Citadel vs Databricks Interview Questions
Citadel lists 101 LeetCode interview questions while Databricks lists 31. They share 4 problems — 4% of Citadel's bank and 13% of Databricks's. Focus on the overlap first, then drill into 97 Citadel-only and 27 Databricks-only questions.
Overview
Preparation Strategy
Step 1 — Shared core: Solve the 4 overlapping problems first. These are the highest-yield questions for candidates interviewing at both Citadel and Databricks.
Step 2 — Company-specific depth: Add Citadel-specific problems like Longest Non-decreasing Subarray From Two Arrays, Binary Tree Maximum Path Sum, Delete and Earn and Databricks-specific problems from the exclusive lists below.
Step 3 — Difficulty tuning: Citadel skews harder in our data. Budget extra time for Hard problems if you are targeting that company.
Difficulty Comparison
Top Shared Topics
4 Shared Questions
High-priority problems to practice for both Citadel and Databricks.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Minimum Knight Moves | Medium |
| Merge Intervals | Medium |
| House Robber | Medium |
| Rotting Oranges | Medium |
Unique to Citadel (97)
Problems in Citadel's list that do not appear at Databricks.
Unique to Databricks (27)
Problems in Databricks's list that do not appear at Citadel.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Design Hit Counter | Medium |
| IP to CIDR | Medium |
| Design Tic-Tac-Toe | Medium |
| Find All Anagrams in a String | Medium |
| Step-By-Step Directions From a Binary Tree Node to Another | Medium |
| Time Based Key-Value Store | Medium |
| House Robber II | Medium |
| RLE Iterator | Medium |
| Longest Palindrome by Concatenating Two Letter Words | Medium |
| Closest Leaf in a Binary Tree | Medium |
| Shortest Path in a Grid with Obstacles Elimination | Hard |
| Number of Recent Calls | Easy |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many LeetCode questions do Citadel and Databricks share?
Citadel and Databricks share 4 LeetCode interview questions. 97 problems appear only in Citadel's list and 27 appear only in Databricks's list.
What topics overlap most between Citadel and Databricks?
The most common shared topics between Citadel and Databricks are Array (3 shared questions), Breadth-First Search (2 shared questions), Sorting (1 shared questions), Dynamic Programming (1 shared questions), Matrix (1 shared questions). Mastering these areas prepares you for both companies.
Which company asks harder LeetCode questions: Citadel or Databricks?
Citadel has 5 Easy, 60 Medium, and 36 Hard questions. Databricks has 2 Easy, 22 Medium, and 7 Hard questions. Citadel has a higher proportion of Hard problems in its interview set.
How should I prepare if interviewing at both Citadel and Databricks?
Start with the 4 shared problems since they cover what both companies ask most often. Then add 20 Citadel-specific and 20 Databricks-specific questions to round out your prep.