Google Interview Questions

Google Interview Questions

Practice 514 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.

514 Questions 1 Company07.27.2026
Showing 20 results
Role
Google logo
Google
Medium
Software Engineer

Return dictionary words matching a prefix

You are given a list of strings words (a dictionary) and a string prefix. Return all words in words that start with prefix. Clarifications/constraints...

Coding & Algorithms
26
0
191 people solved
Mar 9, 2026
Google logo
Google
Medium
Software Engineer Locked

Solve several coding interview problems

This set of problems evaluates proficiency in string processing and combinatorial parsing, arbitrary-precision arithmetic using string representations...

Coding & Algorithms
10
0
98 people solved
Mar 4, 2026
Google logo
Google
Medium
Software Engineer Locked

Simulate meeting-room bookings and return busiest room

This question evaluates a candidate's competence in scheduling and resource-allocation algorithms, focusing on simulation of interval-based bookings, ...

Coding & Algorithms
15
0
157 people solved
Mar 1, 2026
Google logo
Google
Medium
Software Engineer Locked

Find top-k distinct elements

This question evaluates understanding of algorithms and data structures for selecting distinct top-k values and enforcing ordering constraints. It is ...

Coding & Algorithms
24
0
176 people solved
Mar 1, 2026
Google logo
Google
Medium
Software EngineerNew Grad

Implement an LRU cache

Design a key-value cache with a fixed capacity. It must support: - get(key): return the value for the key if it exists, otherwise return -1. - put(key...

Coding & Algorithms
3
0
40 people solved
Feb 24, 2026
Google logo
Google
Medium
Software Engineer

Determine Reporting Relationships

Build an in-memory organization model that supports three operations on employee IDs: 1. add_manager(a, b): employee a is the direct manager of employ...

Coding & Algorithms
3
0
39 people solved
Feb 22, 2026
Google logo
Google
Hard
Machine Learning Engineer

Can you reach target with distance-threshold edges?

You are given a set of unordered 2D points points[], a start point and an end point (both are included in points), and a function: `text getDistance(p...

Coding & Algorithms
11
1
180 people solved
Feb 22, 2026
Google logo
Google
Medium
Software Engineer Locked

Solve array-sum and city-community problems

This question evaluates array-processing and grid/graph connectivity skills, covering counting subarrays with a target sum and identifying connected b...

Coding & Algorithms
6
0
61 people solved
Feb 20, 2026
Google logo
Google
Medium
Software Engineer Locked

Check pivot after removing one element

This question evaluates array-manipulation skills, cumulative-sum/prefix-sum reasoning, and robustness in handling negative values and duplicates, tes...

Coding & Algorithms
8
0
141 people solved
Feb 12, 2026
Google logo
Google
Medium
Software Engineer Locked

Min deletions to avoid overlap in first k

This question evaluates array and sequence manipulation skills, set-based reasoning about value overlap, and the ability to compute minimal edits whil...

Coding & Algorithms
20
0
342 people solved
Feb 12, 2026
Google logo
Google
Medium
Software EngineerNew Grad

Design Tic-Tac-Toe With K Players

Design and implement a Tic-Tac-Toe game engine. You are given: - k players, each with a unique player ID or mark. - An n x n board, initially empty. -...

Coding & Algorithms
3
0
20 people solved
Feb 12, 2026
Google logo
Google
Medium
Software Engineer Locked

Find cheapest common ancestor in a tree

This question evaluates understanding of tree data structures and ancestor concepts (such as lowest common ancestor) along with algorithmic skills for...

Coding & Algorithms
18
1
132 people solved
Feb 12, 2026
Google logo
Google
Hard
Software Engineer Locked

Find minimum threshold enabling grid path

This question evaluates a candidate's understanding of grid pathfinding, reachability under constraints, and algorithmic optimization, focusing on ski...

Coding & Algorithms
10
0
152 people solved
Feb 11, 2026
Google logo
Google
Medium
Machine Learning Engineer Locked

Compute sum over consecutive-step subarrays

This question evaluates proficiency in array processing, detection of consecutive-step arithmetic sequences, and accumulation of subarray sums with at...

Coding & Algorithms
10
1
84 people solved
Feb 8, 2026
Google logo
Google
Medium
Software Engineer Locked

Detect and remove matched words in a char stream

This question evaluates understanding of online stream processing, substring matching, and the use of efficient data structures and algorithms for rea...

Coding & Algorithms
35
0
238 people solved
Feb 7, 2026
Google logo
Google
Easy
Software Engineer

Implement Batched Undo/Redo Layer

You are implementing a simplified document layer for a design tool. The layer stores properties as a map<string, string>. Implement a class that suppo...

Coding & Algorithms
7
0
57 people solved
Feb 4, 2026
Google logo
Google
Easy
Data Scientist Locked

Build next-word predictor with O(1) lookup

This question evaluates skills in language modeling, data structures, algorithmic optimization, and probabilistic sampling, within the Coding & Algori...

Coding & Algorithms
4
1
43 people solved
Feb 2, 2026
Google logo
Google
Medium
Software Engineer Locked

Solve matrix groups and recipe inventory

This pair of problems evaluates block-wise grid processing and aggregation for minimum-value selection alongside dependency-resolution and resource-al...

Coding & Algorithms
25
0
215 people solved
Jan 22, 2026
Google logo
Google
Hard
Software Engineer Locked

Compute minimax grid path and network delay

This question evaluates algorithmic problem-solving in shortest-path and path-optimization contexts, specifically minimax pathfinding on a grid and si...

Coding & Algorithms
20
0
235 people solved
Jan 22, 2026
Google logo
Google
Medium
Software Engineer

Find top/bottom-k words in list or stream

You are given words (strings) either as a finite list or as an unbounded stream. 1) List version: Given an array words and an integer k, return: - the...

Coding & Algorithms
14
0
141 people solved
Jan 11, 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 514 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 514-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.

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