Optiver Coding & Algorithms Interview Questions

Optiver Coding & Algorithms interview questions test more than rote algorithm recall; they probe how you think under performance constraints and how you communicate trade-offs. Expect timed online assessments and live coding sessions that resemble collaborative problem solving rather than isolated puzzles. Interviewers typically evaluate your ability to choose appropriate data structures, reason about time and space complexity, write clean, correct code in a primary language (often C++, Java, or Python), and handle edge cases and performance considerations that matter in low‑latency trading systems. For effective interview preparation, focus on fundamentals—arrays, trees, graphs, hashing, sorting, windows and two‑pointer techniques, and complexity analysis—while practicing timed problems and explaining your choices aloud. Reinforce language fluency and standard library knowledge, and revisit concurrency, memory layout, and I/O tradeoffs when relevant. During practice, simulate the live interview: ask clarifying questions, outline an approach, iterate on correctness, and discuss optimizations. This approach helps you demonstrate practical engineering judgment as well as coding proficiency.

38 Questions 1 Company06.26.2026
Showing 18 results
Role
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Optiver
Medium
Data Scientist

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...

Coding & Algorithms
6
0
77 people solved
Sep 6, 2025
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Optiver
Medium
Software EngineerIntern

Implement a News Publishing System with Topic Subscriptions and Delivery Limits

You are building the core delivery engine for a news publishing service. The service continuously receives news items, stores them, and — whenever a p...

Coding & Algorithms
2
0
26 people solved
Nov 25, 2025
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Optiver
Hard
Software EngineerNew Grad

Cargo Order Allocation Across Departing Planes

A freight company assigns incoming shipping orders to a fixed fleet of cargo planes. You must implement the order-processing logic: decide whether eac...

Coding & Algorithms
0
0
10 people solved
Nov 16, 2025
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Optiver
Medium
Software Engineer

Maximum Currency Conversion Rate

Maximum Currency Conversion Rate You are given N currency exchange rate pairs. Each pair is a triple (from_currency, to_currency, rate), meaning that ...

Coding & Algorithms
0
0
9 people solved
Jan 31, 2025
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Optiver
Medium
Software Engineer

Validate a Binary Tree Built from Directed Edges

Validate a Binary Tree Built from Directed Edges You are given a list of directed edges. Each edge is a pair (parent, child) of positive-integer node ...

Coding & Algorithms
0
0
6 people solved
Jul 23, 2025
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Optiver
Medium
Software Engineer

Identify OS component causing process starvation

A system with 2 CPU cores runs 5 identical processes continuously. Four processes get equal CPU time, but the fifth appears to get none. Which part of...

Coding & Algorithms
6
0
93 people solved
Jul 17, 2025
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Optiver
Medium
Software Engineer

Count nonnegative buy/sell sequences

You must perform exactly 2n unit trades starting with 0 shares and ending with 0 shares. Each trade is either a buy (+1 share) or a sell (−1 share), a...

Coding & Algorithms
18
0
131 people solved
Jul 16, 2025
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Optiver
Medium
Software Engineer

Days Between Two Calendar Dates

Days Between Two Calendar Dates You are given two dates as strings, each in the format YYYY-MM-DD. Write a function that returns the number of days be...

Coding & Algorithms
2
0
20 people solved
Apr 21, 2026
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Optiver
Hard
Data Scientist Locked

Find missing numbers in sequences

This question evaluates sequence pattern recognition, numerical reasoning with integers and rational numbers, and the ability to infer recurrences or ...

Coding & Algorithms
14
0
275 people solved
Feb 3, 2026
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Optiver
Medium
Software Engineer Locked

Design a circular queue data structure

This question evaluates understanding of circular buffer data structures and the ability to implement fixed-capacity queue operations with O(1) time a...

Coding & Algorithms
8
0
69 people solved
Jan 13, 2026
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Optiver
Medium
Data Scientist

Solve a Skyscraper puzzle efficiently

Design and implement a solver for the Skyscraper logic puzzle on an $N \times N$ grid, where $3 \le N \le 7$. The board is a grid of building heights....

Coding & Algorithms
47
0
329 people solved
Sep 6, 2025
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Optiver
Medium
Software Engineer

Design a satellite propagation simulator

Question Implement a SatelliteNetwork class that simulates message propagation over an undirected satellite graph. The class consumes a stream of inst...

Coding & Algorithms
77
0
586 people solved
Sep 6, 2025
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Optiver
Medium
Software Engineer

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...

