Uber Software Engineer Interview Questions + Guide 2024

Uber is looking for software engineers with a talent for solving complex logistical problems to improve the efficiency and reliability of its offerings, such as Rides and Eats. The company offers competitive salaries and benefits, making it an attractive workplace if you want to enhance your skills and advance your career in software.

Uber is a global tech conglomerate revolutionizing transportation and logistics across 600+ cities around the world. Renowned for its impact on the ride-sharing, food delivery, and freight industries, Uber continues to set benchmarks in service delivery and customer experience.

About the Position: Stepping into the role of a Software Engineer at Uber isn’t just about coding—it’s about making a significant impact on millions of users. Your responsibilities will include building and maintaining backend services, creating scalable engineering systems, and collaborating with cross-functional teams. Uber’s coding interviews focus on practical problem-solving rather than textbook scenarios, often reflecting real-world challenges faced by their engineers. Interviews include multiple rounds of coding challenges, technical evaluations, and behavioral questions. Some candidates have found certain aspects of the process time-consuming, but many highlight the professionalism and thorough feedback from interviewers.

If you’re eyeing an opportunity with Uber, this guide will take you through the comprehensive interview process, commonly asked questions, and tips to ace your preparation. Let’s get started!

Submitting Your Application

Your first step in the Uber interview process is to submit a compelling application that showcases your technical skills and enthusiasm for joining Uber. Tailor your resume and cover letter to reflect the prerequisites mentioned in the job description. Make sure to include specific keywords related to the job you are applying for.

Highlight your relevant skills, experiences, and projects that align with Uber’s requirements. Regularly check Uber’s job search page as new roles are frequently added.

Recruiter Call Screening

If your application is shortlisted, a recruiter from Uber’s Talent Acquisition team will reach out to discuss your experiences and skill set. This is a general conversation about your background and how it pertains to the role. The recruiter will also gauge your interest in Uber and assess your understanding of the company’s mission and values. Expect some behavioral questions during this call.

This call typically lasts about 30 minutes.

Technical and Behavioral Screening Interviews

Once you clear the recruiter screening, you will advance to the technical and behavioral screening interviews. Here is how they are structured:

Technical Phone Screen

• Coding Phone Screen: You will have a coding interview over the phone, which includes one coding problem. This problem will be shared with you in a collaborative environment where you will need to write and debug code while discussing your approach with the interviewer. The problems are often similar to medium-level questions on platforms like LeetCode.

• Platform: The interview may involve specific queries related to Uber’s systems but generally revolves around practical problems rather than textbook scenarios.

Virtual Interviews (2 Rounds)

• 2 Technical Rounds: Each technical round involves solving coding problems within one hour. These are hands-on coding sessions where you may need to implement and optimize solutions while discussing them with your interviewer.

• Behavioral Round: A behavioral interview aimed at understanding your experience, problem-solving approach, and how well you fit within Uber’s culture. Be prepared to discuss your past projects and use the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method to frame your answers.

Onsite Interview Rounds

If successful in the virtual interviews, you will be invited to onsite interviews. This is often a full-day event involving multiple rounds:

• Take-Home Project Review: You’ll start by presenting and reviewing any take-home project you were assigned, typically done with the entire team.

• Individual Interviews: These include 5-6 rounds of individual interviews that rotate between technical and behavioral questions. Expect challenges that involve coding, pseudo code, and problem-solving scenarios relevant to Uber’s operations.

• Coding Challenges: One example is finding “islands” in a matrix of 0s and 1s, which tests your algorithmic thinking.

• Role-Specific Functional Assessment: Depending on the role, this could include a range of tasks like developing an Android app in Android Studio or solving specific technical problems.

Final Interview with the Hiring Manager

The final step is a comprehensive interview with the hiring manager. This call will further delve into your experience and skills, aligning expectations about the role and responsibilities. You can also ask detailed questions about the team and day-to-day tasks.

Hiring Decision

After completing all interview rounds, the hiring manager and recruiter will review your performance against the job criteria. The recruiter will then reach out to inform you about the final decision.

Quick Tips for Uber Software Engineering Interviews

1. Practice Coding Problems: Focus on medium and hard-level coding problems on platforms like LeetCode. Questions in the interview often resemble these, particularly those tagged ‘Uber’.

2. Understand Uber’s Products and Culture: Research Uber’s various products and think about how you can contribute to their mission. Knowing their customer support platform, for example, can give you an edge.

3. Efficient Time Management: The process can be time-consuming, so communicate timelines clearly, especially if you have other offers. Practice coding under time constraints to simulate real interview conditions.

Good luck with your Uber interview!

