no self-gifts and all participants included) and consider scalability for large CSVs, showing you think about robustness and performance.

1. Clarify requirements and edge cases

Ask about CSV format, number of participants, handling of duplicates, and whether the assignment must be uniformly random. Confirm that every person gives and receives exactly once.

2. Choose a randomized derangement algorithm

Select an approach like Fisher-Yates shuffle with rejection (if self-assignment occurs) or a cyclic shift with random rotation. Ensure the algorithm is efficient and unbiased.

3. Implement the solution

Write code to read the CSV, extract participant names, apply the algorithm, and output the assignments. Include error handling for invalid input.

4. Validate and test

Verify that no one is assigned to themselves and that all participants are included exactly once. Test with edge cases like 2 participants, large lists, and malformed CSV.

5. Discuss scalability and randomness

Explain how the solution scales and whether the randomization is uniform. Mention potential improvements like using cryptographic randomness if needed.

Key Points to Mention

  • Derangement concept: permutation with no fixed points
  • Fisher-Yates shuffle for unbiased randomization
  • Rejection sampling or cyclic shift to avoid self-assignment
  • CSV parsing and error handling (e.g., missing columns, empty file)
  • Validation of the final assignment
  • Time and space complexity (O(n) time, O(n) space)

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