Pinterest interview questions. 22 from past candidates.
The process at Pinterest, what each stage actually tests, and how candidates prep. Real questions where we have them, likely questions where we don't.
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[01] BY THE NUMBERS
Headline facts before you prep.
Pulled straight from Pinterest's career page and public data sources. Tap any cell for the full breakdown.
Full Pinterest company profile[02] INTERVIEW PROCESS
Standard software engineering loop at Pinterest.
The stages below describe the typical SWE loop. Product, Design, and Data loops differ; pick a role to see how it changes, or jump straight to real questions reported for that role.
01Recruiter Screen
30 min
Recruiter Screen
30 minInitial call to discuss your background, the role, and logistics.
- Research the company and role thoroughly
- Prepare your elevator pitch
- Ask about the interview process and timeline
02Technical Interview
45-60 min
Technical Interview
45-60 minCoding and/or system design questions relevant to the role.
- Practice on LeetCode or similar platforms
- Think out loud and communicate your approach
- Ask clarifying questions before starting
03Behavioral Interview
45 min
Behavioral Interview
45 minQuestions about your past experiences, teamwork, and problem-solving.
- Prepare STAR-format stories
- Focus on specific examples with measurable outcomes
- Show self-awareness about mistakes and learnings
[03] REAL QUESTIONS
Reported by people who interviewed at Pinterest.
22 questions sourced directly from candidates on Reddit, Blind, Glassdoor, and Scoutify user reports.
Other Roles
9 questions · all reported by candidates
Other Roles
9 questions · all reported by candidatesPinterest WAU is up 5% but email notification open rates are down 2%. Figure out why.
As the PM for Spotify's Discover Weekly, what metrics would you track?
Design a shopping experience for Netflix.
How would you decide ad placement on Pinterest?
How would you improve the experience of people interested in travel on Pinterest?
Tell me about a time when you successfully influenced the product roadmap.
How would you stop a ransomware from spreading across a network?
Tell me about a project when you had to translate data into insights for the team/client you were working with.
What is ARP poisoning and how do you mitigate it?
Product Management
8 questions · 7 reported · 1 likely
Product Management
8 questions · 7 reported · 1 likelyHow could e-commerce platforms enhance the shopping experience to be more inspirational?
How would you implement birth date capture for Meta?
Design a feature to locate items.
As a PM at Slack, how would you redesign the product to enter the education sector?
Should Slack enter the education market by launching Slack for education?
Why did Google acquire YouTube?
Given Google Search is just a simple text input and hasn't innovated further, how would you improve the user journey from the landing page?
As a Staff Product Manager for Model Lifecycle & Management, how would you prioritize features to enhance user engagement on Pinterest's platform?
Software Engineering
6 questions · all reported by candidates
Software Engineering
6 questions · all reported by candidatesExplain the differences between ReLU and Sigmoid.
Explain the differences between nonconvex and convex functions.
For a dataset with a million data points, would you use a DNN or KNN? Why?
Where do vanishing gradients occur in a neural network?
Design spam detection on Pinterest.
Why do you want to work at Pinterest?
Data Science & Analytics
1 question
Data Science & Analytics
1 questionConsidering Pinterest's emphasis on innovative ideas, how would you leverage data analytics to improve search relevance for users?
Sales
1 question
Sales
1 questionPinterest's mission is to inspire creativity in users. How do you envision your role as a Client Account Manager contributing to that mission?
How to answer these: the STAR method
Use the STAR method: describe the Situation, the Task you faced, the specific Action you took, and the measurable Result. Aim for 60-90 seconds with one concrete metric. Practice it out loud before the interview so it flows naturally; the same structure works for every question above.
[04] CODING PRACTICE
LeetCode tagged for Pinterest.
The 15 highest-frequency problems candidates report being asked in Pinterest loops, pulled from the public company-wise question bank.
Hard
Why it appearsPulled from the public company-wise question bank, with a frequency score of 2.6 for Pinterest. Acceptance rate 66.3% on LeetCode.
Open problem #759 on LeetCodeEasy
Why it appearsPulled from the public company-wise question bank, with a frequency score of 2.0 for Pinterest. Acceptance rate 69.9% on LeetCode.
Open problem #811 on LeetCodeMedium
Why it appearsPulled from the public company-wise question bank, with a frequency score of 1.6 for Pinterest. Acceptance rate 41.8% on LeetCode.
Open problem #277 on LeetCodeHard
Why it appearsPulled from the public company-wise question bank, with a frequency score of 1.0 for Pinterest. Acceptance rate 48.1% on LeetCode.
Open problem #770 on LeetCodeHard
Why it appearsPulled from the public company-wise question bank, with a frequency score of 0.7 for Pinterest. Acceptance rate 33.3% on LeetCode.
Open problem #269 on LeetCodeMedium
What it testsSystems design
Why it appearsPulled from the public company-wise question bank, with a frequency score of 0.7 for Pinterest. Acceptance rate 63.7% on LeetCode.
Open problem #362 on LeetCodeHard
Why it appearsPulled from the public company-wise question bank, with a frequency score of 0.6 for Pinterest. Acceptance rate 36.8% on LeetCode.
Open problem #224 on LeetCodeHard
Why it appearsPulled from the public company-wise question bank, with a frequency score of 0.5 for Pinterest. Acceptance rate 52.4% on LeetCode.
Open problem #632 on LeetCodeHard
Why it appearsPulled from the public company-wise question bank, with a frequency score of 0.4 for Pinterest. Acceptance rate 27.7% on LeetCode.
