Optum coding interview
questions, leaked.
6 problems reported across recent Optum interviews. Top patterns: string, two pointers, dynamic programming. The list below is what most reported candidates actually saw, plus the honest play if you can't grind all of it.
Optum's assessment is lean but dense. You're getting six problems total, one easy and five medium. That easy one, Reverse Prefix of Word, is a warm-up. The real fight is the five mediums, and they cluster hard around string manipulation, array work, and dynamic programming. You've seen these patterns before, but Optum pairs them in ways that reward clean thinking over brute force. If you blank on one mid-assessment, StealthCoder runs invisible to the proctor and surfaces a working solution in seconds. That's your safety net for whatever you didn't drill.
Top problems at Optum
| # | Problem | Diff | Frequency | Pass % | Patterns |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Reverse Prefix of Word | EASY | 100.0 | 86% | Two Pointers · String · Stack |
| 02 | Bank Account Summary | MEDIUM | 100.0 | 52% | Database |
| 03 | Longest Common Subsequence | MEDIUM | 73.3 | 58% | String · Dynamic Programming |
| 04 | Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters | MEDIUM | 64.3 | 37% | Hash Table · String · Sliding Window |
| 05 | Sort Colors | MEDIUM | 64.3 | 68% | Array · Two Pointers · Sorting |
| 06 | Maximum Subarray | MEDIUM | 64.3 | 52% | Array · Divide and Conquer · Dynamic Programming |
Frequencies derived from public community-tagged interview reports. Click a row to view on LeetCode.
You have a week, maybe less. You can't out-grind the list above. StealthCoder runs invisibly during the actual Optum OA. The proctor cannot see it. Screen share cannot detect it. Built by a senior engineer who knows the OA is theater. This is the script.
Get StealthCoder- string3 · 50%
- two pointers2 · 33%
- dynamic programming2 · 33%
- array2 · 33%
- hash table1 · 17%
- sliding window1 · 17%
- stack1 · 17%
- database1 · 17%
- sorting1 · 17%
- divide and conquer1 · 17%
String problems own this assessment. Three of the six problems involve strings, and two of those layer in two-pointers or sliding-window logic. That's not random. Optum wants to see if you can iterate cleanly through text and track state without bloating memory. Dynamic programming and array problems show up twice each, which means you'll likely face a subarray or subsequence problem where DP or divide-and-conquer beats the naive path. Two-pointers appears in two problems. The single easy problem suggests they're not testing gotchas, just your ability to execute under time pressure. Study Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters and Maximum Subarray first. Those problems teach the rhythm Optum expects. StealthCoder is your hedge if a DP formulation doesn't click live.
Companies with similar patterns
If you prepped for Optum, these companies recycle ~60% of the same topics.
You've seen the list.
Now make sure you pass Optum.
Memorizing every problem above in a week is a fantasy. StealthCoder is the hedge: an AI overlay that's invisible during screen share. It reads the problem on screen and surfaces a working solution in under 2 seconds. Built by a senior engineer who knows the OA is theater. This is the script. Works on HackerRank, CodeSignal, CoderPad, and Karat.
Optum interview FAQ
Should I study strings or arrays first for Optum?+
Strings. Half the assessment touches string logic, and three of six problems require it. Master Reverse Prefix of Word and Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters first. Both teach the two-pointer and sliding-window patterns Optum repeats. Arrays are next, but strings will give you the quickest return.
How much dynamic programming should I expect?+
Two of six problems use DP: Longest Common Subsequence and Maximum Subarray. Both are medium difficulty. You don't need to grind obscure DP problems. Understand the recurrence relation for each, then practice them live. If DP formulation stalls during the assessment, that's where real-time backup matters most.
Is two-pointers important for Optum?+
Yes. It appears in two problems and often solves string and array problems faster than nested loops. Reverse Prefix of Word and Sort Colors both use it. Practice moving pointers from opposite ends and meeting in the middle. It's a efficiency pattern Optum tests directly.
Why is there a database problem on a coding assessment?+
Bank Account Summary is the outlier. It's medium difficulty and tests schema understanding and query logic, not algorithmic thinking. Don't overthink it. Review basic SQL joins, aggregations, and filtering. If your database SQL is rusty, drill it separately from algorithm problems.
Can I skip the hard problems and just prepare for mediums?+
There are no hard problems in Optum's reported set. Six problems total: one easy, five medium. That means the bar is consistency and clean execution under time pressure, not algorithm complexity. Drill the five mediums until you can code them in under ten minutes each.