Get a Job at Uber: Interview Process and Top Questions

Uber is a product-focused, data-driven, global tech company, impacting how the world moves. Uber isn’t just Ridesharing, but also Uber Eats, Uber for Business, and Uber Freight. If you’re a go-getter with an interest in these products, working at Uber might be a great fit for you.

Below, we break down the Uber interview process and top questions you should expect to answer.

What is the Uber interview process?

Each Uber team has a different interview process, meaning Uber’s interviews are not standard. But regardless of team, the interview process is predictable in a couple of ways. First, Uber interviews skew practical. Interviewers will likely ask you about problems related to day-to-day work.

The Uber interview process typically takes about 4–6 weeks and involves:

• Recruiter screen,
• Technical screen,
• Final rounds.

Recruiter phone screen

Similar to other tech companies, prepare for a 30 to 60-minute call with a recruiter. Prepare for interview questions about your resume and past experience, current job search, and Uber’s culture. Ahead of your call, get to know Uber’s core values, current Uber news, and Uber’s products.

At the end of your recruiter screen, ask your recruiter what to expect in your particular team’s interview process. This is important because of Uber’s team-dependent process, but also shows your interest.

Technical screen

Uber’s technical screen is a 60 to 70-minute coding challenge on CodeSignal. Expect to answer 2–4 easy to medium-level data structures and algorithms, SQL, or Python questions with executable solutions.

Non-technical roles, like product managers, get a phone call with a hiring manager or senior team member instead of a technical challenge. For PMs, this is typically a product sense question, but could also be an analytical question. 

Final rounds

Uber’s final round is typically four parts (or sometimes as few as three, or as many as six, depending on role and seniority), 60-minutes each, which vary depending on the team. Most candidates, regardless of team, get a behavioral round assessing culture fit, and a hiring manager round with a deep dive about your past projects.

Top Uber Interview Questions

Behavioral

• Tell me about yourself.
• What is the project you are most proud of?
• How do you prioritize tasks?
• Tell me about a time when you had a disagreement with your manager.
• What is your leadership style?

Coding

• Convert a matrix to a quad tree.
• Implement a JavaScript function for Promise.all().
• A knapsack has a maximum capacity C and there are n items each with weight w[i] and value v[i]. Maximize the knapsack value without exceeding capacity.
• Find the start index and end index of the target range in a sorted array
• Implement a binary search tree.
• Construct a heap tree.

System design

• Design a truck tracking system that supports filtering by truck number and includes an interface for updating driver status.
• Design Uber.
• How would you implement a system that matched riders with cars?

Machine learning

• Write code to recursively replace the repeated characters in a string of numbers with their sum.
• ML algorithms
• K-means clustering
• String and array manipulation
• Load balancing nodes

Data engineering

• Estimate the potential number of rides per month for e-scooter rentals in San Francisco.
• Causal inference
• Python (list, sort, and print)
• User campaign questions
• A/B experimental design
• Analyzing metrics related to fraud detection
• Analyzing metrics related to precision recall

Product management 

• You're a PM for a ride-sharing app. How would you enhance customer experience and reduce ride cancellations?
• You are a PM at Uber. Which market should Uber expand into next?
• As a PM for Zepto, how would you develop a strategy to increase the average order value per user?
• How would you improve user engagement on Netflix?

Uber Interview Loops Explained

Behavioral

Uber’s behavioral round is typically led by the hiring manager. Get to know Uber’s mission and values. Although Uber has changed its values over the years, the essence of “go get it” is a continued core value—competition and drive. 

For your behavioral interview at Uber, focus on communication: enunciate, speak slowly, and speak with meaning. Prepare anecdotes with specific examples from your past experiences that prove you’re a go-getter and project the ways you share values with Uber. Also think about why you’re interested in this role, and this team specifically. Try to learn as much about the role and team that you’re applying for as you learn about Uber as a whole.

Coding

Engineers at Uber are responsible for supporting the entire project lifecycle. Uber’s coding rounds are usually split between a general round and a specialized round—both use a whiteboard for in-person interviews or CodeSignal for virtual interviews.

For the general coding round, expect algorithm and data structure questions, similar to the tech screen but slightly more difficult. You can choose your programming language (but choose one you're familiar with, not just the one this team uses), and be sure to explain your code as you work. Plan to solve the problem for 30–40 minutes, answer questions for 5–10 minutes, and ask any questions you have about the role for the last 5–10 minutes. 

The specialized coding round is similar but has more domain-specific questions. For example, for a backend position, the question may be an algorithm or data structure problem, such as “implement a parking lot data structure.” For a frontend position, you may be asked to code a specific component or widget, such as a stopwatch.

Senior-level engineers may encounter a technical retro as another round—a conversation that delves into a past project, including its requirements, features, and technical tradeoffs. Speak to what you contributed, and the effect it had on the business. Senior engineers mentor and lead as part of their role, so expect some behavioral questions about conflict and team dynamics, as well.

