ByteDance interview questions

Showing 121–150 of 160 results

• Maximize watch time under adjacency constraintHard

  This Coding & Algorithms question for a Data Engineer role evaluates dynamic programming and sequence-optimization skills by requiring selection of a subsequence under a pairwise adjacency constraint on video durations, at a moderate-to-advanced algorithmic abstraction level.

  ByteDanceData EngineerCoding & AlgorithmsTechnical Screen
• Merge Overlapping Closed IntervalsMedium

  This problem tests your ability to manipulate sorted data structures and manage interval boundaries to optimize overlapping segments in linear or log-linear time.

  ByteDanceSoftware EngineerCoding & AlgorithmsTechnical Screen
• Merge Overlapping Time WindowsMedium

  Merge unsorted half-open time windows into sorted, non-overlapping intervals while leaving merely adjacent windows separate. Handle duplicate and nested ranges, large timestamps, large input, and empty collections under exact boundary semantics.

  ByteDanceSoftware EngineerCoding & AlgorithmsTechnical Screen
• Merge overlapping closed intervals into a sorted list of disjoint intervalsMedium

  Coding problem: given closed integer intervals in any order, merge every group of overlapping or touching intervals and return the disjoint result sorted by start. It tests interval reasoning, correct handling of shared endpoints, duplicates and nested intervals, and a well-defined output order.

  ByteDanceSoftware EngineerCoding & AlgorithmsOnsite
• Minimize Increments to Equalize Path CostsMedium

  This problem tests your ability to manipulate tree node values to satisfy a global constraint using a bottom-up dynamic programming or greedy approach.

  ByteDanceSoftware EngineerCoding & AlgorithmsTechnical Screen
• Minimum Number of Rooms to Host a Set of Possibly Overlapping MeetingsHard

  Given meetings as half-open start and end time intervals, compute the minimum number of rooms needed so that no room ever hosts two overlapping meetings. Tests interval reasoning, correct handling of back-to-back meetings that share an endpoint, and an efficient approach for up to 100,000 meetings.

  ByteDanceMachine Learning EngineerCoding & AlgorithmsTechnical Screen
• Model Campaigns, Targeting, and Edit History for a Demand-Side Ad PlatformMedium

  Model a demand-side ad platform with advertisers, campaigns, ad groups, ads, and creatives, including audience rules, edit history, and versioned publishing.

  ByteDanceSoftware EngineerSystem DesignOnsite
• Model Data for Analytics, Reporting, and ApplicationsMedium

  Tests your ability to process raw semi-structured event logs into a clean, dimensional metric table suitable for downstream analytics and reporting.

  ByteDanceData EngineerData Manipulation (SQL/Python)HR Screen
• Order Named Tasks by Dependencies, Choosing the Alphabetically Smallest OrderMedium

  Given named tasks and before-and-after dependency pairs, return an order that satisfies every dependency, choosing the alphabetically smallest valid order, or an empty list when the dependencies contain a cycle. It tests topological sorting, cycle detection and deterministic tie-breaking.

  ByteDanceSoftware EngineerCoding & AlgorithmsOnsite
• Place Non-Attacking QueensHard

  This question evaluates a candidate's competency in combinatorial search, constraint reasoning, and algorithmic design for arranging non-attacking pieces on a grid.

  ByteDanceSite Reliability EngineerCoding & AlgorithmsTechnical Screen
• Predict Short-Video Engagement with Skewed DataHard

  Design a short-video engagement model with explicit targets, leakage-safe features, heavy-tail handling, exposure awareness, and temporal evaluation.

  ByteDanceData ScientistMachine LearningTechnical Screen
• Prepare for an SRE Systems Fundamentals RoundEasy

  This question tests your understanding of Linux process management, memory utilization, and the practical troubleshooting steps required to handle a production service experiencing memory exhaustion.

  ByteDanceSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsOnsite
• Present a Past Project and Defend Its Motivation Under ChallengeMedium

  A behavioral question for a new-grad research role: present one of your own projects in about 15 minutes and defend its motivation when the interviewer challenges it early. It tests how you frame a problem, back it with evidence and baselines, and respond to pushback calmly.

  ByteDanceApplied ScientistBehavioral & LeadershipTechnical Screen
• Prevent a Cache Stampede on a Hot KeyMedium

  This question tests the ability to design robust cache-aside mechanisms to prevent database overload during cache expiration events for high-traffic keys.

  ByteDanceSoftware EngineerSystem DesignTechnical Screen
• Probability That One Fair Die Beats AnotherMedium

  Solve a coding interview problem about the probability that one fair die beats another when the dice may have different sizes and duplicate face values. The challenge emphasizes strict tie handling and an efficient approach that avoids comparing every possible pair of faces.

