Goldman Sachs uses HackerRank for engineering assessments. According to Goldman Sachs' current documentation, the company asks all applicants to take a Software Fundamentals challenge in their preferred language. Engineering applicants are also asked to take a Software Diagnostics challenge in a Django, Node.js, or Spring Boot application.

When to Expect the OA for Your Role

Engineering students applying through campus programs may complete the assessment after applying, possibly during the first interview. One experienced software engineer received an assessment link from a recruiter before a live CoderPad screen.

Check out the official HackerRank guide, which suggests that role-based problems are more effective. One recent software engineering candidate described a 75-minute data structures screen, while another received two questions in 90 minutes. Use the duration and framework listed in your invitation because the format varies.

Does Your Online Assessment Matter?

The assessment helps determine who advances. Goldman Sachs does not publish a hiring cutoff. It considers HackerRank results alongside other parts of the candidate evaluation. A HackerRank result alone does not determine the hiring decision. Correct solutions matter. The diagnostic challenge also measures whether you can inspect an existing codebase, identify a defect, and make a focused fix. Leave time to run tests and inspect the rest of the code.

Compiled List of Goldman Sachs OA Question Types

These problems cover arrays, strings, two pointers, stacks, dynamic programming, grids, caching, and code-level debugging.

1. Trapping Rain Water — boundary maxima and two-pointer reasoning
2. Minimum Path Sum — grid dynamic programming
3. String Compression — in-place scanning and write pointers
4. Container With Most Water — two-pointer optimization
5. Valid Palindrome — normalized string comparison
6. Group Anagrams — canonical keys and hash grouping
7. Valid Parentheses — stack invariants
8. Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters — sliding-window bookkeeping
9. Unique Paths — compact dynamic programming
10. LRU Cache — constant-time lookup and eviction

Goldman Sachs Interview Questions

Recently asked in real interviews

These questions were asked recently in real Goldman Sachs interviews. Practice these and 4,000+ other questions from 1,000+ companies on Lodely.

Find the container with the maximum volume of water.

algorithmscoding Medium

Is this a valid palindrome?

algorithmscoding Easy

Group anagrams

algorithmscoding Medium

Design Git.

system-design Medium

What is the project you are most proud of?

behavioral Medium

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How to Prepare and Pass the Goldman Sachs Online Assessment

Divide your preparation into two tracks. Spend the first eight hours on arrays, strings, hash maps, stacks, two pointers, and grid dynamic programming. Then spend four hours debugging a small web app: reproduce the failure, trace the request path, patch the specific cause, and rerun the tests.

Complete at least two timed mocks in your chosen language. If you receive the Software Diagnostics challenge, practice in the framework named in your invitation. Use Lodely to practice Goldman Sachs coding, system design, and behavioral questions for CoderPad and Superday.

Goldman Sachs Interview Question Breakdown

Trapping Rain Water

Type: Arrays and two pointers. Prompt: Determine how much water is trapped between bars of different heights. The Trick: A bar's height alone is not enough; the useful boundaries determine the result. What It Tests: Selecting invariants, analyzing time-space trade-offs, and handling boundary cases.

Minimum Path Sum

Type: Grid dynamic programming. Prompt: Find the minimum cost of traversing a matrix from the top-left corner to the bottom-right corner with limited movement. The Trick: The recurrence uses only a few earlier states, with separate initialization for the first row and first column. What It Tests: Defining the recurrence and initializing its boundaries.

What Comes After the Online Assessment

The next step depends on the program. Experienced applicants may be invited to a CoderPad screen and a multi-interview Superday. Campus applicants have an initial interview that can last about 30 minutes. Successful applicants then have two to five final-round interviews with teams across the division. During live interviews, talk through your trade-offs, tests, and debugging process.

Conclusion

The assessment covers algorithmic fundamentals and the "Application - diagnostics" section named in your invitation. After the screen, use Lodely to practice Goldman Sachs technical and behavioral questions.