Common coding topics: 

• Arrays
• Heaps
• Stacks and Queues
• Binary search
• Strings
• Graphs
• Load balancing
• Dynamic programming
• DFS and BFS
• Hashmap implementation

System design

Uber’s system design round is similar to other top tech companies. Expect to whiteboard a solution to a practical system design question like, “Design Uber” using CodeSignal for virtual interviews. Interviewers assess your ability to navigate a project design, including clarifying edge cases and requirements, making design tradeoffs, and building scalable solutions. Prepare to spend about 40 minutes on your design, and then answer follow-up questions, and remember to prepare questions of your own, too.

Machine learning

For the machine learning round at Uber, you receive a business problem and then solve it using a machine-learning solution. As with all Uber interview questions, it will likely be a very practical, real-life problem that Uber is currently facing, so getting to know Uber’s current ventures and challenges ahead of time may be helpful. 

Similar to the coding and system design rounds, you'll solve the problem using a whiteboard in person or Code Signal virtually. Be sure to ask follow-up questions and talk through your problem-solving to show your work style and expertise. To pass this round, demonstrate your understanding of various ML algorithms and their practical applications, customize your approach to Uber's specific challenges, and ask clarifying questions.

Data engineering

Software engineering and data engineering overlap at Uber, but data engineering-specific roles focus on data platform engineering, in addition to work in data modeling, ETL, and pipelines. 

Data engineers at Uber get a coding round and a data modeling round in addition to hiring manager and behavioral rounds. In the data modeling round, ask clarifying questions so that you understand the use case, the business impact, and the users before solving the question. Make sure to focus on an effective schema design. Also, consider how slowly changing dimensions affect the system. 

Examples of data modeling questions include:

• How would you do the data model for the Uber app?
• Design a data warehouse schema for Amazon.
• Design a retail application.
• Design a rental car service.

Product management 

Uber’s product management rounds are conversational interviews that assess PM fundamentals, including product sense, analytical, and strategy questions, as well as a jam session. Expect to interview with data scientists, engineers, and marketers, in addition to product managers.

With data scientists, expect to discuss metrics and how you work with data scientists to make data-driven decisions. This round is similar to Facebook's execution round. The interview with an engineer will focus on technical challenges, how you prioritize tasks, and how you handle problems with engineers. With marketers, prepare to talk about your go-to-market strategies, including product launches. You may also be asked to talk about how you worked with marketing in past roles.

For the jam session, expect to receive a prompt 24 hours in advance. The jam session is a brainstorming session with 2-3 Uber employees about a practical business problem. Expect to ping pong ideas back and forth. In the jam session, interviewers assess how you work with others, how you receive critical feedback, and how you think. 

Examples of jam session prompts include:

• Should Uber accept cash payments in Brazil?
• Design an app for drivers to understand how they're doing.
• How would you handle driver payout?
• How would you reward long-term drivers?

Uber Interview Tips

Uber prioritizes culture fit. 

To get the job at Uber, you need to showcase how you align with its mission and values. Uber hires candidates that fit its first value and know how to “go get it.” This means a champion’s mindset, or more commonly—drive, competitive spirit, and hustle. To get the job, prove how you fit this core value.

Know Uber inside and out.

It’s always smart to know the product of a company you’re interviewing at, but it’s especially important for your Uber interview. Uber asks practical interview questions, so back up your answers with first-hand knowledge of the Uber app—including how it works, its design, and what you like vs. what you’d change, etc.

Uber is a data-driven company. 

Uber is a data-driven company. Throughout your interview process, show that you understand metrics, and talk through the reasoning behind how you make data-driven decisions.

FAQs

How competitive are Uber interviews?

Uber’s interviews are very competitive. While some parts of the interview process—such as the coding challenges—are not as challenging as other similar tech companies, with Uber’s big applicant pool, global presence, and high compensation packages, the competition is high. Want to stand out? Practice questions and technical skills for each round ahead of time. 

How should I prepare for my interview at Uber? 

Uber cares about technical proficiency, alignment with its culture and values, and knowledge of its product and company. To prepare for your interview: 

• Study the Uber app,
• Align your behavioral interview answers with Uber’s values. 
• Brush up on your Python, SQL, and data modeling,
• Get to know recently-asked interview questions at Uber,
• Practice with a peer mock interview.

Does Uber hire students or new grads? 

Yes! Uber offers internships for current college students, MBA internships with top business schools around the world, and also hires new graduates. Uber specifically seeks new grads with a passion for problem-solving and collaboration. Uber also offers similar global programs. Check out Uber’s University page to learn more about all of these opportunities and to browse current openings.

More Uber Interview Prep Resources

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

💬 Brush up on interview questions asked at Uber

📖 Read through these role-specific Uber interview guides