Zepto Placement Papers 2026

Last Updated: March 2026

Company Overview

Zepto is India's fastest-growing quick-commerce platform that delivers groceries and essentials in 10 minutes. Founded by two Stanford dropouts — Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra — Zepto has disrupted the Indian grocery delivery market with its dark store model and hyper-efficient logistics technology.

Key Facts:

Founded: 2021
Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
Employees: 3,500+ (corporate), 10,000+ (including delivery and warehouse)
Valuation: $5+ billion (as of 2025)
Backed By: StepStone Group, Lightspeed, Y Combinator, Nexus Venture Partners
Cities: 30+ Indian cities
Dark Stores: 500+
Orders: 1+ million per day

Zepto is one of the hottest startups for engineers in 2026. The company is scaling aggressively and hiring across engineering, data science, and product roles. Campus hiring targets top engineering colleges during April-June, with a focus on systems engineers who can build real-time logistics and inventory management platforms.

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria	Requirement
Degree	B.Tech/B.E, M.Tech, Dual Degree
Branches	CSE, IT, ECE (with strong coding background)
Academic Score	7.0+ CGPA preferred (flexible for exceptional coders)
Backlogs	No active backlogs
Gap	Maximum 1 year
Experience	Freshers for SDE-1, pre-final year for internships

CTC & Compensation

Role	CTC (Fresher)	In-Hand (Approx)
SDE-1 (Backend)	Rs 20-30 LPA	Rs 1,30,000-1,90,000/month
SDE-1 (Frontend)	Rs 18-26 LPA	Rs 1,15,000-1,65,000/month
Data Engineer	Rs 18-28 LPA	Rs 1,15,000-1,80,000/month
ML Engineer	Rs 22-32 LPA	Rs 1,40,000-2,00,000/month
SDE Intern	Rs 60,000-1,00,000/month stipend	—

Note: Zepto offers some of the highest fresher salaries in the Indian startup ecosystem. CTC includes significant ESOP allocation which could be very valuable given the company's growth trajectory. Base salary is typically 60-65% of total CTC.

Selection Process

Zepto's hiring process is fast-paced, reflecting the company's culture:

Online Coding Assessment - 3 problems in 90 minutes
Technical Interview Round 1 (DSA) - Live coding with a senior engineer, 2 problems (45-60 minutes)
Technical Interview Round 2 (System Design + Deep Dive) - Design a real-time system, discuss past projects (45-60 minutes)
Hiring Manager Round - Problem-solving approach, culture fit, ownership mindset (30-45 minutes)
Offer Discussion - HR connects to discuss CTC, joining date, location

The entire process from coding test to offer typically takes 7-10 days. Zepto moves fast and expects candidates who can make quick decisions too.

Exam Pattern

Section	Questions	Duration	Difficulty
Coding Problem 1	1	~25 min	Medium
Coding Problem 2	1	~30 min	Medium-Hard
Coding Problem 3	1	~35 min	Hard

Total Duration: 90 minutes Platform: HackerRank / Codility Languages Allowed: C++, Java, Python, Go, JavaScript Partial Scoring: Yes (based on test cases passed) Negative Marking: No

Zepto's coding problems often involve real-world scenarios related to delivery routing, inventory optimization, and time-slot management. Strong graph and optimization algorithm skills are essential.

Aptitude Questions

Zepto does not have a separate aptitude section, but their coding problems embed mathematical and logical reasoning. Here are representative quantitative problems that test the kind of thinking needed:

Q1: Delivery Route Optimization

A delivery rider can serve 8 orders per hour within a 3 km radius. If the radius increases to 5 km, the travel time per order increases by 60%. How many orders can the rider serve per hour?

Solution: Original time per order = 60/8 = 7.5 minutes New time per order = 7.5 x 1.60 = 12 minutes Orders per hour = 60/12 = 5 orders

Q2: Inventory Calculation

A dark store stocks 500 units of an item. Daily demand follows the pattern: 40, 55, 35, 60, 50 units. If restocking happens every 5 days, what should the safety stock be to avoid stockouts (assuming demand can fluctuate 20% above average)?

