Google Interview Questions

Google Coding & Algorithms Interview Questions

Practice 518 real Google interview questions for 2026. Covers Coding & Algorithms, Behavioral & Leadership, Analytics & Experimentation, Machine Learning, and System Design across Software Engineer, Data Scientist, Machine Learning Engineer, Product Manager, and Data Engineer roles — real questions from actual interviews with detailed solutions to accelerate interview preparation. This collection highlights the coding-first bar Google uses: expect heavy algorithmic work, role-related data and ML problems, a Googleyness/leadership round, and level-specific differences in what’s decisive. What’s distinctive: for Software Engineers you’ll see spatial and streaming algorithms, concurrency and async primitives, LLM-foundations and GPU-job scheduling, plus object-design problems like room assignment; Data Scientists are weighted toward causal experiments, funnel and product-metric diagnostics, bootstrap inference, and percentile/sampling algorithms; ML Engineers focus on transformer blocks, recommendation design and ranking cold-starts; PMs get Maps/Android and product-ideation tradeoffs plus throughput and revenue sizing. New-grad and intern tracks emphasize phone screens and virtual onsites; Google L4 typically keeps the loop coding-heavy while Google L5 expects stronger system-design and cross-team leadership signals. Use focused practice, mock interviews, and level-specific stories to prepare.

518 Questions 1 Company08.01.2026
Showing 20 results
Role
Google logo
Google
Hard
Software EngineerSenior+ Locked

Solve order-statistics and XOR-triplet problems

This multi-part question evaluates skills in order-statistics and efficient counting for array inversion-like problems, alongside bitwise manipulation...

Coding & Algorithms
21
0
186 people solved
Jan 22, 2026
Google logo
Google
Medium
Data EngineerIntern

Write SQL and merge linked lists

The technical interview included two coding-style tasks: a SQL analytics query and merging two sorted linked lists. Constraints & Assumptions - For SQ...

Coding & Algorithms
4
1
74 people solved
Mar 9, 2025
Google logo
Google
Medium
Software Engineer AI

Implement Checksums and Feature Rollout Evaluation

Complete the following two coding tasks in a 90-minute online assessment. An AI coding assistant may be available, but the submitted code must pass th...

Coding & Algorithms
7
0
44 people solved
Apr 30, 2026
Google logo
Google
Medium
Product Manager

Googleness & Behavioral Deep-Dive

PM Onsite Behavioral and Product Critique Prompts You are a Product Manager candidate in an onsite interview. Respond concisely in two to three minute...

Behavioral & Leadership
9
0
149 people solved
Jul 4, 2025
Google logo
Google
Hard
Software Engineer

Design relational-to-NoSQL migration pipeline

System Design: Migrate From Relational DB to a NoSQL Key-Value Store with Snapshot + CDC Context You need to migrate data from an OLTP relational data...

System Design
11
0
98 people solved
Sep 6, 2025
Google logo
Google
Hard
Software Engineer

Design an elevator control system

Elevator Control System Design (N floors, M elevators) Context You are designing a multi-elevator control system for a building with N floors (1..N) a...

System Design
17
0
126 people solved
Sep 6, 2025
Google logo
Google
Medium
Software Engineer

Answer common behavioral questions with follow-ups

Behavioral interview prompt set You are in a standalone Behavioral (BQ) interview. The interviewer asks straightforward, keyword-based questions and t...

Behavioral & Leadership
10
0
126 people solved
Dec 15, 2025
Google logo
Google
Medium
Software Engineer

How do you handle conflict and ambiguity?

You are asked a series of detailed behavioral questions. Answer each with specific context, actions, and measurable outcomes. Conflict, teamwork, and ...

Behavioral & Leadership
9
0
102 people solved
Feb 12, 2026
Google logo
Google
Medium
Software Engineer Locked

Solve graph and linked list tasks

This question evaluates competencies in dependency graph modeling and reachability, shortest-path computation in weighted directed graphs, and space-e...

Coding & Algorithms
17
0
178 people solved
Feb 12, 2026
Google logo
Google
Medium
Software Engineer

Implement frequency + distance top‑K queries

You will implement solutions for two coding interview questions. Question 1: Return the top‑K points by frequency (with distance tie‑break) You are gi...

Coding & Algorithms
74
0
620 people solved
Feb 12, 2026
Google logo
Google
Hard
Software Engineer

Design a prioritized log manager with eviction

Design a prioritized log manager with eviction Design a Log Store with Priority- and Recency-Aware Eviction Context You are designing an in-memory (or...

System Design
7
0
73 people solved
Aug 1, 2025
Google logo
Google
Medium
Software Engineer

Answer product, collaboration, and prioritization scenarios

Behavioral / Leadership prompts Answer the following (you can assume a 35–40 minute behavioral interview): 1. Intro (5 minutes): Walk through your bac...

Behavioral & Leadership
3
0
45 people solved
Oct 14, 2025
Google logo
Google
Medium
Data Scientist Locked

Assess education–income effect credibly

This question evaluates a data scientist's competencies in causal inference, experimental design, model selection, estimand specification (ATE) and se...

Analytics & Experimentation
8
0
61 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Google logo
Google
Medium
Data Scientist Locked

Handle p≈n linear regression with L1

This question evaluates competence in high-dimensional linear regression, penalized estimation (L1/L2/elastic net), preprocessing and feature handling...

