Optiver Interview Questions
Master your tech interview with our curated database of real questions from top companies.
Plan for timed probability assessment
Timed Probability/Statistics Assessment Strategy (30 Questions, Strict Time Limit) Prompt You are taking a timed online assessment with 30 probability...
Design a satellite propagation simulator
Implement a SatelliteNetwork class to simulate message propagation over an undirected satellite graph. Provide these methods: ( 1) satellite_connected...
Match alphanumeric patterns in a stream
Given a reference 7–8 character alphanumeric code and four candidate codes, select the exact match as quickly as possible. Design a system that: - Eff...
Find next terms in sequences
Pattern Recognition: Find the Rule and Next Term You are given 8 number sequences. For each sequence: - Identify a clear rule that generates the terms...
Compare two programs for equivalence
You are given two short programs (or functions) that process an integer array A (|A| ≤ 10^ 5). Determine whether they are functionally equivalent for ...
Devise sequence-rule detection strategy
You are given an integer sequence with 2 ≤ n ≤ 50 terms, possibly following rules such as arithmetic/geometric progressions, alternating patterns, pol...
Optimize switching puzzle solution
Consider a switching puzzle on an m×n grid of lights where toggling a cell flips its state and that of its orthogonal neighbors (Lights Out variant). ...
Minimize moves to transform floor layouts
You are given an initial arrangement of apartments across Floors 1–4 and a target arrangement. In one move you may reposition a single apartment to a ...
Solve probability and expectation problems
Probability and Expectation Practice (Take‑home) Assume all coins and dice are fair unless stated otherwise. Show reasoning and final results. 1) Thre...
Solve a Skyscraper puzzle efficiently
Design and implement a solver for the Skyscraper logic puzzle on an N×N grid (3 ≤ N ≤ 7). Each row and column must contain the numbers 1..N without re...
Design a topic-based news subscription system
Topic-Based News Subscription Service — Design and Implementation Context Build an in-memory service that manages subscribers and delivers relevant ne...
Compute odds under time pressure
Timed Probability: At Least Two Reds in Three Draws You have an urn with r red, b blue, and g green balls. Let N = r + b + g with r, b, g ≥ 0 and N ≥ ...
Design a queue and analyze tradeoffs
Design a FIFO queue data structure that supports enqueue, dequeue, peek, and isEmpty. Compare implementations using a singly linked list, a dynamic ar...
Design a balloon stability tracker
Implement a class BalloonFestival to manage hot-air balloons and wind fields over time, and to report rewarded balloons at inspection times. Methods a...
Demonstrate task switching and memory strategies
Task-Switching and Working-Memory Exercise Context You will simulate a classic cognitive control task that requires rapid switching between two simple...
Design and backtest a trading strategy
Minute-Level Mean-Reversion Strategy: Design, Backtest, Validation, and Significance Context You are given minute-level OHLCV data (open, high, low, c...
Decide and implement DP/heap and approximation
You have 90 minutes to complete three related coding tasks: a) Dynamic programming: Given an integer array nums (n ≤ 2e 5) and a threshold T, design a...
Analyze EV, arbitrage, and bet sizing across games
Betting Games: EV, Variance, Arbitrage, and Sizing Context You will be shown payout tables or odds for three independent games. Your task is to quickl...
Implement price-based order matcher
Design and implement a price-based order matcher for unit-sized orders. You are given an array orders where each element is [type, price]: type = 1 de...
Compute expectations, conditionals, odds, and distributions
Fast Probability and Statistics (No Calculator) Context: Answer quickly with mental math and concise reasoning. Show set-up and any helpful shortcuts....