Solution: Average daily demand = (40+55+35+60+50)/5 = 48 units Max expected demand = 48 x 1.20 = 57.6 per day 5-day max demand = 57.6 x 5 = 288 units Safety stock = Max 5-day demand - Average 5-day demand = 288 - 240 = 48 units

Q3: Probability of On-Time Delivery

If the probability of a single delivery being on time is 0.92, what is the probability that all 5 deliveries in a batch are on time?

Solution: P(all on time) = 0.92^5 = 0.6591 (approximately 65.9%)

Q4: Growth Rate Calculation

Zepto's order volume grew from 200,000 daily orders to 1,000,000 daily orders in 18 months. What is the monthly compound growth rate?

Solution: 1,000,000 = 200,000 x (1 + r)^18 5 = (1 + r)^18 (1 + r) = 5^(1/18) = 1.0967 Monthly growth rate = 9.67%

Q5: Slot Allocation

A dark store operates 14 delivery slots per day (8 AM to 10 PM, 1-hour slots). If the store can handle 40 orders per slot and receives 650 orders, how many slots will be at full capacity?

Solution: Total capacity = 14 x 40 = 560. But demand is 650, exceeding capacity by 90. If distributed evenly: 650/14 = 46.4 orders per slot (all slots overflow). With 40 per slot capacity: first 560 orders fill 14 slots, 90 orders overflow. At least 14 slots will be at capacity (all full, with 90 orders waitlisted).

Technical Questions

Q1: How would you design a real-time delivery tracking system?

Q2: Explain the concept of eventual consistency and where it applies in e-commerce.

Q3: What is the difference between Redis and Memcached? When would you choose one over the other?

Q4: Explain how Kafka works and why it is used in real-time systems.

Q5: What are database indexes and how do they affect read and write performance?

Coding Questions

Q1: Shortest Path in a Weighted Grid (Modified Dijkstra)

Given a grid where each cell has a cost, find the minimum cost path from top-left to bottom-right, moving in 4 directions.

import heapq

def shortest_path_grid(grid):
    rows, cols = len(grid), len(grid[0])
    dist = [[float('inf')] * cols for _ in range(rows)]
    dist[0][0] = grid[0][0]
    heap = [(grid[0][0], 0, 0)]
    directions = [(0, 1), (0, -1), (1, 0), (-1, 0)]

    while heap:
        cost, r, c = heapq.heappop(heap)
        if r == rows - 1 and c == cols - 1:
            return cost
        if cost > dist[r][c]:
            continue
        for dr, dc in directions:
            nr, nc = r + dr, c + dc
            if 0 <= nr < rows and 0 <= nc < cols:
                new_cost = cost + grid[nr][nc]
                if new_cost < dist[nr][nc]:
                    dist[nr][nc] = new_cost
                    heapq.heappush(heap, (new_cost, nr, nc))
    return dist[rows - 1][cols - 1]

# Time: O(RC log(RC)) | Space: O(RC)

Q2: Merge K Sorted Lists

Given K sorted linked lists, merge them into one sorted list.

import heapq

class ListNode:
    def __init__(self, val=0, next=None):
        self.val = val
        self.next = next

def merge_k_lists(lists):
    heap = []
    for i, node in enumerate(lists):
        if node:
            heapq.heappush(heap, (node.val, i, node))

    dummy = ListNode(0)
    current = dummy
    while heap:
        val, idx, node = heapq.heappop(heap)
        current.next = node
        current = current.next
        if node.next:
            heapq.heappush(heap, (node.next.val, idx, node.next))

    return dummy.next

# Time: O(N log K) where N = total elements | Space: O(K)

Q3: Maximum Orders in a Time Window (Sliding Window)

Given a list of order timestamps and a window size W, find the maximum number of orders that fall within any window of W minutes.

from collections import deque

def max_orders_in_window(timestamps, window):
    timestamps.sort()
    max_count = 0
    queue = deque()

    for ts in timestamps:
        queue.append(ts)
        while queue[0] < ts - window:
            queue.popleft()
        max_count = max(max_count, len(queue))

    return max_count

# Example: max_orders_in_window([1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12], 5) -> 4
# Window [5, 10] contains timestamps 5, 7, 8, 9
# Time: O(n log n) | Space: O(n)

