Grubhub Software Engineer Interview Questions + Guide in 2024

Grubhub is a leading online and mobile food ordering and delivery marketplace, connecting diners with a vast network of over 300,000 restaurants nationwide. Their platform is designed to make ordering food easy and enjoyable, leveraging technology and innovation to facilitate seamless dining experiences.

For the Software Engineer position at Grubhub, candidates can expect a thorough interview process comprising multiple stages, including coding challenges, system design, and behavioral questions. As part of the engineering team, you can define, architect, and scale crucial features for the platform, working closely with other technology teams, product managers, and stakeholders to deliver top-notch solutions.

Use Interview Query to prepare effectively and give yourself the best shot at joining this dynamic team. Let’s start tackling the interview process and giving insights into the Grubhub software engineer interview questions!

The interview process usually depends on the role and seniority; however, you can expect the following on a Grubhub software engineer interview:

Recruiter/Hiring Manager Call Screening

If your CV is among the shortlisted few, a recruiter from the Grubhub Talent Acquisition Team will contact you and verify key details like your experiences and skill level. Behavioral questions may also be a part of the screening process. Occasionally, the process may require follow-ups, and while it might sometimes face rescheduling issues, it’s integral to maintain professionalism throughout.

Sometimes, the Grubhub software engineering hiring manager may also be present during the screening round to answer your queries about the role and the company itself. They may also indulge in surface-level technical and behavioral discussions.

The whole recruiter call typically takes about 30 minutes.

First Technical Phone Screening

You’ll be invited for the first technical phone screening after successfully navigating the recruiter round. This interview will often include a mixture of behavioral and technical questions. Expect to discuss past experiences, challenges, and how you handle various work situations. Technical assessments may include coding queries emphasizing problem-solving skills, like grid manipulation or checking for balanced parentheses.

Online Coding Assessment

The next step is generally an online coding assessment that may include completing algorithmic challenges or real-life work scenarios. This will typically be conducted via a platform integrated through Interview Query.

Onsite Interview Rounds

After the online assessment, if selected, you will be invited to attend onsite interview rounds. These generally consist of multiple sessions including but not limited to:

• Technical Coding Rounds: You might be asked to solve whiteboard coding problems, such as implementing a checker or solving string compression and decompression problems.
• System Design: Expect bigger challenges, including designing an architecture or a specific system, like a delivery dispatch system or restaurant search for diners.
• Behavioral and Situational Questions: Focusing on past projects, the biggest mistakes, and how you dealt with particular situations, especially those based on data-driven decisions.

The onsite interviews, which last several hours and typically last about an hour, aim to assess your technical prowess and cultural fit.

Typically, interviews at Grubhub vary by role and team, but commonly, Software Engineer interviews follow a fairly standardized process across these question topics.

1. How would you set up an A/B test to optimize button color and position for higher click-through rates?

A team wants to A/B test changes in a sign-up funnel, such as changing a button from red to blue and/or moving it from the top to the bottom of the page. How would you design this test?

2. Would you suspect anything unusual if an A/B test with 20 variants shows one significant result?

Your manager ran an A/B test with 20 different variants and found one significant result. Would you find anything suspicious about these results?

3. Why might the average number of comments per user decrease despite user growth in a new city?

A social media company launched in a new city and saw a slow decrease in the average number of comments per user from January to March, despite consistent user growth. What could be the reasons for this decrease, and what metrics would you investigate?

4. What metrics would you use to evaluate the value of different marketing channels for a B2B analytics company?

Given all the different marketing channels and their respective costs for a company selling B2B analytics dashboards, what metrics would you use to determine the value of each marketing channel?

5. How would you locate a mouse in a 4x4 grid using the fewest number of scans?

You have a 4x4 grid with a mouse trapped in one of the cells. You can “scan” subsets of cells to know if the mouse is within that subset but not its exact location. How would you determine the mouse’s location using the fewest scans?

6. How would you encode a categorical variable with thousands of distinct values?

You have a categorical variable with thousands of distinct values. Describe the method you would use to encode this variable effectively.

7. Write a SQL query to select the 2nd highest salary in the engineering department.

Write a SQL query to select the 2nd highest salary in the engineering department. If more than one person shares the highest salary, the query should select the next highest salary.

8. What is the expected number of good ads rated by different types of raters?

1. Suppose we have 100 raters, each rating one ad independently. What’s the expected number of good ads?
2. Now, suppose we have 1 rater rating 100 ads. What’s the expected number of good ads?
3. Suppose we have 1 ad rated as bad. What’s the probability the rater was lazy?

9. Write a function to simulate coin tosses with a given probability of heads.

Create a function that takes the number of tosses and the probability of heads as input and returns a list of randomly generated results (‘H’ for heads, ’T’ for tails).

Example 1:

tosses = 5
probability_of_heads = 0.6

Output:

coin_toss(tosses, probability_of_heads) -> ['H', 'T', 'H', 'H', 'T']

Example 2:

tosses = 3
probability_of_heads = 0.2

Output:

coin_toss(tosses, probability_of_heads) -> ['T', 'T', 'T']

10. Write a function to calculate the sample variance of a list of integers.

Create a function that takes a list of integers and returns the sample variance, rounded to 2 decimal places.

Example:

test_list = [6, 7, 3, 9, 10, 15]

Output:

get_variance(test_list) -> 13.89

11. What is the probability of rolling at least one 3 with dice?

1. What’s the probability of rolling at least one 3 with 2 dice?
2. What’s the probability of rolling at least one 3 given (N) dice?

12. What is the probability of finding an item on Amazon’s website given its availability in warehouses?

Given that the probability of item X being available at warehouse A is 0.6 and at warehouse B is 0.8, what is the probability that item X would be found on Amazon’s website?

You should plan to brush up on any technical skills and try as many practice interview questions and mock interviews as possible. A few tips for acing your Grubhub interview include:

1. Know Your Basics: Grubhub questions often include basic data structures, algorithms, and real-world applications, so ensure your fundamentals are solid.

2. Team Player Skills: Grubhub values teamwork. Practice discussing your experiences working with teams, resolving conflicts, and leading projects.

3. Stay Updated: Familiarize yourself with Grubhub’s products, services, and recent news. Be ready to discuss how you would improve existing systems or suggest new features.

What is the average salary for a Software Engineer at Grubhub?

What should I know about Grubhub’s company culture before my interview?

Grubhub values a collaborative and innovative company culture that encourages diversity and creativity. The company emphasizes work-life balance, transparency, and continuous learning, so it is essential to demonstrate alignment with these values during your interview.

The journey of securing a Software Engineer position at Grubhub provides a multifaceted glimpse into the company’s interview process and expectations. To better prepare and improve your chances of success, it’s crucial to practice relevant coding problems and system design scenarios and familiarize yourself with behavioral interview questions.

If you want more insights about the company, check out our main Grubhub Interview Guide, where we have covered many interview questions that could be asked. We’ve also created interview guides for roles such as software engineer and data analyst to help you dive deeper into Grubhub’s interview process for different positions.

You can also check out all our company interview guides for better preparation, and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

Good luck with your interview!