Get a Job at NVIDIA: Interview Process and Top Questions

Learn how to prepare for NVIDIA interviews with this in-depth guide.

NVIDIA designs and manufactures hardware and software to power AI at other companies. NVIDIA is an inspiring place to work, considering it’s a major leader in the AI space and rapidly growing.

Interested in becoming an NVIDIAN?

Below, we summarize the NVIDIA interview process and the questions you should expect to answer.

NVIDIA Interview Process

The interview process at NVIDIA consists of three main parts.

Expect a preliminary talk with an NVIDIA recruiter, a coding challenge or domain-specific technical assessment, and a final round, which can be virtual or in person.

The final round typically consists of 3–4 interviews.

The NVIDIA interview process typically takes about one month and involves the following:

• Recruiter phone screen,
• Technical screen,
• Final round.

Recruiter phone screen

The first step of NVIDIA’s interview process is a phone call with HR. Expect to chat about your background and resume. You’ll likely get a question about your interest in the role and company, like “Why NVIDIA?”

You may also get a basic technical question or two.

Take this chance to ask your NVIDIA recruiter any logistical questions you have about the interview process.

Technical screen

The technical screen at NVIDIA, and the second step of your interview process, is a 75-minute coding challenge on HackerRank.

You’ll be asked at least two data structures and algorithms and multiple-choice questions.

On average, NVIDIA’s online assessment is of medium difficulty.

Final rounds

Your final round of interviews at NVIDIA lasts about an hour each, and they are conducted by various stakeholders and can be done virtually or in person.

Most candidates get 3–4 final round interviews:

• 1 or 2 technical rounds,
• a domain-specific round,
• and a behavioral round with the hiring manager. 

A unique part of the final round at NVIDIA is the opportunity to schedule an “Insider Chat."

This is a 15-minute meeting with an NVIDIA community resource group member, during which you will learn more about NVIDIA’s culture and determine if it fits you.

Top NVIDIA Interview Questions

These are examples of actual interview questions asked at NVIDIA, as reported by candidates.

Behavioral

• Why do you want to work at Nvidia?
• Tell me about a time you had a conflict with someone. How did you resolve it and what did you learn?
• Describe the most technically complex project you have worked on and explain why it was complex.
• How do you prioritize tasks?
• Tell me about a time when you received negative feedback and how you handled it.

Coding

• Write a function to print 1 to n without using a loop.
• Write a function to check whether a string contains a substring.
• What are virtual functions?
• What's a memory leak and how can we avoid it?
• Explain callback functions.
• Given an nxn grid of 1s and 0s, return the number of islands in the input.
• Reverse a linked list.

System Design

• Design a proximity server.
• Design a chatbot.
• Design a shared file system in the cloud.
• Design a platform like Uber.

Machine Learning

• Explain the difference between Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs).
• What is overfitting or underfitting? Which models are most likely to experience this, and why?
• How does Nvidia employ machine learning?
• How does a graphics processing unit (GPU) work?
• How do convolutional neural networks (CNNs) differ from traditional neural networks in processing image data?

Data Science

• Write a SQL query to summarize the total sales revenue for each product line, ensuring the product line with the highest revenue appears first.
• Discuss methods to account for variation between two groups in an A/B test.
• Explain the concept of log loss and its significance in statistical models.
• Discuss methods to account for variation between two groups in an A/B test.

Product Management 

• Why do you like ChatGPT? Who are its users, what metrics would you use to track its success, and how would you improve it?
• You're a PM at Nvidia. How would you keep Nvidia's product lineup competitive?
• Explain Deep Learning to a non-technical audience.
• What is cloud gaming?
• What technical contributions have you made to a project?

NVIDIA Interview Loops

Behavioral

The behavioral round at NVIDIA is an hour-long conversational interview with the hiring manager. You’ll be asked questions about your previous experience and scenario questions to assess your cultural fit. 

To get hired at NVIDIA, it's important to demonstrate your culture fit, so research NVIDIA’s culture before your interview.

To prepare for behavioral questions in this round, refresh your knowledge of the STAR framework and create a story bank of examples that show how you’d align with NVIDIA’s values.

