Optiver Coding Interview Questions
25 coding questions reported by candidates who interviewed at Optiver, out of 39 Optiver questions we track. They average 3.1/5 difficulty (medium). Most common topics: Online Assessment, SWE, Simulation, Medium Difficulty. 21 were reported asked within the last year, most recently in July 2026.
Practice Optiver questions →Difficulty
- 2/5 — easy5
- 3/5 — medium13
- 4/5 — hard7
Asked for SWE (25), Quant (9), DS (6), RS (5)
Reported Optiver coding questions
Stock Transaction Sequence Counting (Catalan / DP)
3/5Prepare for quantitative software engineering roles with this Optiver interview problem centered on tracking valid transaction sequences without falling into a negative balance. This challenge tests your grasp of advanced combinatorics, dynamic programming, and Catalan number applications common in market-making simulations. You must determine the exact count of admissible permutations under specific boundary rules efficiently. Unlock the detailed problem walkthrough and optimal code solution by purchasing a subscription.
asked July 2026CombinatoricsDynamic ProgrammingMathOrder Book Matching Simulation
3/5This Optiver interview question simulates a financial matching engine where you process streaming purchase and sale limit orders following strict price-time priority rules. The challenge tests your proficiency with heap data structures and simulation logic to compute total executed transaction values accurately. Unlock the full trading simulation problem and expert solution by purchasing a subscription.
asked July 2026HeapOrder BookTradingProportional Allocation Strategy Backtest
3/5Prepare for quantitative finance interviews with this Optiver assessment question, which requires building a portfolio simulation to backtest a daily momentum allocation strategy. Candidates must process historical performance data, calculate daily log returns, and accurately track statistical metrics while handling strict numerical bookkeeping. This exercise evaluates your ability to translate financial trading rules into robust code under timed constraints. Unlock the complete problem description and expert model solution by subscribing to our platform today.
asked July 2026RSSWEDSThread-Safe Buy/Sell Without Overselling
3/5This Optiver interview question challenges candidates to design and implement a system for managing stock transactions. The core requirement is to create buy and sell operations that are robust in a multi-threaded environment, specifically preventing a scenario where more shares are sold than are currently available. This problem assesses your understanding of concurrency control mechanisms, thread safety, and object-oriented design principles. It requires careful consideration of how to protect shared resources from race conditions. The full problem description and a detailed model solution are available with a subscription.
asked July 2026ConcurrencyOOP DesignSWEDesign Circular Queue (Ring Buffer)
2/5Implementing bounded data structures with wrapped pointers is a classic systems-level coding task. Highlighted in technical evaluations at Optiver, this interview question requires you to build a fixed-capacity circular queue that efficiently manages memory reuse through modular arithmetic or pointer manipulation. You will need to support standard queue operations while properly handling boundary states such as full and empty conditions. Explore the complete problem specification, detailed complexity analysis, and robust reference implementation by securing a full subscription.
asked July 2026SWEQueueData StructureGiving Tree of Errors: Validate Parent-Child Pairs and Output Lexicographically Smallest S-Expression
3/5Analyze and validate hierarchical relationships in this graph-processing challenge frequently featured in Optiver recruitment rounds. Given a collection of parent-child node pairs, you must detect structural anomalies, identify specific error conditions based on strict priority rules, and format valid trees into a precise textual representation. This puzzle tests your graph validation logic and ordering rules. The comprehensive problem guide and verified model solution require a subscription.
asked July 2026OptiverHot Air Balloon Festival Simulation
3/5This Optiver simulation challenge evaluates your object-oriented programming and event-driven architecture design capabilities within a timed online assessment. You are tasked with tracking ascending and descending aerial vehicles, dynamically computing atmospheric wind velocities based on altitude formulas, and enforcing complex stability rules over chronological time steps. The problem emphasizes clean class design and state management under strict simulation constraints. Access to the complete architectural requirements and verified model solution requires a subscription.
asked July 2026SWEOOP DesignSimulationDays Between Two Dates
2/5In this Optiver online assessment problem, you are asked to compute the exact calendar duration separating two specific dates while accounting for leap years and irregular month lengths. This task tests your date-arithmetic logic and edge-case handling for calendar systems. Unlock the full problem statement and clean code solution with a paid subscription.
