OpenAI Interview Questions

OpenAI Interview Questions

Practice 274 real OpenAI interview questions for 2026 — real interview questions drawn from actual interviews with detailed solutions. OpenAI interview questions on this page span Coding & Algorithms, System Design, ML System Design, Machine Learning, and Data Manipulation (SQL/Python) and cover roles like Software Engineer, Machine Learning Engineer, Data Scientist, Android Engineer, and Frontend Engineer. For interview preparation expect a focus on production ML systems, scalable services, numerical correctness, experimental design, and communication: interviewers evaluate architecture decisions, tradeoffs, measurable impact, and the ability to ship robust systems under uncertainty. The loop runs stage-by-stage: a recruiter screen, a technical phone screen (coding or design), a virtual onsite with focused rounds (practical coding, system and ML design, model/debug deep dives, and behavioral/mission-fit), then team match and offer; typical timeline is about 4–8 weeks and difficulty is high. Practical coding leans toward real-world engineering problems rather than pure LeetCode puzzles. Software-engineer themes include consistent-hashing sharding, GPU job scheduling for text-to-video, payment systems with exactly-once semantics, and video orchestration. ML tracks emphasize resumable iterators and checkpoint/restore, streaming-entropy numerical stability, 1-NN implementations and debugging model backprop; data science focuses on churn, free-trial A/B tests, and SQL retention analysis. Use project deep-dives and worked examples when you prep.

274 Questions 1 Company08.01.2026
Showing 20 results
Role
OpenAI logo
OpenAI
Medium
Software Engineer Locked

Compute infection spread time

This question evaluates understanding of grid-based graph traversal and propagation dynamics, testing competencies in breadth-first search concepts, s...

Coding & Algorithms
9
0
126 people solved
Jan 9, 2026
OpenAI logo
OpenAI
Hard
Software Engineer Locked

Refactor a chat message processing function

This question evaluates a candidate's ability to refactor and implement clear, maintainable message-processing logic—covering code organization, comma...

Coding & Algorithms
18
0
165 people solved
Jan 2, 2026
OpenAI logo
OpenAI
Medium
Software Engineer

Implement toy-language types and generic substitution

Problem: Toy Language Type System (Printing + Generic Resolution) You are implementing a small type system for a custom “Toy Language”. Types can be: ...

Coding & Algorithms
71
1
1134 people solved
Nov 13, 2025
OpenAI logo
OpenAI
Medium
Android Engineer Locked

Build a Compose Rating Card

This question evaluates proficiency in Android UI development with Kotlin and Jetpack Compose, emphasizing custom composable design (a stateless star-...

Coding & Algorithms
42
0
288 people solved
May 3, 2026
OpenAI logo
OpenAI
Medium
Software Engineer Locked

Implement Time-Aware GPU Credit Ledger

This question evaluates the ability to design efficient data structures and algorithms for time-aware resource accounting, including handling overlapp...

Coding & Algorithms
5
0
62 people solved
Feb 23, 2026
OpenAI logo
OpenAI
Medium
Software Engineer Locked

Design a GPU-Efficient Video Service

This question evaluates competency in designing GPU-constrained, production-grade ML serving platforms, emphasizing resource management, job schedulin...

ML System Design
10
0
97 people solved
Feb 23, 2026
OpenAI logo
OpenAI
Medium
Product Manager

Describe relevant PM experience

You are interviewing for a Product Manager role at OpenAI. Prepare outcome-oriented behavioral answers for these prompts: 1. Tell me about your experi...

Behavioral & Leadership
11
0
111 people solved
Mar 29, 2025
OpenAI logo
OpenAI
Hard
Software Engineer

Design a minimal ChatGPT with presets

System Design: Minimal ChatGPT-like Service With Reusable Presets Context Design a multi-tenant conversational AI service that supports reusable prese...

System Design
19
0
156 people solved
Sep 6, 2025
OpenAI logo
OpenAI
Hard
Machine Learning Engineer

Compute time to infect all cells

You are given an n × m grid representing people in a city. - Each cell is either infected (1) or healthy (0). - Two cells are neighbors if they share ...

Coding & Algorithms
107
1
973 people solved
Oct 24, 2025
OpenAI logo
OpenAI
Hard
Software Engineer Locked

Design a CI/CD system with stuck-job handling

This question evaluates a candidate's competence in designing fault-tolerant distributed systems, focusing on state management, failure detection, saf...

System Design
56
0
421 people solved
Dec 15, 2025
OpenAI logo
OpenAI
Hard
Software Engineer

Implement credit ledger with out-of-order timestamps

Problem You are implementing a GPU credit ledger that supports adding credits, charging credits, and querying balances. Requests can arrive in any tim...

Coding & Algorithms
140
1
949 people solved
Dec 15, 2025
OpenAI logo
OpenAI
Hard
Software Engineer

Implement an in-memory SQL-like table

Problem Implement a simple in-memory database for one table. All values are strings. Each row is identified by a rowKey (string). Each row contains co...

Coding & Algorithms
64
0
1067 people solved
Dec 15, 2025
OpenAI logo
OpenAI
Medium
Backend Engineer

Convert IPv4 Ranges to CIDR Blocks

Implement a function that summarizes a consecutive IPv4 address range using the smallest possible list of CIDR blocks. You are given: - start_ip: a va...

Coding & Algorithms
6
0
106 people solved
Apr 22, 2026
OpenAI logo
OpenAI
Hard
Software Engineer Locked

Design a URL shortening service

This question evaluates a candidate's ability to design scalable, highly available backend services, testing competencies in API design, data modeling...

