Uber SDE 1 Interview Experience

March 27, 2025

Uber Interview Experience

Welcome to the Uber SDE 1 Interview Experience page! The Uber SDE 1 interview is tough, testing both coding skills and real-world problem-solving. According to recent candidates, the hiring process has a clear structure to check technical ability and if the person fits the company culture.

Here, you’ll find clear and helpful information about Uber’s hiring process, along with real stories from candidates who have successfully passed their interviews. If you’re applying for a role as a Software Development Engineer 1 (SDE 1), this guide will help you prepare effectively and understand what to expect during the process.

Page Highlights:

  • About Uber
  • Uber SDE 1 Interview Experience of Candidates
  • Tips to Crack Uber SDE 1 Interview
  • FAQs on Uber Interview  SDE 1 Experience
details of uber sde1 interview experience
Uber Interview Experience

About Uber

Uber is a top company in transportation and delivery, changing how people and goods get around. Started in 2009, Uber uses its smart app to connect riders with drivers. It offers services like rides, food delivery (Uber Eats), shipping, and even self-driving car technology.

As a tech company, Uber uses smart systems, real-time data, and strong software to make transportation faster and smoother. Engineers at Uber solve tough problems like location tracking, pricing changes, finding the best routes, and handling huge amounts of data.

The Uber SDE 1 interview tests your skills in problem-solving, system design, and coding—key abilities needed to help build Uber’s future services.

Uber Hiring 
Related Information
Job RoleSoftware Development Engineer 1 ( SDE 1 )
Exam ModeOnline Mode
Exam PlatformCodeSignal
Salary18-35 LPA

Who can Apply for Uber?

To be eligible for the Uber Recruitment, candidates must meet the following criteria:

  • Educational Qualification: B.E/B.Tech/M.E/M.Tech in CSE, IT, ECE, EEE, E&I, or MCA
  • Graduation Year: 2024 & 2025
  • Backlogs: No active backlogs at the time of applying
  • Experience: 0-1 years
  • Location: Bengaluru, Hyderabad or Gurugram.

Uber SDE 1 Interview Experience

Candidate 1: Chetan Gawale

Profile: B.Tech in Computer Science

Interview Outcome: Selected

Round 1: Online Test:

Atmosphere:

  • Easy-to-use platform with clear steps

  • Timer visible throughout the test

  • No live monitor, but checks for copying are strict

Format: 3 coding questions, 60 mins

Questions:

  • Find the Largest Sum in a Fixed-Size Subarray (Medium-Hard) – Needed an optimized O(n) time solution.

  • Fix a Broken Linked List Reversal (Medium) – Found and fixed a pointer error.

  • Find the shortest path with multiple constraints (Modified Dijkstra’s algorithm)

Experience: The platform worked well, but the time limit made it stressful.

Round 2: Technical Interview 1:

Duration: 45 minutes

Panel: 1 Senior Engineer (mid-30s, technical but friendly)

Atmosphere:

  • The interview was a video call on Uber’s interview platform.

  • The interviewer introduced themselves briefly at the start.

  • The discussion was supportive—they gave hints when I got stuck.

Format:

  • Quick introduction (5 mins)
  • Jumped straight into coding
  • They kept asking questions while I worked

Questions Asked:

  • Warm-up: Find all anagrams in a string (a medium-level problem from Leetcode).

    • Follow-up: How would you optimize it for very large inputs?

    • Follow-up: How would you handle Unicode (special/non-English) characters?

  • Main Problem: Design a system to match riders with drivers (like Uber).

    • Started as a simple matching problem.

    • Later discussed advanced methods like spatial indexing (ways to quickly find nearby drivers).

    • Final solution used KD-trees (a data structure for organizing location data) with a discussion on efficiency.

Where I Struggled:

  • First tried a slow (brute-force) approach before improving it.

  • Needed some hints for the spatial indexing part.

  • Could have better explained the pros and cons of different solutions.

Post-Interview Realization:

  • Should have practiced more system design-oriented DSA problem.

  • Need to explain my thinking out loud more clearly from the beginning.

Round 3: Technical Interview 2:

Duration: 45 minutes

Panel: 1 Engineering Manager (late-30s, more business-focused) + 1 Staff Engineer (early-40s, very technical)

Questions Asked:

  • Real-Time Traffic System (Graph Problem)

    • Model traffic as a graph where road conditions change (dynamic edge weights).

    • Implement a system that quickly updates traffic data and finds the fastest route.

