Instacart Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process
Real candidates share what happened, how many rounds they had,
and how the experience turned out.
Based on 87 interview experiences · FREE TO READ
Candidate interview experiences
First-hand accounts from people who interviewed at Instacart.
Instacart
Software Engineer
Mid Average Positive experience No offer 2 rounds
Interview process
Recruiter call Technical screen Onsite
Interview formats
Behavioral Technical System Design Coding
I went through a couple of interview rounds with Instacart. Honestly, I think it went pretty well overall, though there was one round that didn't feel as strong. I did ask for feedback afterwards, but they didn't end up sharing any. The system design and algorithm questions were pretty manageable, especially if you've done LeetCode problems before. A big plus was that they gave a heads-up on what to expect in each round, which really helped me prepare.
Confirmed questions3 questions
- Questions were asked about my resume and how I work and behave within a team.
- How do you approach system design problems?
- Can you solve this algorithm problem?
Instacart
Software Engineer
Entry Difficult Negative experience No offer 7 rounds
Interview process
Take home Recruiter call Technical screen Onsite Presentation Background check Offer
Interview formats
Coding Behavioral System Design Presentation
The interview process theoretically included 1) a 70-minute unproctored LeetCode-style technical challenge with 4 questions, 2) a 30-minute recruiter screening, 3) a virtual onsite with 2 proctored 60-minute coding challenges, a 45-minute behavioral interview, and a 60-minute guided systems design, and 4) a 60-minute frontend guided systems design. In reality, it dragged on for over 2 months. It kicked off with the LeetCode challenge, then a recruiter call, who was nice. The virtual onsite had 4 hours of interviews over 2 days, which seemed okay. A week later, they said they needed a frontend systems design interview because the role was relevant to frontend. I did the 7th interview. They rescheduled it 4 times (sometimes with only 2 hours notice) due to staff availability and training, and each time I prepped. After over a month of delays, I finally had it, and I felt it went great. I emailed the recruiter the next day, and a week later got an auto-reply that she'd left. I emailed the head of recruiting, and got a blunt response saying my experience didn't match. I've been ghosted since asking for details and my NDA. It was a really bad experience.
Confirmed questions1 question
- Can you describe how to design a global search for products from a frontend perspective?
Instacart
Software Engineer
Senior Difficult Negative experience No offer 2 rounds
Interview process
Recruiter call Technical screen Onsite
Interview formats
Coding
First, there's a recruiter call. Then, you face four Leetcode questions to be solved within 75 minutes. If you score perfectly or close to it, you proceed to an interview with the CTO. Otherwise, you're out. It's worth noting that someone acing these Leetcode questions might just be good at memorizing solutions due to ample study time, not necessarily demonstrating core engineering principles like the Gang of Four, SOLID, or various testing methodologies. Other reviews mention system design and live coding, suggesting this environment isn't ideal unless you have a massive ego and believe Instacart is FAANG-level.
Confirmed questions2 questions
- Complete four coding challenges within a 75-minute time limit, aiming for a perfect score.
- Undergo a CTO interview if Leetcode performance is exceptional.
Instacart Software Engineer Interview Questions
Quoted word for word from Instacart interview reports.
“Create a HashMap that can store multiple values for a key, associated with timestamps. When retrieving a value, you can either get the most recently added one or the one closest to a specified timestamp.”
Read reports →“Implement functionality to retrieve a value at a specific timestamp using a key and timestamp.”
Read reports →“Given a streaming HTTP feed, how would you find a password within a block of characters using provided coordinates?”
Read reports →“Can you parse an HTTP stream given its URL to calculate a solution?”
Read reports →“Write code to implement a cache key store with timestamps, covering basic get/set and more advanced functionality across 4 sections.”
Read report →“Can you implement a key-value datastore that keeps track of historical values, allowing multiple entries per key with different timestamps, and supports queries by key alone or by key and timestamp?”
Read report →“Are the questions easy if text parsing is done quickly using regex?”
Read report →“What are your thoughts on the competitive landscape in the online grocery delivery market, particularly concerning services like Google Shopping Express?”
Read report →“Could you implement a toast notification UI based on a design, with flexibility in framework choice (though React was mentioned)?”
Read report →Formats, difficulty and experience
Across all 87 Instacart interview reports.