Uber interview guide
Uber software engineer interview: process, questions and prep
Uber runs real-time systems: maps, matching riders with drivers, prices and payments. Its design questions follow that work, and its coding rounds are often one hard problem. Here is what candidates report and how to prepare.
The process
The Uber interview process
What candidates commonly report. Teams and levels differ, so ask your recruiter what your loop looks like.
- Recruiter screen
A short call about your background and the team.
- Coding screen
An online test or a live coding call. Graphs and dynamic programming come up often.
- Onsite
Usually two coding rounds and a system design round. Senior roles may get a second design round.
- Collaboration and leadership
Often run by the hiring manager. It mixes past-work questions with “what would you do” questions.
Questions
Uber behavioral interview questions
Questions candidates report from Uber behavioral rounds, and what a strong answer shows.
How do you handle disagreements on your team about technical decisions? Walk me through a real one.
A strong answer shows a fair process for deciding.
How do you earn your team's trust? Give me a real example.
A strong answer shows doing what they said they would.
Imagine you join a team right before a launch. Time is short and you don't know much about the work. What do you do?
A strong answer shows learning fast by asking the right people.
Tell me about a recent project that failed or fell short. What happened, and how did you manage the risk along the way?
A strong answer shows seeing and naming risks early.
Tell me about a time you had to keep the big goal in mind while getting a lot of details right.
A strong answer shows knowing which details mattered for the goal.
Have you led a project end to end? Walk me through how you ran it.
A strong answer shows planning and ownership from start to finish.
Tell me about a time stakeholders wanted conflicting things from your project. How did you balance them?
A strong answer shows understanding each stakeholder's real need.
Tell me about how you managed risk on a large program you led.
A strong answer shows naming the risks early.
Questions
Uber coding interview questions
Coding problems candidates report from Uber interviews.
LRU Cache
Caching model responses, eviction order
Valid Palindrome
Pointers from both ends, skipping noise
Valid Parentheses
Matching pairs with a stack
Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters
Growing and shrinking a window
Maximum Depth of Binary Tree
Recursion on a binary tree
Merge K Sorted Lists
k-way merge with a heap
Number of Islands
Flood fill on a grid
Course Schedule
Cycle detection with a topological order
Coin Change
Bottom-up table of best answers
Valid Anagram
Counting characters with a map
Two Sum
One pass with a hash map
Group Anagrams
Choosing a good hash key
How to prepare
How to prepare for Uber
- Practice location problems: finding nearby drivers, maps and live updates.
- Know how to keep trips and payments correct when parts of the system fail.
- Plan for traffic spikes, like New Year’s Eve.
- Bring numbers to your stories: how fast, how many, how much.
Questions.
What system design questions does Uber ask?
Ride hailing, food delivery, maps, nearby search and payments come up most. Expect questions on location indexing, speed and keeping data correct.
How hard is the Uber coding interview?
Many people get one hard problem per round. Graphs and dynamic programming come up a lot.
What is the Uber collaboration round?
It is a behavioral round with the hiring manager. Expect questions on disagreements, earning trust and leading projects. They also ask how you move fast without cutting corners.
Can I practice a Uber mock interview?
Yes. Orin runs Uber-style mock interviews by voice, with Uber’s reported questions asked first and follow-ups in its style. Company interviews are on the Pro and Max plans. Your first interview is free.
How does an Orin mock interview work?
You talk with Orin by voice, like a video call. It asks questions, listens and asks follow-ups based on what you said. Coding happens in a live editor and design on a live whiteboard. After the interview you get a report with quotes from your answers, what cost you points and what to practice next.
Practice your Uber interview.
Talk through Uber-style questions with follow-ups, then see exactly what to fix. First interview free.
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