Uber Tech Interview Process

In the fast-paced, ever-growing tech space, Uber has made a mark of its own. It's not just a taxi service anymore; it has expanded its services to food delivery, package delivery, and freight transportation as well. Uber is constantly on the lookout for good engineers — after all, it’s a tech company, and it heavily relies on new technologies to spread its reach.

Uber hires for software engineer, ML engineer, data engineer, technical program manager, and many more engineering positions. In this article, we’ll look at what a typical tech interview process at Uber looks like, and other interesting information about the company:

1. What Is the Company Culture at Uber?
2. What’s the Uber’s Tech Interview Process Like?
3. What Is Unique About Uber Interviews?
4. What are the Skills Required for Cracking the Uber Interview?
5. What Are the Types of Questions asked in an Uber Interview?
6. How to Stand Out in Uber Interviews?
7. How to Prepare for Uber Coding Interviews?
8. Uber Interview FAQs
   

What Is the Company Culture at Uber?

When new employees join Uber, they’re asked to subscribe to the company's 14 core values, including making bold bets, being “obsessed” with the customer, and “always hustling.”

Uber is also inclusive and welcomes people from diverse backgrounds. They value ideas over hierarchy, which means that you will be heard irrespective of your position in the company. These values have helped Uber reach its position of being one of the biggest success stories in Silicon Valley.

What’s Uber’s Tech Interview Process Like?

The interview process for software engineers or developers at Uber is quite similar to those at FAANG companies. You’ll have an initial phone screening interview and then the technical and onsite interviews. Let’s look at what each of these rounds cover.

1. Phone Screen

Once your resume is shortlisted, you’ll have an initial phone screen interview, where you’ll be asked about your past work experience and career goals. Unlike other companies, this interview usually lasts for an hour, so you can expect in-depth discussion in this round. Try to be as specific as possible while mentioning your past experiences.

2. Technical Phone Screen

For engineering roles, you’ll usually have the technical phone screen with the engineering manager from the team you applied for. This Interview will be divided into three parts.

2.1. Coding Challenge

This will be a coding round, where you’ll be given 30-40 mins to work on a coding problem on data structures and algorithms. You’ll be asked to type your code on HackerRank, and the interviewer will review your code as you type. Practice as many problems as you can beforehand to make this round easy for you.

2.2. Work Experience Discussion

After the coding exercise, the interviewer will allocate 5-10 mins to discuss your previous work experience. You’ll be asked some behavioral questions like: “Tell me about a time you resolved a technical disagreement between two team members” and “Describe a situation where you had to contact someone unresponsive to collect some information.”

2.3. Your Questions

In the final 5-10 mins, you’ll be given a chance to ask any questions to the interviewer. You need to be cautious about the kind of questions you ask the interviewer, as you will also be evaluated based on that. Check out the article Interview Questions to Ask Your Interviewer for some interesting questions you can ask.

3. Assessments (Optional)

Uber sometimes assesses the candidates based on problem-solving skills in real-world scenarios. It’s an optional round. Based on the position you apply to, you may or may not have this assessment. You can expect one of the following rounds. For engineer roles, you’ll be asked to work on a coding challenge.

4. Onsite Interviews

Uber conducts 4-6 onsite interviews, each being 45-60 mins, with short breaks in between. Each interview will have a panel of 2-4 Uber employees. A typical onsite interview for technical roles consists of 4 stages:

• 1 and 2. Coding Challenges: For coding challenges, you’ll either have to solve problems on HackerRank or a whiteboard.
• 3. Software Architecture: In this round, you will get questions about systems design or product design based on your experience and role.
• 4. Final Interview: The final Interview will be with the hiring manager. Uber hiring managers look for candidates who are a good cultural fit. They’re impressed by candidates who ask challenging questions about the product they’ll develop and the roles and responsibilities of the day-to-day work.

What Is Unique About Uber Interviews?

Uber is different from other tech companies in various aspects. Following are the two main aspects that set them apart:

• Clear Expectations: Uber is extremely clear about its recruitment process and the questions they ask the candidates. They ask questions specific to the role they’re interviewing for.
• Hiring Committee: The hiring committee plays a major role in the recruitment process. Uber has one of the best and most efficient hiring committees; their response time is quick, making the entire experience smooth and easy.

What Are the Skills Required for Cracking the Uber Interview?

For tech roles, Uber mostly focuses on data structures and algorithms like:

• Trees
• Arrays
• Strings
• Linked lists
• Dynamic programming
• Bit manipulation
• Mathematics
• Probability

In addition to these, many Uber tech roles also have managerial responsibilities. For such roles, you will be assessed on various domains like:

• Operations
• Strategy
• Public relations
• Marketing
• Data analysis
• Behavioral aspects
• Technical knowledge

Uber Technical Interview Sample Questions

Uber checks your problem-solving skills in technical interviews. You can expect the following types of questions in the technical interviews:

1. Word Break Problem
2. Sudoku Solver Problem
3. Maximum in Sliding Window Problem
4. Unique Binary Search Trees Problem
5. Add Two Numbers Problem
6. Coin Change Problem
7. Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters Problem
8. Minimum Element in a Sorted and Rotated Array Problem

Head over to the Problems page for more coding problems and solutions.        

Uber Behavioral Interview Sample Questions

Behavioral interview questions are used to check if you would be a good cultural fit for the company. You can expect behavioral questions like:

1. How will your friends describe you?
2. Tell me about a time when you tried something new but failed.
3. What interests you to join Uber?
4. If you were asked to start working today, what would you work on?
5. Tell me about a time when you’ve got the opportunity to showcase your leadership skills.
6. Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your senior management.
7. If you could be an expert at any skill, what skill would you choose?
8. Tell me about a difficult situation you’ve faced and how you’ve overcome it.
9. Tell me about a time when you had to prioritize your tasks.
10. Tell me about a time you had to stand up for your beliefs.

For more behavioral interview questions.

How to Stand Out in Uber Interviews?

Understand Uber’s Business Model: It’s important for you to understand how Uber’s apps like Uber Eats, Uber Freight, and Uber Elevate work to ask better and intelligent questions to the interviewer.

Don’t Hesitate to Grill Your Interviewer: Hiring Managers at Uber look for candidates who ask challenging questions and provide better solutions for their models. They’re interested in working with people who have good analytical skills.

How to Prepare for Uber Coding Interviews?

Interview prep for tier-1 tech companies like Uber can seem daunting — they require strategic planning, dedicated practice, and a lot of hard work. Let Interview Kickstart be your guide!

With IK, you’ll get a chance to learn and engage with FAANG tech leads and hiring managers. We’ve helped over 6,000 engineers land their dream jobs at FAANG and tier-1 tech companies!

Want to know more? Sign up for our FREE webinar.

Recommended Reading:
How Long Does It Take to Prepare for Coding Interviews?
Coding Interview Cheat Sheet for Software Engineers and Engineering Managers
Cracking the Coding Interview: 9 Extremely Important Things You Should Know

Uber Interview FAQs

Question 1: What is the software engineer hiring process like at Uber?

Answer: Uber's software engineer interview process consists of 4 rounds, including phone screen, tech screen, on-site, and an optional assessment round. Each on-site interview is further divided into 4-6 rounds of coding, software architecture, and HR round.  

Question 2: How long are Uber software engineer interviews?

The duration of each interview round can be 30 to 60 minutes long, depending on the round. From application to offer, the overall duration of the hiring process can range from a few weeks to a few months, depending on the seniority of the role.

(All information is based on research at the time of writing. Please speak to your recruiter for more clarity.)