AR
Interview Experience
ATHARVA RAUTZensar Technologies
SDE
IT 2026
Saturday, November 15, 2025
1797 reads
✦4 min read
🎉 Zensar – Internship + Full-Time (PPO) Interview Experience
📍 On-Campus | Pune HQ (Kharadi) | AI/Software Engineer Intern → PPO Opportunity
🏢 Company Overview
Zensar is a global technology consulting and digital engineering company by RPG Group with 10,000+ employees across 33 international locations. They work across industries like BFS, Hitech, Retail, Gaming, Healthcare, delivering cloud-native platforms, AI-powered systems, and scalable digital products.
This drive was for the Games Global Internship Program — a 6-month in-office internship with a PPO (Pre-Placement Offer) based on performance.
Primary Areas:
AI/ML, LLMs, Backend Engineering, Cloud, Web Technologies
AI/ML, LLMs, Backend Engineering, Cloud, Web Technologies
📋 Basic Details
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Role | AI/Software Engineer Intern (PPO → AI/Software Engineer) |
| Type | On-Campus |
| Eligibility | 10th – 75%, 12th – 70%, UG – 7.3+ CGPA |
| Students Shortlisted for OA | 225 |
🧩 Rounds Overview
- Online Assessment (OA)
- Java Debugging Round (On-site)
- Mini Hackathon (Backend System Build)
- Code Review + Technical Discussion
- Group Discussion (GD)
- Managerial Interview
- VP Interview (Final)
Round 1: Online Assessment
Duration: 90 minutes
Date: Last week of September
Date: Last week of September
Format
- MCQs on core CS subjects
- Aptitude & logical reasoning
- Basic AI/ML conceptual questions
- 3 DSA questions (Easy–Medium difficulty)
- No option to run code
- Required writing complete function + driver logic manually
Round 2: Java Debugging Round (On-site @Pune HQ)
Date: First Week of October
Duration: 3 hours
Internet: ❌ Not allowed
Duration: 3 hours
Internet: ❌ Not allowed
Experience
- Given a Java codebase containing multiple bugs (logical + syntactical).
- Required to understand, debug and fix the code.
- This round evaluated:
- Analytical thinking
- Ability to read unfamiliar code
- Working without guidance or external help
- Approach to problem-solving under constraints
After debugging, each candidate explained:
- Their fixes
- Thought process
- Code improvements
Elimination: ~20 students eliminated.
Round 3: Mini Hackathon (Backend System Development)
Duration: 4–5 hours
Internet: ❌ Not allowed
Tech Stack: Any (developer’s choice)
Internet: ❌ Not allowed
Tech Stack: Any (developer’s choice)
Problem Statement
Design & implement a backend system capable of:
- Handling large volumes of files
- Tracking historical logs, metadata, and events
Expectations
- API design
- Data modeling
- Code structure & modularity
- Error handling
- Scalability considerations
All candidates submitted their final codebase for evaluation.
Round 4: Codebase Review + Technical Discussions
Date: 15th October
Shortlisted from previous round: 20
Shortlisted from previous round: 20
Process
- Recent Zensar joinees + experienced developers reviewed each candidate’s project.
- Discussion covered:
- Architecture
- Code quality
- Logic correctness
- System understanding
- Improvements
Additional Technical Questions
- Previous project walkthroughs
- Basic system design (patterns, SOLID)
- OOP fundamentals
- CS basics (depending on resume)
Outcome: No immediate elimination — all moved to GD.
Round 5: Group Discussion (GD)
Group Size: 10–12
Duration: ~50 minutes
Duration: ~50 minutes
Format
- No predefined topic
- Group collaboratively selected the topic
- Assessed candidate’s decision-making & leadership in topic selection
Evaluation
- Clarity and quality of input
- Listening skills
- Collaboration and conflict handling
- Structured reasoning
- Helping quieter members contribute
Participants with low participation were prompted to share their views.
Elimination: ~10 eliminated.
Further Rounds were arranged simultaneously
Round 6: Managerial Interview
Nature: Lightly technical, mostly culture-fit
Duration: ~10 minutes
Duration: ~10 minutes
Focus Areas
- Background & personal journey
- Basic technical checks
- Previous projects
- Personality & mindset
- Communication clarity
Very few eliminations occurred here.
Round 7: VP Interview (Final Round)
Format: Panel of 4 candidates
Duration: ~1 hour
Depth: High — combined personal + technical grilling
Duration: ~1 hour
Depth: High — combined personal + technical grilling
Flow
1. Personal & Family Background
- Asked about family, parents’ profession
- Evaluated maturity, awareness, grounding
- Some candidates were critically questioned to check depth
2. Technical
- OOP concepts with examples
- Short code snippets to write/explain
- Time complexity questions
- Reasoning behind DS choices
3. Achievements & Learnings
- Not just what was achieved
- But what was learned and how it shaped thinking
Outcome
- Only one candidate from my panel (me) was approved directly by the VP
- Because of this, Managerial Round was skipped for me
Others had both rounds combined for final evaluation.
🎉 Final Selection
All remaining candidates were gathered and informed of selection.
Total 3 students from PICT got selected for Internship
💡 Key Learnings & Tips
🧠 Strong Fundamentals Win
OOP, DS/Algo reasoning, debugging, and clarity matter more than frameworks.
💬 Communication Is a Game-Changer
GD + VP rounds heavily emphasize articulation and structured thinking.
🚫 "No Instruction" Rounds Are Intentional
Be prepared to operate independently without internet or guidance.
👤 VP Round Requires Maturity
Awareness about your family, background, and personal journey matters.
🏁 Final Thoughts
The Zensar Games Global Internship selection process was one of the most comprehensive experiences, assessing not just coding skills but confidence, clarity, decision-making, and self-awareness.
If you strengthen fundamentals and stay genuine in communication, you’ll stand out naturally.