    • Follow-up: How would you handle sudden price surges (like during peak hours)?

  • Database Design for Ride History

    • Design a database schema to store user ride history.

    • Optimize queries for common searches (e.g., frequent routes).

    • Follow-up: How would you scale this for millions of rides per day?

Round 4: HR + Managerial Round:

Duration: 35 minutes

Panel: 1 HR Representative + 1 Engineering Director

Questions Asked:

  • Tell me about a time you disagreed with a technical choice. How did you handle it?
  • Tell me about a time you failed technically and what you learned.
  • How do you stay updated with emerging technologies?

Post-Interview Realization: Could have prepared more concrete examples from past projects

Candidate 2: Priya Patel

Background: MS in CS, 1 year of experience

Outcome: Selected

Round 1: Online Assessment

The first round was an online coding test conducted on CodeSignal. It consisted of 3 coding questions to be solved in 60 minutes.

Questions:

  • Sliding Window Maximum (Hard)

    • Given an array and window size k, return the max in every sliding window.

    • Expected: O(n) solution using a deque.

  • Validate Binary Search Tree (Medium)

    • Check if a given BST is valid (follow-up: iterative vs. recursive).

  • Maximum Frequency Stack (Hard)

    • Design a stack where pop() returns the most frequent element.

Experience: The platform was smooth but the time crunch was real. I barely finished the third question with 2 minutes remaining.

Round 2: Technical Interview 1

Interviewers: 2 Engineers (one silent observer)

Nature: No intro, Straight to problem-solving.

Atmosphere:

  • Room felt tense from the beginning

  • Interviewer maintained poker face throughout

  • Long pauses after each answer felt intentional

Question Asked:

  • Thread-Safe Circular Buffer (Hard)

    • Solved using mutex locks for thread safety.

    • Feedback: “Can you reduce lock contention?” (Make threads wait less for locks.)

  • Optimal Meeting Point in Grid (Hard)

    • Used a median-based approach to find the best meeting spot.

Round 3: HR + Managerial Round

Panel: 1 HR Representative + 1 Engineering Director

Duration: 35 minutes

Atmosphere:

  • More conversational than technical rounds

  • Focus on behavioral responses

  • Situational judgment questions

Questions Asked:

  • Describe a time you had to optimize a slow system under tight deadlines.
  • How would you prioritize features when everything is ‘P0’?
  • Why Uber? What interests you about our tech stack?

Interview Rounds

Interview RoundProcessDescriptionDuration
Round 1 Online Test

Online Coding Test on CodeSignal

  • (3 – 4 Questions)
  • Topics: Data Structures and Algorithms
45-60 mins
Round 2Technical Interview 1

Virtual Interview with the Technical Panel

Topics: Basic DSA, Arrays, Strings, Trees, Graphs, Time Complexity

40-45 mins
Round 3Technical Interview 2

Virtual Interview with the Technical Panel

Topics: Advanced DSA (Graphs, DP, Segment Trees), Optimization

40-45 mins
Round 4HR + Managerial Round

Virtual Interview with the Hiring Manager

Topics: Problem Solving, Behavioral, Situational, Cultural Fit, Past Projects

30-40 mins
Uber Facts (Did You Know?)

1. Uber processes 42+ million rides daily across 70+ countries

2. Their tech stack includes Go, Python, Java, and React

3. Uber’s real-time pricing algorithm adjusts fares every 3 seconds!

4. They were one of the first companies to open-source their engineering tools

Prepare for Interview with us:

Top 100 Codes
Technical Interview Questions
Managerial Interview Questions

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FAQ on Uber SDE 1 Interview Experience

Question: How long does the Uber SDE 1 hiring process take?

Answer:

The entire process usually takes 3-6 weeks, depending on the role and the number of candidates.

Question: Does Uber hire SDE 1 candidates for remote roles?

Answer:

Mostly hybrid/onsite, but some teams allow remote work.

Question: What is the difficulty level of Uber interviews?

Answer:

The interviews are difficult, with a strong focus on problem-solving and technical skills.

Question: Is Uber interview difficult to crack?

Answer:

Every interview can be cracked with the right preparation. 

For Uber, the technical skills of candidates is thoroughly tested as well as problem solving skills. Preparing aptly for the interview will make it easy to crack.

Question: Does Uber ask questions about previous projects?

Answer:

Yes, be prepared to explain your previous projects in detail, especially in technical and product management roles.