Coding questions
Intel Online Assessment
Overview
Here is how public prep guides and student write-ups describe the Intel online assessment. This is not an official company brochure.
Systems/OS depth and resume interrogation often outweigh LeetCode-contest style filters.
Usual selection rounds
Rounds students usually mention: Written / shortlist (varies: eLitmus historically, or resume shortlist) → Long technical interview(s) → Sometimes no separate HR
| Item | From student reports |
|---|---|
| Platform | Varies (eLitmus in older FTE account) |
| Online test summary | Not a uniform coding contest across all Intel India campus drives. Some software full-time drives used eLitmus logical/math/verbal; many intern accounts jump to deep technical interviews after shortlist. |
| Eligibility notes | Drive-specific shortlists (one intern drive: ~6/35 after screen) |
| Branches (reported) | Often ECE/CSE related for software/systems roles |
Online test sections
Section-level detail not verified in our source set yet - use the placement email / official PDF.
Extra notes from sources
- Confirm current drive - do not assume Samsung-style single hard OA.
Sample practice question styles
These are practice questions for speed - not claimed to be from a real Intel live paper.
Coding Q1: Linked list cycle
Problem: Given the head of a linked list, return true if there is a cycle and false otherwise.
Approach: Floyd’s tortoise and hare: move one pointer one step and another two steps. If they meet, a cycle exists. If the fast pointer hits null, there is no cycle.
Complexity: O(n) time, O(1) space
Intel tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Coding Q2: Binary tree level order
Problem: Given the root of a binary tree, return the level-order traversal (breadth-first) as a list of levels.
Approach: Use a queue. For each level, drain the current queue size, collect values, and enqueue children for the next level.
Complexity: O(n) time, O(n) space
Intel tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Coding Q3: Coin change (min coins)
Problem: Given coin denominations and an amount, return the fewest coins needed to make that amount, or -1 if it is impossible.
Approach: Unbounded knapsack DP: let dp[x] be the minimum coins for amount x. For each coin, update dp[c..amount]. Initialize dp[0] = 0 and the rest to a large sentinel.
Complexity: O(amount × coins)
Intel tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Coding Q4: Binary search
Problem: Given a sorted array of distinct integers and a target, return the index of target or -1 if missing.
Approach: Maintain lo/hi. Compare mid with target and shrink the half that cannot contain it. Careful with overflow-free mid and empty arrays.
Complexity: O(log n) time
Intel tip: Restate the problem, sketch a brute-force idea, then tighten it. Call out edge cases (empty input, single element, overflow) before you write code.
Prep tips from those student reports
- Master OS + C/C++ memory model
- Defend every resume line
- Expect long technical conversations more than flashy contest OA
Sources
- Intel Interview Experience for Graduate Intern (On-Campus) - GFG (gfg)
- Intel Interview Experience Set 2 On-Campus Full Time - GFG (gfg)
These notes come from public reports and can differ by campus, year, and role. If your college placement email or the official careers/notification PDF says something different, follow that.