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Maximum Subarray (Kadane's Algorithm) at Netflix — Interview Guide

How to approach Maximum Subarray (Kadane's Algorithm) in a Netflix interview: the optimal approach, what Netflix interviewers look for, and company-specific tips.

Updated 2026-09MediumDynamic Programming

The problem at Netflix

Given an integer array, find the contiguous subarray with the largest sum and return that sum.

Netflix uses this problem to assess senior, autonomous, culture-first. Expect Netflix-specific follow-ups that tie the solution back to production reasoning and the company's engineering bar.

Key concepts

Kadane: at each index, the best subarray ending here is either the element alone or the element plus the best ending at the previous index.
Track the running sum, reset to 0 when it goes negative, and keep the global maximum.
Divide-and-conquer gives O(n log n) and generalizes to 2D problems.

Approach

def max_subarray(nums):
    best = cur = nums[0]
    for x in nums[1:]:
        cur = max(x, cur + x)
        best = max(best, cur)
    return best

What Netflix looks for

Senior-level autonomy — you operate without hand-holding.
Judgment and context-sharing over rules.
High performance and candor.
Alignment with the culture deck (freedom & responsibility).

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