asked July 2026SWEMathStringDesign Circular Queue (Ring Buffer)
2/5Tackle a fundamental data structure implementation question frequently used in Optiver phone screens, centered on building a fixed-capacity ring buffer queue. Guided by an interviewer, candidates must design an efficient memory layout that supports standard queue operations in constant time while safely managing wrap-around pointers. This exercise highlights low-level resource management and clean API design. The comprehensive problem description and complete model solution require a subscription.
asked July 2026SWEQueueData StructureDays Between Two Dates
2/5In this classic warmup screen featured by Optiver, you must calculate the exact elapsed duration between two distinct calendar points in time. The puzzle examines your ability to manage irregular month boundaries, century rules, and leap years correctly across different programming environments. Perfect for practicing fundamental date mathematics and string parsing for technical assessments. Gain full access to the complete problem breakdown and verified code solutions with a subscription.
asked July 2026SWEMathStringDesign a Queue - Implementation Trade-offs
2/5Understanding foundational data structures and their underlying performance metrics is essential for this Optiver interview question, which examines queue design and memory trade-offs. Candidates must compare internal memory architectures, such as contiguous arrays versus linked nodes or circular buffers, evaluating their time complexities for standard operations. This discussion-oriented technical screen tests low-level computer science fundamentals and architectural decision-making. The complete problem guide and reference solution require a subscription.
asked July 2026OOP DesignData StructureQueueReal-time Ticket Purchasing System
3/5This Optiver interview challenge simulates a live transactional filtering service where applicants must process fragmented data packets to secure desired items based on strict user parameters. The exercise evaluates event-driven logic, data aggregation from multiple sources, and real-time decision-making under constraints like pricing limits and quantity thresholds. Candidates must build a robust listener that matches incoming inventory feeds against a predefined wishlist efficiently. The complete problem breakdown and expert code solution require a paid subscription.
asked July 2026OptiverDifferent Ways to Perform Stock Transactions
4/5Explore this intriguing quantitative trading challenge reported during interviews at Optiver, which tests your combinatorics knowledge and constrained sequence generation. You must calculate the total number of valid transaction sequences that satisfy strict market positioning rules from start to finish. This scenario requires a solid grasp of path counting, balanced parentheses logic, or dynamic programming to handle the underlying constraints effectively. Sharpen your mathematical reasoning and learn how to translate trading rules into a precise recurrence relation. Unlock the comprehensive problem description and optimal code solution with a subscription.
asked July 2026OptiverBuild Binary Tree from Edges / S-Expression
3/5Encountered during technical screenings at Optiver, this parsing challenge requires candidates to reconstruct hierarchical structures from parent-child relationship pairs. You must rigorously validate incoming text against a strict hierarchy of error rules and, upon success, format the resulting hierarchy into a standardized S-expression representation. This problem tests your aptitude for robust input validation, tree manipulation, and simulation logic. Access to the full problem specification and optimal code solution requires an active subscription.
asked June 2026SWETreeParsingOptiCargo — Cargo-to-Flight Scheduling
4/5Encountered during rigorous hiring loops at Optiver, this complex logistics and scheduling challenge tests your capability to parse extensive pre-written codebases and implement sophisticated resource allocation strategies. You must build an engine that assigns cargo loads to flights while strictly adhering to strict departure schedules, plane capacities, and divisibility rules. The evaluation measures your code comprehension, greedy algorithmic thinking, and ability to optimize large-scale simulation models under time pressure. The complete problem statement and polished codebase solution are available exclusively to subscribers.
asked January 2026SWEGreedySchedulingProportional Allocation Backtest
3/5This quantitative development challenge from Optiver requires building a backtesting engine that simulates portfolio performance over historical price sequences using a predefined proportional allocation strategy. You will need to compute net asset values across multiple time periods while accurately tracking capital allocation rules. The exercise evaluates your numerical programming proficiency and domain understanding of financial backtesting systems. Unlock the complete technical specifications and reference implementation by securing a subscription.
asked November 2025ArrayBacktestFinanceOrder Book Matching Simulation
3/5Encountered in Optiver recruitment assessments, this matching engine simulation tests your capability to process financial limit orders adhering to strict price-time priority rules. You are required to model a trading book where incoming buy and sell requests interact dynamically, demanding efficient use of heap structures to compute cumulative transaction prices. The scenario evaluates your proficiency in writing clean, high-performance simulation code under complex business rules. Unlock the complete problem guide, edge cases, and optimal solution by subscribing today.