System Design
19
0
148 people solved
Dec 8, 2025
OpenAI logo
OpenAI
Medium
Software Engineer

Manage GPU Credits with Expiration

Question Implement a GPU credit manager supporting out-of-order operations: API add_credit(id, amount, timestamp, expiration) // adds ‘amount’ credit...

Coding & Algorithms
38
0
398 people solved
Aug 4, 2025
OpenAI logo
OpenAI
Medium
Software Engineer Locked

Implement Social Graph Snapshot Queries

This question evaluates understanding of graph data structures, query-efficient indexing, and algorithmic trade-offs for static directed graphs, inclu...

Coding & Algorithms
4
0
62 people solved
Apr 13, 2026
OpenAI logo
OpenAI
Easy
Software Engineer

Implement Chat Event Counter

Design an in-memory counter for chat activity. You need to implement a class with the following two methods: `text processEvent(userId: string, chatId...

Coding & Algorithms
2
0
24 people solved
Apr 10, 2026
OpenAI logo
OpenAI
Medium
Software Engineer

Implement a serializable key-value store

Implement in C++ an in-memory key-value store with: - put(key: string, value: string), get(key) -> optional<string>, erase(key). - serialize() -> vect...

Coding & Algorithms
57
0
472 people solved
Jul 15, 2025
OpenAI logo
OpenAI
Hard
Software Engineer Locked

Compute Infection Time in a Grid

This question evaluates competence in grid-based graph traversal and simulation of propagation dynamics, focusing on state management, time-step model...

Coding & Algorithms
19
1
182 people solved
Apr 7, 2026
OpenAI logo
OpenAI
Hard
Software Engineer

Implement Disease and Friend Snapshot Models

You are asked to solve two independent coding problems. Problem 1: Simulate disease spread on a contact graph There are n people labeled 0 through n -...

Coding & Algorithms
2
0
22 people solved
Apr 7, 2026

Frequently Asked Questions

How difficult are OpenAI interview questions for software and ML roles in 2026?
OpenAI interviews in 2026 are challenging but not purely puzzle-driven: they reward practical engineering, systems thinking, and domain depth. Expect coding rounds that favor real-world tasks (reading and modifying components, debugging, performance-minded implementations) over contrived LeetCode riddles, plus heavy system and ML design for senior roles. Difficulty varies by track: Software Engineer interviews emphasize scalable distributed systems and orchestration; Machine Learning and Research tracks dig deeper into math, experiment design, and paper-level reasoning. Overall the loop is selective; prepare for multi-hour virtual onsites and high bar on correctness, clarity, and tradeoff justification.
What is the OpenAI interview process stage by stage and where do different question types appear?
The process typically starts with a recruiter or sourcer screen (30 minutes) covering fit and logistics, then a technical phone screen or hiring manager call that mixes coding and role-specific questions. Many loops include a paid or take-home exercise in applied roles, then a virtual onsite of four to six rounds: coding/debugging, system or ML systems design, a technical deep dive on your past work, and behavioral/mission-alignment conversations, followed by team-match interviews. Coding and Algorithms and Data Manipulation show up in early screens and onsite coding rounds; System Design and ML System Design dominate senior SWE and MLE rounds; Data Scientist rounds focus more on SQL, experiments, and A/B analysis.
How should I schedule my preparation and what timeline is realistic before interviewing at OpenAI?
Plan a 4–8 week preparation block aligned to the role. Weeks 1–2: solidify fundamentals—data structures, Python or chosen language fluency, and SQL skills with joins, windows, and CTEs. Weeks 3–4: practice role-specific system problems and ML fundamentals—distributed systems, caching, consistency, and experiment design. Weeks 5–6: run mock onsites, do timed coding, and prepare technical deep dives (projects, papers, metrics). Final 1–2 weeks: polish behavioral stories, team-fit pitch, and revisit tricky system/ML topics like checkpointing, numerical stability, and orchestration. Allow extra time if you must rebuild ML coding from scratch or reproduce papers.
What specific subtopics and problem types recur for OpenAI roles (coding, system design, ML, and data)?
For Software Engineers expect distributed-systems themes such as consistent hashing rings with virtual nodes, GPU job schedulers for text-to-video workloads, exactly-once payment processing, versioned social follow graphs, and video generation orchestration. Machine Learning Engineers see resumable iterators with checkpoint/restore, streaming entropy and numerical stability, 1-NN implementations and matrix gradient tricks, debugging MiniGPT-style training, mining novel images, and noisy-annotator strategies. Data Scientists focus on SQL for repeat churn, free-month promotion A/B tests, signup/retention lift calculations, and experiment measurement. Mobile and frontend roles weight architecture (MVVM, Compose) and model-usage quotas.
What are standout preparation tips and common pitfalls to avoid for OpenAI interviews?
Emphasize production-ready thinking: write clear, testable code, explain failure modes, and design for observability and reproducibility. For ML/research tracks, be ready to discuss papers, experimental design, statistical power, and how you'd debug and reproduce training runs. Avoid over-optimizing for abstract puzzle tactics; interviewers want debugging instincts, tradeoff reasoning, and a path to shipable systems. Common pitfalls include ignoring edge cases (concurrency, exactly-once semantics), skimming data-quality implications in experiments, failing to justify metric choices, and not framing past work in terms of tradeoffs and measurable impact during technical deep dives and team-match conversations.

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