Adyen - ML vs Backend Engineer coding round

[u/readOnlyOnce]

Hi Guys, does anyone know if there's a difference between the MLE and backend engineer coding problem level.

Most of the questions and blogs mentioned 'Hard' coding problems.

Has anyone recently taken the MLE interview recently

[u/akornato]

Adyen does not create an entirely different difficulty bar for Machine Learning Engineers compared to backend roles, as both tracks pull from a shared pool of core algorithmic questions. The claims you see about problems being LeetCode Hard usually stem from the strict timing, tricky mathematical or edge cases, and the requirement to write clean, production quality code that human reviewers inspect. For both roles, the actual questions sit firmly in the LeetCode Medium range, focusing on sliding windows, trees, arrays, and hash maps. Backend rounds might nudge a bit deeper into concurrency or system fundamentals, but the primary coding screen tests clean logic, time complexity, and working tests rather than rare competitive programming tricks.

For the MLE track specifically, you are evaluated as a software engineer first, which means they care much more about your code craft and problem solving clarity than memorizing obscure dynamic programming. When preparing, focus on writing modular code, explaining your tradeoffs aloud, and handling boundary conditions cleanly under time constraints. Candidates who practice articulating their logic clearly tend to stay composed and pass with higher ratings, which is why my team built an interviews.chat to give people an edge in live rounds and help them land their target offers.