Problem database last updated: June 20, 2025

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Intel Coding Interview Questions

25 problems · 10 Easy, 14 Medium, 1 Hard · Ranked #76 of 458

Difficulty breakdown

10 Easy

40% · avg 23%

14 Medium

56% · avg 59%

1 Hard

4% · avg 18%

Top topics

array
44%
hash-table
24%
string
24%
two-pointers
24%1.8x
math
24%1.9x
dynamic-programming
20%

Interview profile

Based on 25 reported problems, Intel interviews are easier than average - only 4% Hard compared to 18% across all companies. The majority (56%) of questions are Medium difficulty, which is typical for companies that want to see solid fundamentals without excessive trick questions.

Compared to the industry average, Intel puts unusual emphasis on linked-list (20% of problems, 2.8x the industry average), counting (8% of problems, 2.4x the industry average), math (24% of problems, 1.9x the industry average). If you're short on time, these are the categories to double down on.

The most common topics are array (44%), hash-table (24%), string (24%), two-pointers (24%). Problems below are sorted by frequency, the ones at the top are asked most often.

All 25 problems

Find Consecutive Integers from a Data Stream

Solve

For a stream of integers, implement a data structure that checks if the last k integers parsed in the stream are equal to value.

MediumVery Likely
hash-tabledesignqueue

Maximum Nesting Depth of the Parentheses

Solve

Given a valid parentheses string s, return the nesting depth of s. The nesting depth is the maximum number of nested parentheses.

EasyVery Likely
stringstack

Trapping Rain Water

Solve

Given n non-negative integers representing an elevation map where the width of each bar is 1, compute how much water it can trap after raining.

HardVery Likely
arraytwo-pointersdynamic-programming

Valid Parentheses

Solve

Given a string s containing just the characters '(', ')', '{', '}', '[' and ']', determine if the input string is valid.

EasyVery Likely
stringstack

Number of Islands

Solve

Given an m x n 2D binary grid grid which represents a map of '1's (land) and '0's (water), return the number of islands.

MediumVery Likely
arraydepth-first-searchbreadth-first-search

Copy List with Random Pointer

Solve

A linked list of length n is given such that each node contains an additional random pointer, which could point to any node in the list, or null.

MediumVery Likely
hash-tablelinked-list

Two Sum

Solve

Given an array of integers nums and an integer target, return the indices of the two numbers that add up to target.

EasyVery Likely
arrayhash-map

Count Primes

Solve

Given an integer n, return the number of prime numbers that are strictly less than n.

MediumVery Likely
arraymathenumeration

Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters

Solve

Given a string s, find the length of the longest substring without duplicate characters.

MediumVery Likely
hash-tablestringsliding-window

Reverse Integer

Solve

Given a signed 32-bit integer x, return x with its digits reversed. If reversing x causes the value to go outside the signed 32-bit integer range [-231, 231 - 1...

MediumLikely
math

LRU Cache

Solve

Design a data structure that follows the constraints of a Least Recently Used (LRU) cache.

MediumLikely
hash-tablelinked-listdesign

Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock II

Solve

You are given an integer array prices where prices[i] is the price of a given stock on the ith day.

MediumLikely
arraydynamic-programminggreedy

Linked List Cycle

Solve

Given head, the head of a linked list, determine if the linked list has a cycle in it.

EasyLikely
hash-tablelinked-listtwo-pointers

Container With Most Water

Solve

You are given an integer array height of length n. There are n vertical lines drawn such that the two endpoints of the ith line are (i, 0) and (i, height[i]).

MediumLikely
arraytwo-pointersgreedy

Climbing Stairs

Solve

You are climbing a staircase. It takes n steps to reach the top.

EasyLikely
mathdynamic-programmingmemoization

Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock

Solve

You are given an array prices where prices[i] is the price of a given stock on the ith day.

EasyLikely
arraydynamic-programming

Maximum Subarray

Solve

Given an integer array nums, find the subarray with the largest sum, and return its sum.

MediumLikely
arraydivide-and-conquerdynamic-programming

Palindrome Number

Solve

Given an integer x, return true if x is a palindrome, and false otherwise.

EasyLikely
math

Merge Sorted Array

Solve

You are given two integer arrays nums1 and nums2, sorted in non-decreasing order, and two integers m and n, representing the number of elements in nums1 and num...

EasyLikely
arraytwo-pointerssorting

Reverse Words in a String

Solve

Given an input string s, reverse the order of the words.

MediumLikely
two-pointersstring

Add Two Numbers

Solve

You are given two non-empty linked lists representing two non-negative integers. The digits are stored in reverse order, and each of their nodes contains a sing...

MediumLikely
linked-listmathrecursion

Rotate Image

Solve

You are given an n x n 2D matrix representing an image, rotate the image by 90 degrees (clockwise).

MediumLikely
arraymathmatrix

Valid Palindrome

Solve

A phrase is a palindrome if, after converting all uppercase letters into lowercase letters and removing all non-alphanumeric characters, it reads the same forwa...

EasyLikely
two-pointersstring

Merge Two Sorted Lists

Solve

You are given the heads of two sorted linked lists list1 and list2.

EasyLikely
linked-listrecursion

Top K Frequent Words

Solve

Given an array of strings words and an integer k, return the k most frequent strings.

MediumLikely
arrayhash-tablestring

How often are these problems asked?

Frequency scores are based on crowdsourced interview reports. A higher score means the problem has been reported more often in recent Intel interviews.

Very Likely

75-100%

Likely

50-74%

Sometimes

25-49%

Rare

0-24%

Preparing for your Intel coding interview

Intel interviews focus heavily on array, hash-table, string problems. If you're short on time, these are the categories to prioritize. The problems on this page are sorted by frequency, so start from the top and work your way down.

Beyond solving problems, practice explaining your approach. Intel interviewers care about your thought process - how you break down a problem, consider edge cases, and evaluate tradeoffs between solutions. A clean O(n) solution you can explain clearly beats an O(log n) solution you can't articulate.

Looking for more companies? Browse all 458 companies in our directory, or sharpen your fundamentals with our free data structure visualizers and AI-powered DSA tutor.

Frequently Asked Questions

What coding problems does Intel ask in interviews?add

Intel has been reported to ask 25 distinct coding problems. The most common topics are array, hash-table, string. 10 are Easy difficulty, 14 are Medium, and 1 are Hard. Problems are sorted by frequency - the ones at the top are asked most often.

How hard are Intel coding interviews?add

Based on 25 reported problems, Intel interviews are easier than average - only 4% Hard compared to 18% across all companies. 56% of questions are Medium difficulty. Focus on the high-frequency Medium problems first, then work through the Hard ones.

How should I prepare for a Intel coding interview?add

Start with the highest-frequency problems listed on this page. Focus on the core topics: array, hash-table, string. Practice solving them under time pressure and explaining your approach out loud. Mock interviews with AI can simulate the real experience.

Other companies to explore

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