These are NVIDIA’s core values:

• Innovation
• Speed & agility
• Intellectual honesty
• Excellence
• One team

Coding

NVIDIA’s coding round can be split into multiple rounds.

The first round is typically technical–another coding challenge of medium difficulty similar to the tech screen.

The second round includes conversational questions about your past experience and follow-up questions about technical concepts relevant to the role.

C++ is an essential coding language at NVIDIA, so expect to be tested on it in the initial tech screen and your final rounds.

Common coding topics at NVIDIA:

• Arrays
• Strings
• Binary trees
• C++
• SQL 
• Python
• Object-oriented programming

System design

The system design round is part of the final round for many engineering roles at NVIDIA, especially those at a higher seniority level.

Expect high-level questions like, “Design a platform like Uber.” 

Focus on scalability, reliability, efficiency, availability, and maintainability.

Talk through your entire design—and any trade-offs—as you go to demonstrate your problem-solving approach and decision-making process to your interviewers. 

Machine learning

NVIDIA’s machine learning rounds involve an initial online assessment that evaluates your coding and ML problem-solving.

A final ML round dives into your previous experience and past ML projects you worked on. A second final ML round includes practical ML case study questions, so get to know NVIDIA’s company, systems, and products ahead of time to prepare.

You can expect to be tested on Python, ML algorithms, ML model optimization, data processing, and deep learning systems. 

Data Science

For the data science round at NVIDIA, you’ll get tested on your coding and data analysis skills.

Then, as a second round, expect a deep dive into past DS projects. This round is instead of straight case studies.

Instead, the interviewers want to hear about your previous experience to assess your problem-solving, decision-making, and collaboration. Prepare to answer follow-up questions, which assess your technical knowledge and application of real-world DS knowledge.

Product management 

The product management rounds at NVIDIA are technical question-heavy, so spend a good time familiarizing yourself with NVIDIA’s hardware and software products and markets before your interview.

Aside from technical questions, expect product strategy questions, some product design, and questions about your past projects and impact.

Stick to a PM interview framework to organize your responses and communicate confidence.

Throughout your PM rounds, you’ll be assessed for culture fit, so get to know NVIDIA’s culture and values to signal a shared strategic vision. 

NVIDIA Interview Tips

NVIDIA values collaboration. 

Collaboration is a key part of NVIDIA’s work environment. NVIDIA itself declares that “the project is the boss, even for the CEO,” so teamwork and collaboration come before all else to get projects completed successfully.

To stand out, create a story bank of times in past roles where your collaboration skills helped you make an impact. 

NVIDIA recommends applying to your top five roles. 

While there’s no limit to the number of NVIDIA roles you can apply to at once, NVIDIA recommends choosing the top 3–5 roles you’re interested in to increase your chances of an interview.

Know NVIDIA inside and out.

• Prepare for behavioral questions by studying NVIDIA’s core values on its Culture page.
• Get to know the company by exploring NVIDIA’s website. 
• To answer practical questions, look into NVIDIA’s news updates.
• Learn about NVIDIA’s current initiatives by reading its blog. 

FAQs

How competitive are NVIDIA interviews?

Interviews at NVIDIA are highly competitive, especially due to the company’s rise and reputation, leading to a large applicant pool. However, the technical assessments are medium difficulty on average, so with a strong background of relevant experience and proper studying ahead of each round, landing a job at NVIDIA is possible.

How should I prepare for my interview at NVIDIA? 

• Practice interview questions asked at NVIDIA.
• For data science roles, refresh your knowledge of coding questions, especially SQL and Python.
• Take an Exponent interview course in your domain: ML engineering, data science, SWE, system design, or PM. 
• Book a mock interview to hash out commonly asked questions in real-time.

Does NVIDIA hire students or new grads? 

Yes! NVIDIA’s primary program for early career is internships, which are offered globally and year-round.

Internships are the best way to get your foot in the door at NVIDIA early in your career. NVIDIA also has pre-internships, a program for MBA students, and opportunities for recent grads.

Explore all of these programs on NVIDIA’s University recruiting page.

More NVIDIA Interview Prep Resources

Exponent has extensive resources to prepare you to feel your best when it comes time for your interview at NVIDIA:

💬 Brush up on interview questions asked at NVIDIA