Uber coding interviews mix classic data structure work with problems that feel close to dispatch, routing, scheduling, and marketplace operations. You should expect a mix of technical screens, onsite rounds, and take-home tasks where the main signal is not memorized tricks, but how well you model the problem, pick the right data structure, and explain tradeoffs under time pressure.
Below are 20 of the most common Uber coding questions reported by candidates, grouped by theme. If you have an interview coming up, this set is a good snapshot of the patterns Uber likes.
Graphs, grids, and traversal
Solve DFS grid and keypad problems (medium) , Technical Screen
This kind of question checks whether you can map a real problem onto DFS or backtracking without getting lost in edge cases. Interviewers want to see clean state management, visited handling, and whether you know when recursion is fine and when an iterative stack is safer.Solve BFS and grid tasks (medium) , Onsite
Uber asks grid traversal often because it shows whether you're comfortable with shortest-path reasoning, layer-by-layer exploration, and boundary checks. A strong answer usually starts with how neighbors are generated and why BFS fits minimum-step questions.Count connected islands using Union-Find (medium) , Take-home Project
This is a standard connectivity problem, but the Union-Find angle checks whether you know more than DFS or BFS. Be ready to explain path compression, union by rank or size, and why this structure helps when connectivity updates happen many times.Solve Knight and Reversal Problems (hard) , Take-home Project
Problems like this usually combine graph modeling with a less obvious operation, such as constrained moves or state transitions. Uber uses harder take-homes like this to see whether you can break a messy prompt into nodes, edges, and a search strategy.Find minimum reversals to orient edges away from root (medium) , Take-home Project
This question tests graph intuition beyond simple traversal. A good approach is to traverse the graph while tracking reversal cost, then aggregate the minimum number of edge changes needed from the chosen root.Compute currency conversion via graph search (Medium) , Technical Screen
This is graph search in a business wrapper. Interviewers are checking whether you can build an adjacency representation quickly, handle visited nodes to avoid cycles, and reason about path products or rates without overcomplicating the solution.
Scheduling, intervals, and operational problems
Find Any Available Meeting Room (none) , Onsite
This is a straightforward scheduling question that tests whether you can work with sorted intervals and availability windows. Even if the coding is simple, interviewers care about how you define overlap, tie-breaking, and empty-room cases.Compute maximum concurrent trips from intervals (Medium) , Technical Screen
This is a classic sweep-line problem and a natural fit for Uber's trip domain. The key is recognizing that interval endpoints can be turned into events, then processed in order to track peak overlap.Compute minimal time to finish dependent tasks (medium) , Onsite
This question checks whether you can spot a DAG scheduling problem under plain-English wording. A solid answer usually uses topological ordering or DFS memoization to compute the longest dependency chain, since parallel work changes the total time.Find minimum activations to absorb all balls (medium) , Take-home Project
Uber likes these optimization questions because they show whether you can move from brute force to greedy or dynamic programming. Start by identifying the decision at each step, then ask whether local optimal choices stay valid globally.
Geometry, distance, and optimization
Choose K pickup locations minimizing L1 distance (medium) , Onsite
This question feels very Uber: facility placement, rider pickups, and distance minimization. Interviewers want to see whether you know the properties of L1 distance, especially how medians often matter, and whether you can combine that with a selection or DP strategy for k choices.Convert a PDF to a CDF (medium) , Technical Screen
This one tests basic probability and numerical reasoning rather than raw data structures. The interviewer is usually looking for correct accumulation logic, careful handling of discretization or continuity assumptions, and clear communication about what the input represents.Compute square root to 1 decimal (Medium) , Technical Screen
This is a compact numerical problem that shows whether you can reason with precision and termination conditions. Binary search is the usual idea, but what matters in the interview is how you choose bounds, rounding rules, and stopping criteria.
Arrays, permutations, and core algorithm fluency
Move zeros to the front (medium) , Technical Screen
Simple array manipulation questions still show up because they expose coding discipline fast. Uber is looking for clean pointer logic, in-place updates if required, and whether you clarify if the relative order of non-zero elements must stay the same.Determine balanced k values in a permutation (medium) , Take-home Project
Permutation questions test pattern recognition and your ability to derive properties from ordering constraints. Before coding, it helps to write down what "balanced" means mathematically and which prefix or frequency facts can be maintained efficiently.Check if each prefix forms 1..k permutation (hard) , Take-home Project
This is the kind of problem where a naive recheck of every prefix will time out, so Uber is testing incremental reasoning. Good candidates track exactly the conditions that make a prefix valid, such as min or max bounds, uniqueness, or running sums.Solve these algorithmic problems (medium) , Take-home Project
Multi-part algorithm sets are common in take-homes because they show range. The hard part is not one trick. It's pacing, deciding which problem family each prompt belongs to, and writing code that stays readable across several tasks.Solve 12 coding interview problems (medium) , Take-home Project
A larger problem pack tests consistency more than brilliance on a single question. Uber can learn a lot from whether you choose sensible approaches across different topics, finish within time, and avoid small implementation mistakes that pile up.
Data handling and product-style questions
Analyze sales with groupby (easy) , Technical Screen
This is a data manipulation question that checks whether you can work comfortably with aggregation logic, often in Python or SQL-like form. Even for an easy prompt, interviewers want clear handling of grouping keys, totals, and output shape.Design room progression with leaderboard (Medium) , Onsite
This question sits between coding and light systems thinking. It tests whether you can model entities and updates cleanly, choose data structures for ranking or progression state, and talk through performance if leaderboard updates happen often.
What this list says about Uber's coding interviews
A few patterns show up across these questions. Uber asks a lot of graph traversal, interval processing, and optimization problems, which makes sense for a company built around routing, supply-demand matching, and real-time operations. There is also a steady stream of array and permutation questions that check baseline algorithm strength without domain wrapping.
If you are preparing, focus on BFS and DFS, Union-Find, sweep line, topological sort, binary search, and prefix-based array reasoning. Practice explaining why your approach fits the problem, what the time and space costs are, and which edge cases you would test first.
For broader prep, PracHub has 103+ Uber coding questions, and these 20 are the ones with the most community engagement.
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