Coding & Algorithms
22
0
167 people solved
Aug 13, 2025
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Optiver
Easy
Data Scientist

Stone Pile Doubling Game: Can One Pile Be Emptied?

You are given two piles of stones containing a and b stones respectively (both piles start non-empty). You repeatedly apply the following move: - Let ...

Coding & Algorithms
0
0
2 people solved
Jul 26, 2025
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Optiver
Medium
Software Engineer

Count the Days Between Two Dates

Count the Days Between Two Dates You are given two calendar dates as strings in YYYY-MM-DD format. Return the number of days between them as a non-neg...

Coding & Algorithms
0
0
8 people solved
Jul 23, 2025
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Optiver
Medium
Software Engineer

Solve three mini-game algorithm tasks

Solve three mini-game algorithm tasks Solve three mini-game algorithm tasks: (a) Move-House Puzzle: Given initial and target arrangements of N labeled...

Coding & Algorithms
12
0
86 people solved
Jul 17, 2025
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Optiver
Medium
Software Engineer

Detect currency arbitrage with costs

You are given a K×K matrix R of currency exchange rates where R[i][j] is the amount of currency j obtainable for one unit of currency i, and R[i][i] =...

Coding & Algorithms
36
0
261 people solved
Jul 16, 2025
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Optiver
Medium
Data Scientist

Make Two Apple Piles Equal With Doubling Moves

You have two piles of apples: the first pile contains a apples and the second pile contains b apples. In one move you choose one pile to be the receiv...

Coding & Algorithms
0
0
6 people solved
Mar 21, 2025

Frequently Asked Questions

How difficult are Optiver Coding & Algorithms interview questions?
Optiver Coding & Algorithms questions are typically medium to hard and emphasize clean, efficient solutions under time pressure. Interviewers often evaluate algorithmic correctness, edge-case handling, and asymptotic complexity rather than clever tricks alone. Expect problems that reward careful data structure choice and attention to constant factors, since trading systems have tight performance constraints. You may also face tasks that require designing robust input validation or handling malformed data. Preparing to explain design tradeoffs and thought process is as important as producing a working solution during the timed interview.
What is the typical interview process at Optiver and where do Coding & Algorithms questions appear?
Coding and algorithm problems usually appear early and repeatedly in the Optiver interview loop, often as an online assessment followed by one or more live coding interviews. The online stage may be a timed programming test; successful candidates then face technical interviews focused on data structures, algorithms, and implementation. Coding questions may also be embedded in longer onsite or virtual rounds alongside system design and behavioral discussions. Interviewers commonly ask candidates to code on a shared editor, run through test cases, and explain complexity and correctness as they iterate toward a final solution.
How should I structure a preparation timeline for Optiver Coding & Algorithms interviews?
Build a structured plan over several weeks that balances fundamentals, targeted practice, and mock interviews. Start by refreshing core data structures and complexity analysis, then solve progressively harder problems in arrays, trees, graphs, dynamic programming, and heaps. Midway, add timed assessments to simulate the online test environment and focus on writing correct, tested code quickly. In the final weeks, do mock interviews with a partner or coach, review common pitfalls, and rehearse clear explanations of tradeoffs. Consistent, focused practice with post-mortem reviews yields better gains than random problem solving.
Which subtopics should I focus on for Coding & Algorithms interviews at Optiver?
Prioritize data structures and algorithmic patterns that commonly appear under performance constraints: arrays and strings, hash maps, heaps, trees and graph traversals, dynamic programming, sorting, and greedy strategies. Be fluent with complexity tradeoffs and memory usage, and comfortable implementing common graph algorithms and union-find. Practice handling edge cases, nulls, integer overflow, and large inputs. Language-specific proficiency in C++, Java, or Python is important, including standard library use and idiomatic patterns that produce concise, efficient solutions under time pressure.
What are standout tips and common pitfalls for succeeding in Optiver Coding & Algorithms interviews?
Standout tips include asking clarifying questions upfront, outlining your approach before coding, and iterating from a simple correct solution to optimizations. Verbally justify data structure choices and complexity tradeoffs as you go. Test your code on representative edge cases and explain failure modes. Common pitfalls are diving into code without confirming constraints, ignoring performance implications, overlooking integer boundaries, and failing to communicate when stuck. Recruiters also value readable, well-structured code, so avoid one-line hacks that compromise clarity even if they appear clever.

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