Directi Systems Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

Started with a ppt about the company. First round consisted of 30 MCQ. First was the technical round, questions mainly were on Computer Networks, Linux Commands, Operating Systems. Second round was a simple coding problem (They came and helped if u were stuck). Evaluation for coding was based on the way you approach the problem. Interview round was on database,OS,Networking

I applied for the Systems Administrator- Operations Associate role through Directi's website. The whole interview process was completed in a single day. It started with a Technical Paper which had one technical question and an essay. This was followed by an HR Round and then a final Technical Interview. The first round is straightforward if you're well-versed in Internet and its security concepts. They focus on the content of your writing, not just the length. For the HR round, they review your CV and assess your communication skills, so be direct and clear. The final round, sometimes called the 'god' round, is with the Technical head. This person is very practical and focuses on cybersecurity knowledge. The company culture is energetic and passionate, so they look for that in candidates. It might be challenging for certain types of people to get through this round. They value your opinions and aim to make candidates, especially freshers, comfortable during the interviews.

We started with a Pre-placement talk which was quite long and informative. Something unexpected happened: Directi initially had no restrictions on GPA or branch, but after the PPT, they realized they were short of question papers. They told students without Linux or programming knowledge to leave, as they wouldn't pass, even offering t-shirts to those who chose to leave. The written round began, and it's highly recommended to review previous years' papers and Sameer's blog as many questions were repeated. Even without taking Unix, I could answer questions like 'what does ps do', 'ls * do', 'kill do' because I had seen them before. A useful tip is to skim through the entire paper; for instance, a question about file status commands helped clarify a previous question about 'ps'. Common sense can also help crack some parts. Following that was a rigorous coding round. Instead of algorithmic challenges, we were asked to implement the Unix 'find' command in any language, which could be figured out using 'man find' and help documentation. I cleared this round too. My profile included web-dev projects like GSoC and other portals. The first round was straightforward; I discussed my projects and was asked basic Networking questions (TCP/UDP, DNS, DHCP). I advanced to the next round. My first interview ended at 6:30 pm, and the second started at 10:30 pm. They were interviewing other candidates and moving them to subsequent rounds. By the time I had my second interview, others had completed their third rounds. The second interview was tough. I discussed MVC frameworks and Codeigniter, and was asked if MVC could be applied elsewhere, to which I said mobile apps. The interviewer then probed for structural differences between MVC in mobile and web apps, a question I couldn't answer. He then delved deep into DNS, routing, nameservers, DHCP, switching, and booting concepts, particularly related to Grub. I knew I wouldn't make it. A frustrating aspect was the way they handled rejections. One lady informed candidates who completed 3-4 rounds that they weren't selected. Only one person was selected. While waiting, my second-round interviewers told me, 'You're a great web-programmer, but you don't fit this profile correctly.' This highlights Directi's company ethics: making a candidate wait 6-7 hours for a second interview, not treating everyone equally, and then taking that long to decide they don't fit the profile.