Most interviewees rate Uber’s software interview somewhere between medium and hard, but if you’ve done your homework and prepared carefully, you won’t need to worry. Below are the interview stages you can expect.

Sure, here is the formatted list of questions with the corresponding links:

• How much time will pass until the second car catches the first? A car starts driving at 60 mph, and one hour later, another car leaves the same position going 80 mph. Calculate the time it will take for the second car to catch up to the first.

• How would you assess the validity of the AB test result with a 0.04 p-value? Your company is running a standard control and variant AB test on a feature to increase conversion rates on the landing page. The PM finds a p-value of 0.04. Evaluate the validity of this result.

• What metrics would you use to determine ride demand and supply in a ride-sharing marketplace? As a data scientist in a ride-sharing marketplace, identify the metrics to determine ride demand at any point and those indicating high demand and low supply. How would you set the threshold for excessive demand?

• How would you design an incentive scheme for Uber drivers to go to high-demand city areas? You are working on the Uber app. Design an incentive scheme to encourage drivers to move into city areas where demand is high.

• How would you build a model to predict which merchants DoorDash should acquire in a new market? As a data scientist at DoorDash, develop a model to predict which merchants the company should target for acquisition when entering a new market.

  Sure, I’ll format the questions and add the corresponding links as requested. Starting from question number 1:

1. Write a query to report the distance traveled by each user in descending order. Given the tables users and rides, write a query to report the distance traveled by each user in descending order.

2. Write a function dice_rolls to simulate a dice roll using a continuous random generator. You are given a function that generates a floating-point number between 0 and 1 from a continuous uniform distribution. Write a function dice_rolls that takes the continuous random generator and simulates a dice roll (return a number between 1 and 6, with all numbers having a uniform distribution).

3. Select the top 3 departments with at least ten employees and rank them by the percentage of employees making over 100K. Given the employees and departments tables, select the top 3 departments with at least ten employees and rank them according to the percentage of their employees making over 100K in salary.

4. Write a query to find the third purchase of every user. Given the transactions table, write a query that finds the third purchase of every user. Sort the results by the user_id in ascending order. If a user purchases two products at the same time, the lower id field is used to determine which is the first purchase.

5. Simulate the annual cost of overlapping computing jobs causing downtime. Every night between 7 pm and midnight, two computing jobs from two different sources are randomly started with each one lasting an hour. Write a function to simulate this problem and output an estimated annual cost of the downtime caused by overlapping jobs.

• 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 for use in a machine learning model.

• What are the assumptions of linear regression? List and explain the key assumptions that must be met for linear regression to produce valid results.

• What algorithm would you use to predict if an Uber driver will accept a ride request? You need to build a model to predict if an Uber driver will accept a ride request. What algorithm would you choose, and what are the tradeoffs between different classifiers? Additionally, what features would you consider using?

• How would you build a model to predict which merchants DoorDash should acquire in a new market? As a data scientist at DoorDash, describe the approach you would take to build a model that predicts which merchants the company should target for acquisition when entering a new market.

• What are the benefits of dynamic pricing, and how can you estimate supply and demand? Explain the advantages of dynamic pricing. Additionally, describe how you would estimate supply and demand in this context.

• How would you explain what a p-value is to someone who is not technical? Explain the concept of a p-value in simple terms to someone without a technical background.

• What are MLE and MAP? What is the difference between the two? Define Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) and Maximum A Posteriori (MAP) and explain the key differences between them.

• What are the benefits of dynamic pricing, and how can you estimate supply and demand in this context? Discuss the advantages of dynamic pricing and describe methods to estimate supply and demand in a dynamic pricing model.

• How would you use 90 days of ride data to project the lifetime and value of a new driver? Given 90 days of ride data, outline how you would project the lifetime and lifetime value of a new driver on the system.

• How would you find the average number of rolls to reach a die with the same number on all faces? Describe the process to determine the average number of rolls needed to reach a state where a die has the same number on all six faces, starting from a fair 6-sided die.

Here are some tips to help you prepare better for your Uber Software Engineer interview:

Understand the Role and Responsibilities

Research the software engineer role at Uber you’re applying for. Understand the key responsibilities and skills required; you can connect with current employees through LinkedIn for a better understanding.

Explore the specific role at Uber through our Learning Paths to gain a comprehensive understanding of how your skills align with the requirements of this position.

Visit Uber’s Careers page for tips on preparing for the engineer interview.

Brush Up on Technical Skills

Revisit algorithms (graphs, trees, and sorts), data structures, system design principles, and coding techniques. Practice writing efficient, clean, and well-documented code. Depending on the role, you may expect questions on database management and API design as well.