Open problem #68 on LeetCodeHard
What it testsStrings
Why it appearsPulled from the public company-wise question bank, with a frequency score of 0.3 for Pinterest. Acceptance rate 19.7% on LeetCode.
Open problem #564 on LeetCodeMedium
What it testsBacktracking
Why it appearsPulled from the public company-wise question bank, with a frequency score of 0.2 for Pinterest. Acceptance rate 46.7% on LeetCode.
Open problem #254 on LeetCodeHard
Why it appearsPulled from the public company-wise question bank, with a frequency score of 0.2 for Pinterest. Acceptance rate 22.1% on LeetCode.
Open problem #126 on LeetCodeMedium
What it testsArrays + hashing
Why it appearsPulled from the public company-wise question bank, with a frequency score of 0.2 for Pinterest. Acceptance rate 49.4% on LeetCode.
Open problem #718 on LeetCodeMedium
What it testsSystems design
Why it appearsPulled from the public company-wise question bank, with a frequency score of 0.2 for Pinterest. Acceptance rate 33.2% on LeetCode.
Open problem #146 on LeetCodeHard
Why it appearsPulled from the public company-wise question bank, with a frequency score of 0.2 for Pinterest. Acceptance rate 33.8% on LeetCode.
Open problem #158 on LeetCode[05] HIRING PULSE
Pinterest's hiring pulse.
We re-scan Pinterest's career page every few minutes and keep the full posting history, so these counts come from the board itself, not an aggregator.
Posted (7d)
27
Posted (30d)
74
Posted (90d)
266
Scanned every few minutes · newest tracked posting May 22, 2026
[06] SALARY SNAPSHOT
Know the bands before the loop.
Median total compensation at Pinterest by level, as reported by employees on Levels.fyi. Worth knowing before the recruiter asks about expectations.
Data Scientist
Source: Levels.fyi| Level | Total | Base | N |
|---|---|---|---|
| L3 | $205K | $157K | 5 |
| L4 | $241K | $174K | 25 |
| L5 | $368K | $218K | 10 |
| L6 | $462K | $241K | 7 |
Product Designer
Source: Levels.fyi| Level | Total | Base | N |
|---|---|---|---|
| L3 | $184K | $184K | 2 |
| L4 | $199K | $170K | 10 |
| L5 | $363K | $194K | 6 |
| L6 | $454K | $295K | 4 |
Source: Levels.fyi · median of reported samples · N = sample count
Full compensation breakdown on the Pinterest company page[07] AFTER YOU APPLY
What happens after you hit submit.
Scoutify sent 51 applications to Pinterest for 24 users in the last 12 months, then watched what came back. Not survey answers; observed outcomes.
Get a screen
0%
share of applications
Reach an interview
0%
share of applications
Based on 51 applications from 24 Scoutify users · last 12 months
[08] APPLY LOGISTICS
Apply to Pinterest early.
Scoutify checks Pinterest's career page for new roles. When a company hires through Greenhouse, Workday or SmartRecruiters, Sniper can apply to its matching new jobs within minutes of posting; for any other site, you can get instant alerts when Pinterest posts and apply yourself.
[09] PEOPLE ALSO ASK
Common questions about Pinterest interviews.
Does Pinterest sponsor H1B visas?
Pinterest does not publicly disclose specific information about visa sponsorship for international candidates. However, many tech companies, including Pinterest, typically do sponsor H1B visas for qualified candidates in technical and specialized roles. If you are an international candidate, it's advisable to confirm this during the application process or reach out to their HR department for clarity.
What is the average salary and compensation structure at Pinterest?
The salary range for positions at Pinterest spans from $145,435 to $280,509, based on job postings with disclosed salaries. For higher-level positions, such as IC18, the median total compensation is approximately $1,600,000, which reflects a competitive compensation structure in the tech industry. This suggests that Pinterest values experienced talent and offers substantial financial rewards.
What can I expect during the interview process at Pinterest?
The interview process at Pinterest typically includes technical assessments, with some sample questions sourced from LeetCode, such as 'Employee Free Time' and 'Find the Celebrity'. Candidates can expect a combination of technical and behavioral interviews, focusing on both skill and cultural fit. Being well-prepared for coding challenges and demonstrating a collaborative mindset will be crucial.
What is the current hiring volume and what roles are open right now at Pinterest?
Pinterest currently has 427 active job postings, with 73 new positions listed in the last 30 days and 14 in the last 7 days. The top roles available include Sr. Client Account Manager, Sr. Industry Manager, and various engineering positions. This indicates a robust hiring volume, particularly in key areas that support Pinterest's growth.
[10] OVERVIEW
What candidates run into at Pinterest.
Tech company interviews typically include a mix of coding, system design, and behavioral rounds. The exact format varies by company size and role level.
[11] PREP TIPS
How candidates prepare.
[12] EXPERT FRAMEWORKS
Frameworks and sample answers from interview coaches.
Curated from Columbia Engineering's licensed BigInterview library: expert-written tips, sample answers, and walkthroughs that work for any interview.
Source: BigInterview (licensed by Columbia Engineering)
[13] FAQ
Questions candidates ask about Pinterest interviews.
Salary, visa sponsorship, process, hiring volume. Drawn from public data on Pinterest.
Pinterest does not publicly disclose specific information about visa sponsorship for international candidates. However, many tech companies, including Pinterest, typically do sponsor H1B visas for qualified candidates in technical and specialized roles. If you are an international candidate, it's advisable to confirm this during the application process or reach out to their HR department for clarity.
[14] MORE INTERVIEW PREP
Companies candidates compare with Pinterest.
PREP SMARTER. APPLY FASTER.
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