Harvey Coding Interview Questions
7 coding questions reported by candidates who interviewed at Harvey, out of 10 Harvey questions we track. They average 3.0/5 difficulty (medium). Most common topics: SWE, Medium Difficulty, MLE, Hashmap. 6 were reported asked within the last year, most recently in October 2026.
Practice Harvey questions →Difficulty
- 2/5 — easy1
- 3/5 — medium5
- 4/5 — hard1
Asked for SWE (7), MLE (3), Infra (1)
Reported Harvey coding questions
Spreadsheet with Integer and Formula Cells + Circular Dependency Detection
4/5This Harvey interview question requires designing a simplified spreadsheet application capable of storing both raw numeric data and dynamic formulas. The task tests your algorithmic thinking and graph traversal skills by challenging you to handle cell references while actively detecting and preventing circular dependencies. You must carefully manage state updates and dependency tracking within a structured object-oriented framework. To view the comprehensive problem statement and verified model solution, a paid subscription is required.
asked October 2026HarveyDatabase Connection Pool
3/5In this coding challenge reported from Harvey, candidates must build a robust database connection pool utilizing a provided query mock. The exercise evaluates object-oriented design skills, concurrency management, and data structure usage by requiring the implementation of acquisition and release mechanisms for a fixed set of reusable connections. You will need to handle resource allocation safely under concurrent operations. Unlock the complete problem description and professional solution by purchasing a subscription.
asked July 2026SWEConcurrencyObject DesignDesign a Versioned Key-Value Vault with Consistency Check (Filesystem-like)
3/5This interview challenge, recently asked at Harvey, requires candidates to build a lightweight, hierarchical data storage utility mimicking a directory-based filesystem. The exercise evaluates your ability to handle standard file lifecycle operations, implement historical snapshots for state versioning, and design validation logic to compare synchronization across multiple storage instances. You will need to carefully manage path strings and maintain structural integrity throughout modifications. Unlock the complete problem description, architectural breakdown, and optimized model solution with a paid subscription.
asked July 2026HarveySpreadsheet / Formula Engine
3/5Asked during a technical interview at Harvey, this problem challenges you to construct a miniature grid computation engine capable of managing cell values and simple arithmetic formulas. The task tests your expertise in dependency graph construction, topological sorting, and cycle detection to prevent recursive formula deadlocks. Implementing swift read operations while propagating updates through dependent cells requires careful architectural planning. Review the complete problem statement and professional model solution with a subscription.
asked July 2026SWEMLEDependency ResolutionText Highlighting / Citation Tagging
3/5This string-processing challenge, regularly utilized in technical interviews at Harvey, focuses on identifying and formatting specific lexical segments within generated prose based on external reference collections. The problem tests your aptitude for interval merging, text parsing, and hash-based lookups while handling overlapping regions and ranking frequencies. Unlock the complete problem context and optimal code implementation by subscribing.
asked July 2026HashmapInterval AggregationIntervalsIn-Memory File System
3/5This popular Harvey technical interview challenge asks you to build a simulated data hierarchy that supports directory navigation, file creation, and content retrieval using hierarchical naming paths. The exercise tests your proficiency with tree structures, custom parsing logic, and efficient in-memory data organization. Additional complexities involve handling duplicate naming conflicts and capacity limits within folders. Unlock the complete technical breakdown and expert solution by purchasing a subscription.
asked May 2026SWEMLEFilesystemCitation Problem
2/5Compute the index that reports how many papers have at least that many citations each. This Harvey question is short and has two good answers worth comparing: sorting descending and walking until the condition fails, or counting into buckets for a linear solution. You will handle papers with no citations, note that the answer never exceeds the paper count, and state which approach you chose and why. A subscription unlocks the complete problem and the reference solution.
ArraySortingH Index
Recent Harvey interview experiences
Full loops shared by candidates, every round included.
Harvey phone — the Excel-sheet problem: set_cell / get_cell, then formulas (fail)
Walked into a Harvey phone cold after years away from LeetCode — a build-up implementation problem with a formulas/references extension. Several companies apparently reuse this exact one, so it's worth having ready.
Harvey onsite — a file-system coding round + an LLM system design I misread (fail)
A three-round Harvey onsite. The coding round went fine, but the system design was LLM-based and I prepped for the wrong classic design — spent too long on RAG and missed the point. Reject a week later, almost certainly on the SD.
Harvey onsite — design a law-firm memo Q&A system, index/recall vs scale (onsite)
A Harvey onsite where the design round was an LLM/RAG-style build, and the real challenge was reading what they actually wanted me to optimize for. Good vibe overall; logging the shape of the loop.
Harvey coding interview FAQ
- What coding questions does Harvey ask?
- 7 reported coding questions, most often on SWE, Medium Difficulty, MLE, Hashmap, Parsing.
- How hard is the Harvey coding interview?
- The reported coding questions average 3.0 out of 5: 1 at 2/5, 5 at 3/5, 1 at 4/5.
- Are these Harvey coding questions recent?
- The most recent report is from October 2026, and 6 were reported within the last twelve months. Dates come from the interview reports themselves.