DE Shaw vs Waymo Interview Questions
DE Shaw lists 105 LeetCode interview questions while Waymo lists 25. They share 3 problems — 3% of DE Shaw's bank and 12% of Waymo's. Focus on the overlap first, then drill into 102 DE Shaw-only and 22 Waymo-only questions.
Overview
Preparation Strategy
Step 1 — Shared core: Solve the 3 overlapping problems first. These are the highest-yield questions for candidates interviewing at both DE Shaw and Waymo.
Step 2 — Company-specific depth: Add DE Shaw-specific problems like Binary Tree Cameras, Find Minimum Cost to Remove Array Elements, Maximum Number of Subsequences After One Inserting and Waymo-specific problems from the exclusive lists below.
Step 3 — Difficulty tuning: Waymo skews harder in our data. Budget extra time for Hard problems if you are targeting that company.
Difficulty Comparison
Top Shared Topics
3 Shared Questions
High-priority problems to practice for both DE Shaw and Waymo.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Minimum Number of Refueling Stops | Hard |
| Number of Islands | Medium |
| Text Justification | Hard |
Unique to DE Shaw (102)
Problems in DE Shaw's list that do not appear at Waymo.
Unique to Waymo (22)
Problems in Waymo's list that do not appear at DE Shaw.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Max Points on a Line | Hard |
| Random Pick with Weight | Medium |
| Logger Rate Limiter | Easy |
| Number of Visible People in a Queue | Hard |
| Meeting Rooms II | Medium |
| Minimum Knight Moves | Medium |
| Minimum Area Rectangle | Medium |
| Design Excel Sum Formula | Hard |
| Design Tic-Tac-Toe | Medium |
| Shortest Distance from All Buildings | Hard |
| Maximum Gap | Medium |
| Divide Array in Sets of K Consecutive Numbers | Medium |
Frequently Asked Questions
How many LeetCode questions do DE Shaw and Waymo share?
DE Shaw and Waymo share 3 LeetCode interview questions. 102 problems appear only in DE Shaw's list and 22 appear only in Waymo's list.
What topics overlap most between DE Shaw and Waymo?
The most common shared topics between DE Shaw and Waymo are Array (3 shared questions), Dynamic Programming (1 shared questions), Greedy (1 shared questions), Heap (Priority Queue) (1 shared questions), Depth-First Search (1 shared questions). Mastering these areas prepares you for both companies.
Which company asks harder LeetCode questions: DE Shaw or Waymo?
DE Shaw has 11 Easy, 64 Medium, and 30 Hard questions. Waymo has 1 Easy, 13 Medium, and 11 Hard questions. Waymo has a higher proportion of Hard problems in its interview set.
How should I prepare if interviewing at both DE Shaw and Waymo?
Start with the 3 shared problems since they cover what both companies ask most often. Then add 20 DE Shaw-specific and 20 Waymo-specific questions to round out your prep.