  ByteDanceData ScientistCoding & AlgorithmsTechnical Screen
• Remove Duplicate Letters LexicographicallyMedium

  This problem tests your ability to use a monotonic stack combined with frequency tracking to construct a specific subsequence while maintaining lexicographical order.

  ByteDanceSoftware EngineerCoding & AlgorithmsTechnical Screen
• Report the winner after each move on an n-by-n tic-tac-toe boardMedium

  Coding problem: replay an n-by-n tic-tac-toe game from a list of moves and report after every move whether the player who just moved has filled a row, a column or either diagonal. It tests efficient win detection on large boards and careful handling of diagonal and anti-diagonal cells.

  ByteDanceSoftware EngineerCoding & AlgorithmsOnsite
• Resolve a Meaningful DisagreementMedium

  This question assesses the candidate's ability to navigate professional conflict through evidence-based reasoning, emotional intelligence, and a focus on collective project success.

  ByteDanceSoftware EngineerBehavioral & LeadershipOnsite
• Return the Most Frequent Integer with a Stable Tie-BreakerEasy

  Implement a frequency-based selection over a large integer array: return the most common value, using the numerically smallest value to break ties. Preserve the input and return the value itself rather than its count or position.

  ByteDanceSoftware EngineerCoding & AlgorithmsTechnical Screen
• Reverse Nodes in K-Sized GroupsMedium

  This problem tests your ability to manipulate linked list pointers by reversing sub-segments of a list while maintaining structural integrity.

  ByteDanceSoftware EngineerCoding & AlgorithmsTechnical Screen
• Reverse a Linked List in Groups of KMedium

  This problem tests your ability to manipulate pointers in a linked list structure and manage iterative or recursive state transitions for fixed-size segments.

  ByteDanceMachine Learning EngineerCoding & AlgorithmsTechnical Screen
• Running Median After Each Number in a Data StreamMedium

  Numbers arrive one at a time from a stream; after each arrival, return the median of everything received so far, averaging the two middle values when the count is even. The problem tests keeping order statistics up to date efficiently as a data stream grows.

  ByteDanceSoftware EngineerCoding & AlgorithmsOnsite
• SQL: Students Above Average and Passing Every SubjectHard

  This problem tests advanced SQL skills, including the use of window functions, conditional aggregation, and multi-level filtering to identify subsets of data that satisfy both global and per-category criteria.

  ByteDanceBackend EngineerData Manipulation (SQL/Python)Technical Screen
• SRE Background: Development vs. Stability Focus and Your Most Memorable ProjectMedium

  This question assesses a candidate's ability to balance rapid feature delivery with system reliability, while evaluating their depth of technical ownership and ability to articulate the impact of their engineering decisions.

  ByteDanceSite Reliability EngineerBehavioral & LeadershipTechnical Screen
• Set Boundaries and Priorities in a High-Intensity EnvironmentMedium

  This question assesses a candidate's ability to navigate high-pressure work environments by balancing personal sustainability with business objectives, focusing on prioritization strategies and escalation frameworks.

  ByteDanceSoftware EngineerBehavioral & LeadershipOnsite
• Shortest Path in a Grid with Limited Obstacle RemovalMedium

  This problem tests your ability to adapt Breadth-First Search (BFS) to a state-space graph where the state includes both spatial coordinates and a remaining resource constraint.

  ByteDanceSoftware EngineerCoding & AlgorithmsTechnical Screen
• Simulate a fixed-capacity least-recently-used cache over get and put operationsHard

  Implement a fixed-capacity cache that evicts the least recently used key, processing a sequence of get and put operations and returning the result of every get. Tests recency bookkeeping, update versus insert semantics, eviction order and constant-time operations.

  ByteDanceSoftware EngineerCoding & AlgorithmsTechnical Screen
• Solve Bracket Matching and Tree WidthHard

  This problem tests string manipulation and tree traversal techniques by requiring the validation of complex bracket sequences and the calculation of the maximum horizontal distance between nodes at the same level of a binary tree.

  ByteDanceBackend EngineerCoding & AlgorithmsHR Screen
• Solve Search Speed and String ProductMedium

  This pair of problems evaluates algorithm design and implementation skills, focusing on efficient search/optimization for constrained processing speed and manual arbitrary-precision string multiplication for very large integers.

  ByteDanceSoftware EngineerCoding & AlgorithmsOnsite
• Solve Stack and String Shift ProblemsMedium

  This problem tests your ability to handle nested validation using stacks and coordinate transformation using modular arithmetic on strings.

  ByteDanceSite Reliability EngineerCoding & AlgorithmsTechnical Screen