Round 1 of the Rubrik SDE Intern process felt like a balanced mix of problem-solving and conceptual clarity. The interview consisted of two questions, both rooted in core number theory concepts, which made it a good test of fundamentals rather than just surface-level coding.

The first question was based on the Sieve of Eratosthenes, a classic competitive programming topic. It wasn’t just about writing the code, but also about understanding why the algorithm works efficiently and how it can be optimized. I focused on explaining the intuition clearly—how we progressively eliminate multiples and why starting from i^2 matters for optimization. The interviewer seemed interested in my thought process and how I reasoned about time complexity.

The second question was from number theory and required a bit more analytical thinking. It involved breaking the problem into smaller observations and applying known mathematical properties. Instead of jumping straight into coding, I spent some time discussing patterns and edge cases, which helped me arrive at a cleaner solution. This discussion-driven approach made the interaction feel more collaborative than interrogative.

Overall, the round was not about tricky questions but about depth of understanding. Staying calm, communicating my thoughts clearly, and justifying each step played a key role. It felt like a fair evaluation of problem-solving ability and fundamentals, and the experience was genuinely engaging.