Infosys SP and DSE Preparation Guide: Coding, Aptitude & Interview Tips

Infosys Ninja (System Engineer): ₹3.6 LPA. Standard fresher role. Aptitude + basic coding + HR interview. Mass hiring.

Infosys DSE (Digital Specialist Engineer): ₹6.5 LPA. Requires stronger coding + database skills. Separate exam via InfyTQ or Superset.

Infosys SP (Specialist Programmer): ₹8-9 LPA. The most premium Infosys fresher role. Requires advanced coding (DP, graphs, advanced DSA) + system design basics.

You can apply for all three simultaneously. SP and DSE have separate, harder exams.

Round 1 — Online test: 3 coding problems (medium/hard), 180 minutes. Topics: DP, graphs, trees, advanced arrays. Difficulty: LeetCode medium-hard.

Round 2 — Technical interview: Deep dive into your solutions + advanced DSA questions + project discussion. 45-60 minutes.

Round 3 — HR interview: Behavioral, why Infosys SP, career goals. 20-30 minutes.

SP is significantly harder than Ninja — expect LeetCode medium-hard problems, not easy ones.

Round 1 — InfyTQ certification exam: 20 MCQs (Java/Python + DBMS) + 2 coding problems. 120 minutes. Passing score: 65%.

Round 2 — Technical interview: Java/Python deep dive + DBMS + project. 30-45 minutes.

Round 3 — HR interview: Behavioral + role discussion. 15-20 minutes.

DSE focuses more on language proficiency (Java/Python) and database knowledge than pure DSA.

Dynamic programming: knapsack, LIS, LCS, edit distance, matrix DP, DP on trees.

Graph algorithms: BFS, DFS, Dijkstra, topological sort, minimum spanning tree, union-find.

Advanced trees: segment trees, binary indexed trees, trie, AVL trees.

Advanced arrays: sliding window, prefix sum optimization, monotonic stack.

String algorithms: KMP, Rabin-Karp, Z-algorithm.

Greedy: activity selection, job sequencing, fractional knapsack.

Check Infosys SP and DSE PYQs on Apply /pyqs for exact problems asked.

Java: OOP concepts, collections framework, exceptions, multithreading basics, streams API.

Python: OOP, decorators, generators, list comprehensions, standard library.

DBMS: normalization, joins, indexing, transactions, ACID properties, SQL queries.

Coding: 2 problems — one on strings/arrays, one on data structures. Medium difficulty.

Data structures: hash maps, trees, heaps, queues — implementation and usage.

Days 1-20: Master advanced DSA. Solve 30 medium-hard LeetCode problems on DP, graphs, and trees. Focus on patterns, not quantity.

Days 21-40: Company-specific practice. Solve Infosys SP PYQs from Apply /pyqs. Practice 2 problems daily under 60-minute timed conditions.

Days 41-50: System design basics. Learn about scalability, caching, databases, load balancing. Not as deep as product companies, but SP interviews ask basic design questions.

Days 51-60: Mock interviews. Use Apply's AI mock interview at /mock-interview with company set to Infosys, interview type 'technical', difficulty 'hard'.

Technical round: Expect 2-3 coding problems on the spot — one DP, one graph, one on your project's tech stack.

Be ready to explain every line of your OA solutions — the interviewer will ask you to walk through your approach.

Project deep dive: Know your project architecture, tech stack, trade-offs, and what you'd do differently. If you claim React, expect React-specific questions (hooks, state management, virtual DOM).

HR round: Why SP and not Ninja? Why Infosys? Be ready to discuss your long-term career plan.

If you're strong at DSA (solved 100+ LeetCode problems, comfortable with DP and graphs): Target SP. The higher salary (₹8-9 LPA vs ₹6.5 LPA) is worth the extra prep.

If you're strong at Java/Python and DBMS but not advanced DSA: Target DSE. The exam is more language-focused, and the salary (₹6.5 LPA) is still significantly better than Ninja (₹3.6 LPA).

You can attempt both — there's no penalty. Many students clear both and choose based on the role offering.

Apply has Infosys PYQs at /pyqs, Infosys resume format guide at /prepare/infosys-resume-format, and AI mock interviews at /mock-interview. All free to start.