Exoduspoint·Software Engineer·Technical Phone Screen
May 2026
Got a puzzle-style question at Exoduspoint for a software engineering role. Just the one problem, classic bridge-and-torch setup, but they wanted a full walkthrough of the reasoning not just the answer.
- Four people need to cross a narrow bridge at night with one flashlight. Each person has a known crossing time, at most two can cross at once, and the flashlight must be carried back by someone walking. If two cross together they move at the slower person's pace. Given the four times sorted as t1 <= t2 <= t3 <= t4, what sequence of crossings minimizes total time and what is that minimum?
“I knew the puzzle vaguely but blanked on the two-strategy comparison when they pushed me to formalize it.”