Flexport OA
Question Details
There were 4 problems to be solved in 120 mins. 3 DSA and 1 REST API based Problem-1 Given an array of n integers, we define score for a pair of indices...
Full Details
There were 4 problems to be solved in 120 mins. 3 DSA and 1 REST API based
Problem-1
Given an array of n integers, we define score for a pair of indices i, j as min(a[i], a[j]) * abs(i - j). Find max possible score. n <= 10^5
Problem-2
Given some intervals with start day and end day and some profit associated with each interval, we need to find max possible profit that we can obtain in one day on choosing atmost k of these intervals.
k, n <= 10^3, profit <= 10^9
Problem-3
Given a graph with n nodes and n egdes and it is given that there is a cycle in the graph. We need to find the shortest distance from every node to the closest node which belongs to the cycle. Graph is connected.
n <= 10^3
Problem-4
It was a REST API based. Just had to invoke a given API and do some processing to obtain the final result. It wasn\'t a difficult problem if you have some experience doing this kind of stuff.
Managed to solve all 4 with around 45 mins remaining. Will update about further rounds if I get a call for interview
About This Question
This is a reported interview question from a flexport interview for a swe role during the oa round reported in 2024.
It covers the following topics: Arrays, Graph, System Design .
Difficulty rating: Hard
Topics
About Flexport Interview Reports
This question was reported by a candidate who interviewed at Flexport. LeakCode aggregates interview reports from 10+ sources, including 1Point3Acres, Glassdoor, LeetCode Discuss, Blind, Reddit, Indeed, and Nowcoder. Each report is translated where necessary, deduplicated against existing entries, and tagged by company, role, round type, and reporting date.
Use this question as one calibration data point, not a memorization target. Companies typically rotate their question pools every 2-4 months; the exact wording of a 2024 question may differ from what you encounter today. The underlying pattern, difficulty level, and follow-up depth at Flexport are the higher-signal extractions to take from this report.
For broader preparation context, the Flexport interview process typically includes a recruiter screen, one or two technical phone screens, and a 4-5 round on-site loop covering coding, system design (at L4+ levels), and behavioral. Reports tagged on LeakCode show the round-by-round distribution and typical difficulty calibration. To browse questions filtered by round type and seniority, use the company hub linked above.
How To Practice This Type of Question
Solve similar problems on LeetCode under timed conditions (25-35 minutes per medium difficulty). The goal is pattern recognition: recognize the underlying technique (sliding window, two-pointer, BFS, memoized recursion, etc.) within 60-90 seconds of reading. Strong candidates verbalize their hypothesis out loud before coding, then iterate based on feedback. Weak candidates dive into implementation immediately, lose time on the wrong approach, and run out of time for follow-ups.
Companies update their question pools every 2-4 months. The exact wording of any given question may have been retired by the time you interview. Focus your prep on the pattern, not the specific problem. The patterns that appear in Flexport reports consistently are the ones worth investing in; one-off niche problems are not.
During Your Flexport Round
Apply the standard interview round template: clarify requirements (2-3 minutes), state your approach out loud and confirm direction with the interviewer (3-5 minutes), code with narration (15-25 minutes), test with concrete examples including edge cases (5 minutes), discuss optimization or trade-offs if time permits (5 minutes). This template is universally accepted across FAANG and adjacent companies; deviating from it produces weaker interviewer feedback signal.
The single most predictive failure mode in Flexport reports tagged "no hire": not asking clarifying questions. Interviewers are explicitly trained to weight this. Strong candidates ask 3-5 clarifying questions even on problems that look obvious; weak candidates dive into code immediately. The clarifying-question check is often the first signal recorded in the interviewer's written notes.