You can practice some cool engineering projects to bolster your resume.

Familiarize Yourself with Uber’s Business Model

Gain a deep understanding of Uber’s products, market challenges, and technology stack. Consider how your role might impact the business and think of ways you could contribute to solving real-world problems Uber faces.

Practice Problem-Solving and Behavioral Questions

Prepare for behavioral questions using the STAR method. Reflect on your past experiences and practice articulating them in a concise, impactful manner.

Visit our Interview Questions section to familiarize yourself with behavioral questions. It offers a wide range of practice questions to help structure your responses effectively using the STAR method.

To test your current preparedness for the interview process and improve your communication skills, try a mock interview.

Prepare Questions for the Interviewer

Prepare thoughtful questions to ask your interviewers about Uber’s work culture, challenges, and expectations. This shows your interest and eagerness to engage with the company’s ethos and future goals.

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

Q: What is the interview process like for a Software Engineer position at Uber?
The interview process typically involves a recruiter phone screen, followed by multiple technical rounds (coding sessions) and a behavioral interview. It may include a take-home project, discussions with team members, and sometimes a meeting with the hiring manager. The entire process is designed to assess your technical skills, problem-solving ability, and cultural fit with Uber.

Q: What kind of technical questions can I expect?
Expect a mix of LeetCode-type problems and Uber-specific challenges. Common questions include medium-level coding problems, matrix computations like finding “islands,” and practical, scenario-based questions that test real-world application of your skills.

Q: How does Uber support the professional growth of its Software Engineers?
Uber promotes a collaborative and supportive work environment aimed at driving impact and meaningful improvements. Engineers work with motivated teammates, engage in fun problem-solving, and build reliable systems at scale. The company provides opportunities to tackle challenging problems and supports continuous learning and development.

Q: What is the team culture like at Uber?
At Uber, team culture emphasizes empathy, collaboration, and high performance. Teams are customer-obsessed and hold a high bar for code quality and platform reliability. The work environment is fast-paced, and there’s a strong focus on delivering high-impact products that are measurable and trackable.

Q: What are the compensation and benefits like for this role?
For San Francisco and Sunnyvale roles, the annual base salary ranges from $149,000 to $165,500, and employees are eligible for bonuses, equity awards, and other types of compensation. Uber also offers comprehensive benefits, including various health and wellness programs, and maintains an equal opportunity employment policy accommodating all qualified applicants.

What is the average salary for a Software Engineering role at Uber?

The average base salary for a software engineer at Uber is $143,702, making the remuneration competitive for prospective applicants.

For more insights into the salary range of software engineers at various companies, check out our comprehensive Software Engineer Salary Guide.

Where can I read more discussion posts on the Uber Software Engineer role on Interview Query?

Check out our discussion board, where Interview Query members talk about their experiences. You can use the search bar and filter for software engineering posts.

Are there job postings for Uber Software Engineer roles on Interview Query?

We have software engineer jobs listed at Uber, which you can apply for directly through our job portal. You can also filter by location, company, and position to see similar roles relevant to your career goals and skill set.

Navigating the interview process at Uber can be a unique and challenging journey, but it’s an opportunity to showcase your technical prowess and problem-solving skills in an engaging environment. With a mix of coding challenges, technical assessments, and behavioral interviews, Uber’s interview process is thorough and demanding, reflecting their high standards and commitment to quality.

If you’re ready to take on real-world problems, work with a collaborative and innovative team, and help shape the future of transportation and logistics, Uber offers a dynamic and fast-paced work environment that could be the perfect fit for you. The journey may be rigorous, but the potential rewards and opportunities for growth are immense.

Make sure to prepare thoroughly, practice your coding skills, and demonstrate your passion for making an impact. If you’re excited about joining a team that’s committed to moving the world forward, start exploring open roles and embark on an exciting career path with Uber today!

Good luck with your interview!

For more insights and tips on the Uber interview process, don’t hesitate to reach out or join the community discussions. Let’s get moving!

Succeeding in Uber software engineer interview questions requires solid technical skills and the ability to demonstrate your collaborative and critical thinking talents.

If you’re considering opportunities at other tech companies, check out our Company Interview Guides. We cover a range of companies, including Google, IBM, Apple, and more.

For other data-related roles at Uber, consider exploring our guides for Business Analyst, Engineer, Scientist, and Data Analyst positions in our main Uber interview guide.

The key to your success is understanding Uber’s culture of innovation and collaboration and thoroughly preparing with both technical and behavioral questions.

Check out more of Interview Query’s content, and we hope you’ll land your dream role at Uber very soon!