HR Interview Questions

Why quick-commerce? Why Zepto specifically? Discuss the 10-minute delivery model, dark store innovation, and your interest in solving logistics problems at scale.
How do you handle ambiguity? Zepto is a fast-moving startup. Give examples where you made decisions with incomplete information.
Tell me about a time you built something from scratch. Highlight ownership, initiative, and the end result.
Are you comfortable with a startup environment? Be honest about long hours, rapid iteration, and wearing multiple hats.
What do you know about Zepto's competitors? Discuss Blinkit (Zomato), Swiggy Instamart, BigBasket (Tata), and Zepto's differentiation.

Preparation Tips

Graph Algorithms: Zepto's problems are heavily graph-based (shortest paths, network flow, routing). Master BFS, DFS, Dijkstra, Bellman-Ford, and topological sort.
Sliding Window & Two Pointers: Common for time-window and range-based problems that mirror delivery slot optimization.
System Design: Prepare to design real-time tracking systems, inventory management, and order routing. Read about Uber/DoorDash engineering blogs for inspiration.
LeetCode Target: 200+ problems with focus on Graph (40+), DP (30+), Sliding Window (20+), and Heap/Priority Queue (20+).
Speed Matters: Practice timed coding sessions. Zepto values engineers who can write correct code fast.
Startup Mindset: Read about Zepto's journey, founder stories, and engineering blog posts. Show genuine excitement about the product during interviews.

Previous Year Cutoffs

College Tier	Coding Test Cutoff	Final Selection Rate
Tier 1 (IITs, BITS, IIIT-H)	2.5/3 problems fully passed	~15-20% of shortlisted
Tier 2 (NITs, top private)	3/3 problems fully passed	~8-12% of shortlisted

Zepto is highly selective and prefers candidates who demonstrate strong problem-solving speed and code quality. The company hires 30-60 freshers annually from campus.

FAQs

What tech stack does Zepto use?

Zepto's engineering stack includes Go (Golang) and Python for backend microservices, React and React Native for frontend and mobile apps, PostgreSQL and Redis for databases, Kafka for event streaming, Kubernetes on AWS for infrastructure, and Elasticsearch for search. The data engineering team uses Apache Spark, Airflow, and BigQuery. Knowledge of any backend language (Java, Python, Go, C++) is sufficient for the interview.

Is Zepto a stable company to join as a fresher?

Zepto is one of the best-funded quick-commerce startups in India with over $1 billion in total funding and a $5+ billion valuation. The company has achieved profitability at the dark-store level and is expanding rapidly. While no startup is risk-free, Zepto's strong unit economics and aggressive growth make it a relatively safe bet in the startup world. The high ESOP allocation could also be very valuable if the company goes public.

How does Zepto's interview difficulty compare to FAANG?

Zepto's coding rounds are comparable to mid-tier FAANG difficulty — harder than Amazon SDE-1 but slightly easier than Google L3. The system design round is more practical and domain-specific (logistics, real-time systems) compared to FAANG's more theoretical approach. The key difference is speed — Zepto expects faster problem-solving and values practical engineering judgment over theoretical perfection.

What is the work culture like at Zepto?

Zepto has a high-intensity, ownership-driven startup culture. Engineers are expected to own features end-to-end, from design to deployment. The pace is fast, deployments happen multiple times daily, and on-call rotations are part of the engineering workflow. The upside is rapid learning, significant impact on a product used by millions, and strong mentorship from experienced engineers. Work-life balance has improved as the company has matured, but freshers should expect an intense first year.

Does Zepto hire through off-campus drives?

Yes, Zepto actively hires through off-campus channels including LinkedIn, referrals, and their careers page. They also participate in hiring challenges on platforms like HackerEarth and Unstop. Off-campus candidates go through the same interview process as campus hires. Strong GitHub profiles, open-source contributions, or competitive programming ratings can help bypass the initial resume screening.

All the best for your Zepto placement preparation! Master graph algorithms and system design to crack the coding rounds, and show a genuine passion for building technology that impacts millions of daily users.