Databricks vs Microsoft Interview Questions
Databricks lists 31 LeetCode interview questions while Microsoft lists 192. They share 8 problems — 26% of Databricks's bank and 4% of Microsoft's. Focus on the overlap first, then drill into 23 Databricks-only and 184 Microsoft-only questions.
Overview
Preparation Strategy
Step 1 — Shared core: Solve the 8 overlapping problems first. These are the highest-yield questions for candidates interviewing at both Databricks and Microsoft.
Step 2 — Company-specific depth: Add Databricks-specific problems like Design Hit Counter, IP to CIDR, Find All Anagrams in a String and Microsoft-specific problems from the exclusive lists below.
Step 3 — Difficulty tuning: Databricks skews harder in our data. Budget extra time for Hard problems if you are targeting that company.
Difficulty Comparison
Top Shared Topics
8 Shared Questions
High-priority problems to practice for both Databricks and Microsoft.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Design Tic-Tac-Toe | Medium |
| House Robber | Medium |
| Text Justification | Hard |
| Spiral Matrix | Medium |
| String to Integer (atoi) | Medium |
| Merge Intervals | Medium |
| Rotting Oranges | Medium |
| Two Sum | Easy |
Unique to Databricks (23)
Problems in Databricks's list that do not appear at Microsoft.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Design Hit Counter | Medium |
| IP to CIDR | 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 |
| Snapshot Array | Medium |
Unique to Microsoft (184)
Problems in Microsoft's list that do not appear at Databricks.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Merge Sorted Array | Easy |
| Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters | Medium |
| Add Two Numbers | Medium |
| Longest Palindromic Substring | Medium |
| Trapping Rain Water | Hard |
| Single Element in a Sorted Array | Medium |
| Median of Two Sorted Arrays | Hard |
| Valid Parentheses | Easy |
| 3Sum | Medium |
| Maximum Subarray | Medium |
| Group Anagrams | Medium |
| Search in Rotated Sorted Array | Medium |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many LeetCode questions do Databricks and Microsoft share?
Databricks and Microsoft share 8 LeetCode interview questions. 23 problems appear only in Databricks's list and 184 appear only in Microsoft's list.
What topics overlap most between Databricks and Microsoft?
The most common shared topics between Databricks and Microsoft are Array (7 shared questions), Matrix (3 shared questions), Simulation (3 shared questions), Hash Table (2 shared questions), String (2 shared questions). Mastering these areas prepares you for both companies.
Which company asks harder LeetCode questions: Databricks or Microsoft?
Databricks has 2 Easy, 22 Medium, and 7 Hard questions. Microsoft has 55 Easy, 109 Medium, and 28 Hard questions. Databricks has a higher proportion of Hard problems in its interview set.
How should I prepare if interviewing at both Databricks and Microsoft?
Start with the 8 shared problems since they cover what both companies ask most often. Then add 20 Databricks-specific and 20 Microsoft-specific questions to round out your prep.