Intel interview process (2026)

Round-by-round breakdown of the Intel software engineering interview across 3 levels and 13 rounds: interview mode, sample questions, and worked solutions.

Intel salary & ratings · All interview processes

Software Engineering Intern / Graduate Technical Intern (India)

Difficulty: Medium · Timeline: 1-3 days · Recommended prep: 4-8 weeks · Cooldown: No formally published cooldown; candidates can reapply the n

  1. Round 0: Online Assessment (reported as CodeSignal) - NOT a standard step

    Assessment · ~60 minutes · difficulty 2/5 · elimination round

    Mode of interview: Online assessment · CodeSignal

    Sample question: Kth Largest Element in a Stream — Design a structure that tracks the k-th largest element in a stream of integers. As each new number arrives, report the current k-th largest value (only once at least k numbers have been seen). Input: first line k, second line the stream of integers. Output the k-th largest after each qualifying insertion, space-separated.

  2. Round 1: Technical Interview 1

    Onsite · 40-50 minutes · difficulty 2/5 · elimination round

    Mode of interview: Onsite or virtual onsite interview

    Sample question: Two Sum — Given an array of integers and a target value, return the indices (0-based) of the two numbers that add up to the target. Assume exactly one solution and no element reused. Input: n, then n integers, then the target. Output the two indices space-separated (-1 -1 if none).

  3. Round 2: Technical Interview 2 (sometimes merged into one long round)

    Onsite · 45-90 minutes · difficulty 2/5

    Mode of interview: Onsite or virtual onsite interview

    Sample question: Detect Loop in a Linked List — Given a singly linked list, determine whether it contains a cycle. Input: n, then n node values, then an integer pos giving the 0-based index the tail's next points to (-1 for no cycle). Build the list and output 'true' if a loop exists, else 'false'. Solve in O(1) extra space (Floyd's tortoise-and-hare).

  4. Round 3: HR Interview (sometimes folded in / omitted)

    Behavioral · 15-30 minutes · difficulty 1/5

    Mode of interview: Live behavioral interview

Software Engineer (new grad / early-career, Bengaluru/Hyderabad)

Difficulty: Medium · Timeline: 3-6 weeks · Recommended prep: 6-8 weeks · Cooldown: ~6-12 months

  1. Round 0: Online Assessment

    Assessment · 60-90 minutes · difficulty 2/5 · elimination round

    Mode of interview: Online assessment

    Sample question: Number of Islands — Given an m x n 2D grid of '1' (land) and '0' (water), count the number of islands. An island is a maximal group of adjacent (up/down/left/right) land cells.

  2. Round 1: Recruiter / HR Screen

    Phone · ~30 minutes · difficulty 1/5 · elimination round

    Mode of interview: Remote phone or video interview

  3. Round 2: Technical Screening

    Phone · 45-60 minutes · difficulty 2/5 · elimination round

    Mode of interview: Remote phone or video interview

    Sample question: Kth Largest Element in a Stream — Numbers arrive one at a time as a stream. After each arrival, report the k-th largest value seen so far (or -1 if fewer than k values have arrived). Maintain this efficiently as the stream grows.

  4. Round 3: Onsite / Virtual Panel Loop

    Onsite · 3-4 hours · difficulty 3/5

    Mode of interview: Onsite or virtual onsite interview

  5. Round 4: Final Manager / HR Round

    Behavioral · 30 min · difficulty 1/5

    Mode of interview: Live behavioral interview

Senior Software Engineer (experienced hire, Bengaluru/Hyderabad)

Difficulty: Hard · Timeline: 3-6 weeks · Recommended prep: 8-10 weeks · Cooldown: Not formally documented.

  1. Round 0: Recruiter Screen

    Phone · ~30 minutes · difficulty 1/5 · elimination round

    Mode of interview: Remote phone or video interview

  2. Round 1: Technical Screening

    Phone · 45-60 minutes · difficulty 3/5 · elimination round

    Mode of interview: Remote phone or video interview

    Sample question: Trapping Rain Water — Given n non-negative integers representing an elevation map where each bar has width 1, compute how much rainwater can be trapped between the bars after raining.

  3. Round 2: Full Onsite Loop

    Onsite · Full day / 3-5 interviews · difficulty 4/5

    Mode of interview: Onsite or virtual onsite interview

  4. Round 3: Final Manager / Executive Round

    Behavioral · ~30 minutes · difficulty 2/5

    Mode of interview: Live behavioral interview

Other companies' interview processes

Worked sample solutions (code, design diagrams, and STAR answers) for every round are available in the FAANGPlus app: open interview processes.