ZorixOS
15+ Instacart questions

Instacart interview questions and how to prepare

The questions candidates report from Instacart interviews, sorted by how often they come up, with difficulty and topics, plus original practice written in Instacart's interview style.

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ZorixOS tracks 15 community-reported Instacart interview questions, drawn from an open-source dataset of real interview reports and sorted by how frequently each one comes up. Every question links to its source. Alongside them are 78 original ZorixOS practice questions written in Instacart's known interview style (not claimed as asked at Instacart), so you can rehearse the real format. Practice any of them out loud in a free AI mock interview tuned to Instacart.

Updated July 2026

Instacart interview questions candidates report

Community-reported from real Instacart interviews (open-source dataset), most-asked first. Showing 15. Each links to its source.

  1. Average Waiting Time
    ArraySimulation
    Medium100% asked
  2. Find First and Last Position of Element in Sorted Array
    ArrayBinary Search
    Medium100% asked
  3. Squares of a Sorted Array
    ArrayTwo PointersSorting
    Easy100% asked
  4. Time Based Key-Value Store
    Hash TableStringBinary SearchDesign
    Medium100% asked
  5. Check if Every Row and Column Contains All Numbers
    ArrayHash TableMatrix
    Easy96% asked
  6. Wildcard Matching
    StringDynamic ProgrammingGreedyRecursion
    Hard72% asked
  7. Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock
    ArrayDynamic Programming
    Easy64% asked
  8. Maximum Number of Events That Can Be Attended
    ArrayGreedySortingHeap (Priority Queue)
    Medium64% asked
  9. Merge Intervals
    ArraySorting
    Medium64% asked
  10. Minimum Number of Arrows to Burst Balloons
    ArrayGreedySorting
    Medium64% asked
  11. Non-overlapping Intervals
    ArrayDynamic ProgrammingGreedySorting
    Medium64% asked
  12. Search Insert Position
    ArrayBinary Search
    Easy64% asked
  13. Valid Number
    String
    Hard64% asked
  14. Valid Sudoku
    ArrayHash TableMatrix
    Medium64% asked
  15. Word Search II
    ArrayStringBacktrackingTrie
    Hard64% asked

Practice questions in Instacart's style

Original ZorixOS questions written the way Instacart interviews, so you rehearse the real format. Not claimed as asked at Instacart.

  1. Imagine Instacart is experiencing intermittent latency spikes in its shopper app, affecting order acceptance rates. How would you approach debugging this issue in a production environment, considering the real-time nature of grocery orders?

    Software EngineerDebuggingTests: Assesses debugging skills in a high-pressure, real-time system.

  2. Instacart's platform handles millions of concurrent users, shoppers, and orders. Design a system to efficiently match available shoppers to incoming orders, considering factors like shopper proximity, ratings, batching opportunities, and estimated delivery times. Discuss potential bottlenecks and how to scale.

    Software EngineerSystem DesignTests: Evaluates system design capabilities for a large-scale, complex matching problem.

  3. A bug is reported where some customers are seeing incorrect delivery fees, especially for orders with significant item substitutions. Describe your process for identifying the root cause, verifying the fix, and ensuring no other parts of the order processing pipeline are affected.

    Software EngineerDebuggingTests: Probes systematic debugging and regression testing approaches.

  4. Instacart is considering introducing a premium subscription service for customers that offers free delivery on all orders over $35. How would you design the backend services to support this, ensuring efficient tracking of subscription status, order eligibility, and potential abuse of the service?

    Software EngineerSystem DesignTests: Tests understanding of service design and feature implementation at scale.

  5. We are seeing increased cart abandonment rates on mobile devices. Propose a set of A/B tests to diagnose and potentially improve this. What metrics would you track, and how would you interpret the results?

    Software EngineerA/B Testing & MetricsTests: Assesses ability to use data and experimentation to solve product problems.

  6. Describe a scenario where you had to optimize a slow database query impacting user experience on Instacart. What tools or techniques did you use, and what was the outcome?

    Software EngineerPerformance OptimizationTests: Evaluates practical experience in database performance tuning.

72+ more Instacart-style questions are in the free library, each practiceable live with adaptive follow-ups and an honest scorecard. Start free.

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Instacart Interview Questions (2026) | ZorixOS