asked November 2025HeapOrder BookTradingProgramming & Computer-System Knowledge Quiz
3/5This timed computer science fundamentals assessment, frequently administered by Optiver during online evaluations, tests core knowledge across operating systems, networking, databases, and multi-threading principles under tight time constraints. It is designed to evaluate your breadth of theoretical and practical computing concepts. Upgrade your account to view sample assessment topics and expert guidance.
asked November 2025SWECs FundamentalsNetworkingNews Aggregation / Subscription System
4/5This rigorous online assessment task, frequently administered by Optiver, centers on engineering a sophisticated news aggregation and subscription engine. Developers must design a system capable of registering customized topic alerts with interest boundaries, enforcing strict per-second rate limits, and processing continuous timestamped data streams efficiently. Success hinges on mastering sliding-window algorithms and priority queue management under tight performance constraints. Access to the comprehensive specification, architectural patterns, and verified optimal solution requires a paid platform subscription.
asked November 2025SWEOOP DesignSimulationStock Transaction Sequence Counting (Catalan / DP)
3/5This quantitative assessment problem, reported during recruitment rounds at Optiver, challenges candidates to count valid transaction sequences that maintain proper balance without dipping into negative totals. Relying on advanced combinatorics, counting principles, and dynamic programming techniques, this exercise tests your ability to model state transitions accurately. Access to the full problem description and its detailed model solution requires a paid subscription.
asked November 2025CombinatoricsDynamic ProgrammingMathOptimal Execution with a Broker Backstop
4/5This advanced Optiver coding problem presents an optimal stopping challenge framed around sequential purchasing decisions under uncertainty. Candidates must determine the ideal strategy to acquire multiple units of an asset while balancing random market fluctuations against a limited number of fallback options provided by a broker. This task assesses your command of dynamic programming and expected value calculations in a high-frequency trading context. The complete problem statement, mathematical formulation, and optimal solution are available exclusively to paid subscribers.
asked October 2025DSDynamic ProgrammingExpected ValueSquirrel Nut Storage Tracker
4/5This intricate object-oriented programming assessment from Optiver asks you to simulate a complex storage management system featuring tiered capacities and expiration tracking. You will need to implement precise inventory rules governing how items are deposited, maintained, and retrieved under layered weight constraints and cascading overflow mechanics. The challenge examines your software engineering discipline and class design skills. Gain access to the full problem text, architectural requirements, and verified solution by subscribing today.
asked October 2025SWEOOP DesignSimulationCurrency Arbitrage Detection
3/5This quantitative trading graph problem, featured in an Optiver online assessment, requires detecting currency arbitrage loops from an exchange rate matrix while accounting for transaction fees. The task typically maps to finding negative cycles in log-transformed graphs using specialized shortest-path algorithms. The full problem statement, mathematical reduction details, and complete model solution are available exclusively with a paid subscription.
asked August 2025RSSWEDSBest Time to Buy and Sell Stock with at Most k Transactions
4/5A coding question on choosing trade dates from a daily price series to maximize profit when the number of trades is capped.
asked August 2025CodingSatellite Message Propagation
4/5This Optiver coding challenge simulates a complex satellite communication network where messages propagate through a graph with specific delay and routing rules. Candidates must model message forwarding hierarchies, timing constraints, and feedback reporting order using robust object-oriented design and graph algorithms. The problem tests advanced simulation techniques and careful handling of tie-breaking scenarios in real-time systems. Access the full problem details and model solution by subscribing.
asked August 2025SWEGraphBFS
Recent Optiver interview experiences
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Optiver coding interview FAQ
- What coding questions does Optiver ask?
- 25 reported coding questions, most often on Online Assessment, SWE, Simulation, Medium Difficulty, Trading.
- How hard is the Optiver coding interview?
- The reported coding questions average 3.1 out of 5: 5 at 2/5, 13 at 3/5, 7 at 4/5.
- Are these Optiver coding questions recent?
- The most recent report is from July 2026, and 21 were reported within the last twelve months. Dates come from the interview reports themselves.