Learn how to prepare for Oracle interviews with this in-depth guide.
Oracle, co-founded by Larry Ellison in 1977, is one of the world’s largest software companies.
While offering a wide range of enterprise software products, Oracle is mainly focused on the cloud and database technologies sector. Because of its size and array of products, Oracle offers candidates the opportunity to dig deep into a specialty.
Below, we summarize the Oracle interview process and the top questions you should expect to answer.
- Oracle Software Engineer Interview Guide
Oracle Interview Process
The interview process at Oracle is team-dependent, meaning the process is slightly different depending on the team you interview with. Regardless, some parts stay fairly standard, so we’ll cover what you can expect.
The Oracle interview process typically takes about two months and involves:
- Recruiter phone screen,
- Multiple technical screens,
- Final round.
Recruiter phone screen
The recruiter phone screen at Oracle is longer than most. Expect to have a 45–60 minute call with an Oracle recruiter, where you discuss your work history, relevant experience, some behavioral questions (like “Why Oracle?”), and a couple brief technical questions, if any.
Another common behavioral question is, “Tell me about a time when you failed.” Provide metrics and explain what you learned from that failure.
Due to Oracle’s varying interview process, take the opportunity to ask your recruiter what you can expect during the interview process with this particular team during this call.
Technical screens
Oracle's technical screens are divided into two parts and sometimes more.
Non-technical roles, like PMs, get their tech screens in a conversational interview that assesses their technical knowledge.
Preliminary tech screen
The first technical screen varies, but is often a two-hour coding challenge on HackerRank or CoderPad. This initial assessment may be on common coding questions, like data structures and algorithms (arrays, substrings, binary trees, and strings), but it may also assess your knowledge of databases and cloud technologies made by Oracle.
Study up on Oracle technologies ahead of your tech screens to prepare.
Secondary tech screen
The second tech screen is a 60-minute technical interview focused on your understanding of Oracle software. The questions tend to be open-ended trivia-style questions about in-depth practical subjects your team works with.
Final round
Oracle’s final round is different from that of comparable big tech companies.
It can be conducted by anyone in the company, not necessarily someone on your team, and it's typically just one interview concentrated on in-depth behavioral questions.
Top Oracle Interview Questions
These are examples of real interview questions asked at Oracle, as reported by candidates.
Behavioral
- Tell me about a time when you made a mistake and how you handled it.
- Tell me about yourself.
- Tell me about a time you failed.
- Why Oracle?
- Tell me about a time you had to give someone feedback. What was it, and what was the result?
Coding
- Implement a hashmap without using any libraries.
- Serialize and deserialize binary tree
- Given stock prices for the next n days, how can you maximize your profit by buying or selling one share per day?
- Find the minimum window substring.
- Print the left view of a binary tree.
- Course Schedule
- 01 Matrix
- Given an integer array nums and an integer k, return true if nums has a subarray of at least two elements whose sum is a multiple of k.
- Linked List Cycle
- Product of Array Except Self
System design
Machine learning
- What's the difference between classification and regression?
- What are the advantages and limitations of linear regression?
- Implement k-means clustering.
- Explain gradient descent.
- Explain training and testing data.
Data science
- Total Outfit Combinations
- Explain Bayes' theorem.
- What is a p-value?
- What assumptions does the t-test make?
Oracle Interview Loops
Behavioral
Your behavioral round at Oracle will likely be your final round interview. This final interview may be conducted by a cross-functional partner at the company, rather than a team member or hiring manager.
Prepare a story bank ahead of time, with anecdotes that follow the STAR framework, focusing on stories that demonstrate your value, show off experience that relates to Oracle, and highlight the quantifiable impact you’ve had in roles in the past.
Coding
Oracle’s coding rounds occur as multiple tech screens between the initial call with the recruiter and your final round. Expect the first screen to be a fairly standard online coding challenge.
Your second screen will be more complex, open-ended questions about Oracle software. And don’t be alarmed; some candidates may get a third technical screen, too, depending on leveling and team.
Common topics include:
- Data structures and algorithms
- Performance tuning, specifically with SQL queries
- Databases and cloud technologies, specifically made by Oracle
- Oracle database and storage products
- Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and how it relates to microservices deployment
- Architecture and troubleshooting in Oracle Real Applications Clusters (RAC)
System design
Not all Oracle candidates get a system design round; it’s more common for only senior-level engineers and above. If you get this interview, expect a standard system design round and practice answering system design questions.
Then, study up on Oracle technologies, and check out Oracle's blogs to get an idea of what current problems Oracle is working on, which might tie in to what you’re asked to design.
Machine learning
Oracle’s machine learning interview includes a first tech screen, which assesses concepts, such as data structures and algorithms, SQL, ML basics, probability, and statistics.
Your second tech screen will likely be discussion-based and a case study—or several small cases—focusing on ML fundamentals and algorithms. Depending on level and team, your interview may include an ML system design round, too.
Common topics include:
- Logistic regression
- Decision trees
- Feature selection
- Supervised vs. unsupervised learning
- Gradient boosting
- Neural networks and deep learning architectures
- Hyperparameter tuning
Data science
For your data science interview at Oracle, your first DS tech screen will be a standard online assessment, testing your skills in SQL, Python or R, data structures and algorithms, statistics, and probability.
In your second tech screen, you may encounter either a case study or system design interview, focused on designing data pipelines.
Common topics include:
- SQL queries (JOINs, aggregations, window functions, subqueries)
- Data manipulation
- Pandas
- NumPy
- Hypothesis testing
- A/B testing
Product management
The product management round at Oracle typically consists of a case study. Expect to solve a practical business case, and to be assessed for your product strategy. Prepare by learning about Oracle technologies, and study up on its current ventures, which may relate to your case study, on Oracle's blogs.
Oracle Interview Tips
Oracle interviews include multiple tech screens.
Expect interview questions focused on distributed systems, cloud storage, and databases. While each team has its own process, know that you can expect at least 1–2 tech screens after your recruiter screen, so practice coding questions to prepare.
Oracle cares about the “how” in your technical interviews.
Your Oracle interviewer will assess your thought process in your tech screens. Talk through your thought process out loud and discuss the trade-offs of your decisions.
Know Oracle inside and out.
Research relevant Oracle products before your interview process begins, and focus on products built or maintained by the team you interview with. And study up on database and cloud technology. Read up on its current ventures on Oracle's blogs.
FAQs
How competitive are Oracle interviews?
Oracle interviews are fairly competitive. Oracle expects you to understand its products and services. It may assess your knowledge of its products as early as in the recruiter call, and your multiple tech screens will include testing of your understanding of Oracle technologies, so study Oracle’s products to prepare, in addition to practicing coding and behavioral questions.
How should I prepare for my interview at Oracle?
- Brush up on distributed systems, databases, and the cloud—with our software engineering course.
- Get coaching and actionable feedback from an Oracle employee.
- Practice with mock interviews on the most common questions.
Does Oracle hire students or new grads?
Yes, Oracle offers multiple opportunities for students and new graduates. Check out Oracle’s Internships page and Oracle’s Students and New Graduates page to browse current offerings.
More Oracle Interview Prep Resources
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