Pinterest Software Engineer Onsite Coding Questions
42+ questions from real Pinterest Software Engineer Onsite Coding rounds, reported by candidates who interviewed there.
What does the Pinterest Onsite Coding round test?
The Pinterest onsite coding round is the core technical evaluation. Software Engineer candidates typically see 2-3 algorithm and data structure problems. Problems range from medium to hard difficulty, and interviewers evaluate both correctness and code quality.
Top Topics in This Round
Pinterest Software Engineer Onsite Coding Questions
Pinterest Coding 2024, Can't solve using AI either
I was asked this in pinterest coding interview and I couldn\'t solve it optimally. please help You are given a list of dictionary which looks like below [{id: 1, username: \'hermoine\', text:...
#332 Reconstruct Itinerary
LeetCode #332: Reconstruct Itinerary. Difficulty: Hard. Topics: Array, String, Depth-First Search, Graph Theory, Sorting, Heap (Priority Queue), Eulerian Circuit. Asked at Pinterest in the last 6 months.
LeetCode #322: Coin Change. Difficulty: Medium. Topics: Array, Dynamic Programming, Breadth-First Search. Asked at Pinterest in the last 6 months.
#815 Bus Routes
LeetCode #815: Bus Routes. Difficulty: Hard. Topics: Array, Hash Table, Breadth-First Search. Asked at Pinterest in the last 6 months.
LeetCode #1055: Shortest Way to Form String. Difficulty: Medium. Topics: Two Pointers, String, Binary Search, Greedy. Asked at Pinterest in the last 6 months.
LeetCode #1110: Delete Nodes And Return Forest. Difficulty: Medium. Topics: Array, Hash Table, Tree, Depth-First Search, Binary Tree. Asked at Pinterest in the last 6 months.
#1244 Design A Leaderboard
LeetCode #1244: Design A Leaderboard. Difficulty: Medium. Topics: Hash Table, Design, Sorting. Asked at Pinterest in the last 6 months.
LeetCode #465: Optimal Account Balancing. Difficulty: Hard. Topics: Array, Dynamic Programming, Backtracking, Bit Manipulation, Bitmask. Asked at Pinterest in the last 6 months.
#410 Split Array Largest Sum
LeetCode #410: Split Array Largest Sum. Difficulty: Hard. Topics: Array, Binary Search, Dynamic Programming, Greedy, Prefix Sum. Asked at Pinterest in the last 6 months.
#282 Expression Add Operators
LeetCode #282: Expression Add Operators. Difficulty: Hard. Topics: Math, String, Backtracking. Asked at Pinterest in the last 6 months.
LeetCode #311: Sparse Matrix Multiplication. Difficulty: Medium. Topics: Array, Hash Table, Matrix. Asked at Pinterest in the last 6 months.
#2402 Meeting Rooms III
LeetCode #2402: Meeting Rooms III. Difficulty: Hard. Topics: Array, Hash Table, Sorting, Heap (Priority Queue), Simulation. Asked at Pinterest in the last 6 months.
#43 Multiply Strings
LeetCode #43: Multiply Strings. Difficulty: Medium. Topics: Math, String, Simulation. Asked at Pinterest in the last 6 months.
LeetCode #642: Design Search Autocomplete System. Difficulty: Hard. Topics: String, Depth-First Search, Design, Trie, Sorting, Heap (Priority Queue), Data Stream. Asked at Pinterest in the last 6 months.
LeetCode #1723: Find Minimum Time to Finish All Jobs. Difficulty: Hard. Topics: Array, Dynamic Programming, Backtracking, Bit Manipulation, Bitmask. Asked at Pinterest in the last 6 months.
## Problem: Escape Room (Shortest Escape Path in a Room Grid) You are given a 2D grid representing an “escape room map”. You start from `S` and want to reach the exit `E` in the **minimum number of s
## Problem: Reconstruct the “Laundry Queue” (LeetCode 406 variant) + Station Distance Queries ### Part A: Reconstruct the order You are given `n` items, each represented as `(h, k)`: - `h`: an attrib
You are given a connectivity graph of Pins: each Pin is a node, and edges represent a relationship/connection. Implement a program that: - Takes `n` pins (0..n-1) and `m` undirected edges `(u, v)`. -
You are given a list of airline tickets `tickets`, where `tickets[i] = [from, to]` represents a flight from airport `from` to airport `to`. Reconstruct an itinerary that: - Uses **all** tickets **exa
You are given a string `expression` representing an expression made of **decimal digits** and **exactly one plus sign `+`**, e.g. `"247+38"`. Insert **one pair of parentheses `()`** into the expressi
What to Expect in the Pinterest Onsite Coding Round
The Pinterest Software Engineer Onsite Coding round has a specific calibration purpose distinct from other rounds in the loop. Across 42+ verified reports on LeakCode for this exact round type, the consistent expectations: clear scoping of the problem before diving into a solution, explicit reasoning about complexity, structured handling of edge cases, and the ability to discuss trade-offs between two reasonable approaches.
Reports tagged with the Onsite Coding round at Pinterest show recurring patterns in difficulty and topic distribution. The Onsite Coding round is typically 45-60 minutes; the interviewer is calibrated against a specific rubric. The discriminator between candidates who advance and candidates who do not is rarely the final correctness of the answer. It is the path: did you clarify, did you verbalize your approach, did you handle edge cases, and did you communicate throughout.
How To Prepare for This Specific Round
Filter the questions below to the most recent reports (past 6-12 months). Questions tagged for this exact round type from this exact company at this exact role level are the highest-signal data available. Older reports may reference questions that have since rotated out of the company's pool.
Practice 4-6 representative problems from this set under timed conditions. The goal is not memorization (companies rotate questions); the goal is to internalize the patterns the interviewer typically reaches for and the depth of follow-up to expect. Reports on LeakCode also tag the typical follow-up depth at this round type, which is the discriminating signal between hire and no-hire calibration.
Onsite Coding Round Timing and Format
The Onsite Coding round at Pinterest typically runs 45-60 minutes. Use the first 2-3 minutes to clarify requirements; you should never start coding or designing without verifying the input/output format, constraints, and edge cases out loud. Use the next 5-7 minutes to verbalize your approach before writing any code. The middle 20-30 minutes are implementation. Reserve the final 10 minutes for testing with concrete examples and discussing optimization or trade-offs.
Time budget discipline is one of the most reliable senior-vs-junior discriminators in this round. Strong candidates verbalize where they are in their budget out loud ("I've used about 20 minutes, I have 15 minutes left for testing and one optimization"). This signals engineering maturity to the interviewer and creates positive feedback they can capture in writing.
Common Failure Modes in This Round
Reports tagged "no hire" at Pinterest Software Engineer Onsite Coding commonly cite: coding silently without verbalizing approach, jumping to implementation before clarifying requirements, missing edge cases (empty input, single element, very large input), producing working code that the candidate cannot refactor when asked, and failing to test their solution with concrete examples before declaring done.
The single most predictive failure mode in 2025-2026 reports: not asking clarifying questions. Interviewers at all FAANG companies are explicitly trained to weight this dimension. Strong candidates ask 3-5 clarifying questions even on problems that look obvious; weak candidates dive into code immediately. The clarifying-question check is often the first signal recorded in the interviewer's notes.
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