Uber senior engineer interview

The Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3) rounds, in order

1. 1

   Phone / recruiter screen · 30 min

   A recruiter call on background, the target business line and why Uber.

   At Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3): Often a coding problem plus questions about your past systems; some companies (Uber) use it to set your level.

2. 2

   Coding (DSA) · 60 min

   The business phone screen mixes coding with some design, and largely sets the level you interview for.

   At Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3): Usually two rounds. Same difficulty, but interviewers expect quick, confident problem solving and production-quality code.

3. 3

   Coding (DSA) · 60 min

   Onsite Coding 1 covers algorithms and data structures at medium-hard level; graphs and DP are common.

   At Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3): Usually two rounds. Same difficulty, but interviewers expect quick, confident problem solving and production-quality code.

4. 4

   Low-level design / machine coding · 60 min

   Coding 2, 'Depth in Specialization', is often machine coding or object-oriented design for backend roles, such as file-system commands with concurrency.

   At Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3): Same as SDE 2 plus concurrency (two users booking the same seat) and a clean extension story.

5. 5

   System design (HLD) · 60 min

   System design focused on scale, async processing and failure handling, sometimes starting from your own past work.

   At Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3): One or two rounds that set your level. Expected to lead, size the system and go deep on two or three hard parts.

6. 6

   Hiring manager · 60 min

   Collaboration & Leadership: a behavioral round, usually with the hiring manager, on past projects and conflicts.

   At Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3): Technical leadership, mentoring, and how you choose what to work on.

7. 7

   Bar raiser · 60 min

   A cross-org Bar Raiser runs a project deep dive or reverse design, carries a lot of weight for leveling, and moderates the debrief.

   At Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3): Scope and leadership of your projects; a strong signal for level.

What Uber interviewers look for

• Working, test-passing code under time pressure
• Extensible OOP design with concurrency awareness in machine coding
• Scalability and failure handling in design
• Scope and impact of past projects
• Bias towards action and ownership

Behavioral rounds are based on the Interview competencies (official interview guide): Collaboration & Leadership, Design & Architecture, Software Engineering, Adaptability, Bias Towards Action, Entrepreneurial, Grit, Interpersonal Influence…. Questions for each one.

Coding questions to practise for Uber Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3)

Usually two rounds. Same difficulty, but interviewers expect quick, confident problem solving and production-quality code.

How the coding round is scored · The online assessment

System design at Senior Software Engineer (SDE 3)

L4 candidates get one standard HLD round. At L5A and above, design weighs more and is checked again by the Bar Raiser through a deep dive on your own past systems.

• Digital wallet
• Uber
• Google Drive
• WhatsApp

All Uber system design questions

Questions people ask