Machine Learning
15
0
99 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Google logo
Google
Medium
Data Scientist

Build and evaluate a full ML pipeline

You must predict both (1) probability that a user will spend >$0 in the next 7 days (classification) and (2) expected spend in the next 7 days (regres...

Machine Learning
13
0
133 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Google logo
Google
Medium
Data Scientist Locked

Measure causal impact of YouTube ads

This question evaluates causal inference and experimental design skills for marketing measurement, including competency in identifying confounders, de...

Analytics & Experimentation
18
0
140 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Google logo
Google
Hard
Data Scientist Locked

Diagnose unbiasedness in a messy A/B test

This question evaluates a data scientist's ability to diagnose unbiasedness of an intent-to-treat (ITT) estimator in A/B testing under noncompliance, ...

Analytics & Experimentation
4
0
73 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Google logo
Google
Medium
Data Scientist

Describe leading cross-functional research collaboration

Behavioral Prompt: STAR Example of Cross-Functional Collaboration Provide a STAR-formatted example from your resume or research where you collaborated...

Behavioral & Leadership
3
0
60 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Google logo
Google
Hard
Data Scientist Locked

Analyze time series and design validation experiment

This question evaluates competency in time series analysis, change-point detection, count-based forecasting, causal inference and experiment design, a...

Analytics & Experimentation
8
0
78 people solved
Oct 13, 2025
Google logo
Google
Medium
Software Engineer Locked

Streaming Points: Remove Any Pair Within a Distance

This question evaluates practical use of ordered data structures for streaming input with proximity-based removal logic. It tests balanced BST or sort...

Coding & Algorithms
1
0
9 people solved
Jun 9, 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

How hard are Google interview questions and how does difficulty vary by level?
Google interview questions are challenging but predictable: they range from medium algorithmic problems for new grads to hard, system- and architecture-focused problems at senior levels. L3/new-grad interviews emphasize correct, clean code with solid complexity and edge-case handling; expect two to three coding rounds plus a Googleyness/leadership conversation. L4 requires optimal solutions, clearer trade-off communication, and sometimes a system-design or domain round. L5 raises the bar on system design, scalability, ownership, and leadership impact. Non-SWE roles shift emphasis toward statistics, experiment design, or model-building depending on the job.
What does the Google interview process look like and where do these 518 questions appear?
The typical loop starts with a recruiter screen, one or more phone or virtual coding screens, then a virtual or in-person onsite loop of 3–5 forty-five minute interviews: mostly coding, plus a Googleyness/leadership behavioral round and usually one domain or system-design session for mid and senior roles. The 518-question corpus covers those stages: phone-screen style coding, onsite deep-coding, system-design prompts, analytics/experiment questions for data roles, ML implementation prompts, and product-spec behavioral cases. Hiring committee review, level calibration, and team match happen after the loop and extend timelines by several weeks.
How should I schedule my preparation and how much time do I need to prepare effectively?
Plan prep based on level and role: new grads should spend 4–6 weeks focused on core data structures, algorithm patterns, and 4–6 polished STAR stories. Mid-level L4 candidates should budget 6–10 weeks, adding system design and production-readiness topics plus mock interviews. L5 and above need 8–12+ weeks emphasizing architecture, trade-offs, and leadership narratives. Break weeks into coding practice, timed mocks, system-design sprints, and role-specific work (experiments for DS, model lifecycle for MLE). Run at least 6–10 realistic mock interviews and iterate on communication and edge-case testing.
What specific subtopics and recurring themes should I expect by role at Google?
For Software Engineer interviews expect spatial and streaming geometry problems (counting or removing points within distance), concurrency and async primitives, deterministic task ordering and schedulers, calendar/free-slot algorithms, boolean-expression fixes, array/subarray patterns, and small-system OOD prompts like dorm room assignment. Data Scientist questions concentrate on causal and experiment design, funnel and product-metric computation, unbiased upgrade experiments, bootstrap and percentile estimation from buckets, sampling algorithms, and applied modeling like shot-conversion. Machine Learning Engineer rounds emphasize transformer/LLM building blocks and trade-offs, recommendation and ranking cold-start strategies, weighted sampling, and implementation details.
Any standout tips and common pitfalls, including level-specific advice (L3, L4, L5) and intern/new-grad notes?
Start by matching preparation to level: L3/new-grad must deliver correct, well-tested code and clear complexity; L4 must reach optimal solutions, explain trade-offs, and show production thinking; L5 must demonstrate architecture, scaling trade-offs, and cross-team impact. For interns/new-grads expect a phone coding screen followed by a virtual onsite; practice timed screens and basic system thinking. Across levels, talk through examples, define constraints, test edge cases, and avoid premature optimization or vague assumptions. Prepare 4–6 STAR stories for Googleyness, and don’t overlook clear, testable code and thought-out system trade-offs.

Explore more Google interview questions

Jump straight to Google questions for a specific role or category.

By role
By category
In-depth guides
Across all companies

Featured Google interview prep guides

Concept walkthroughs, worked examples, and the real questions from candidate reports.

Editorial prep
Machine Learning Engineer
Google interview
Read the guide