okay so i did the nike new grad software engineering interview last spring and i want to leave a real guide here because the prep advice i found online was all over the place.
first: nike is NOT google. they don't do leetcode hard at the new grad level. i did two medium-difficulty problems across the whole process and one of them was more of an implementation question than an algo question. if you've been grinding hard LC every day for weeks, you might be slightly over-prepared for the pure algo part and under-prepared for other stuff.
what the process looked like for me: online assessment via HackerRank -- two coding questions, 90 minutes. one was array manipulation (medium difficulty), one was string parsing. passed with 4/5 visible test cases. recruiter call, maybe 20 min. talked about why nike, role interest, confirmed timeline. technical phone screen with an engineer. one coding question (similar level to OA) plus about 20 minutes of "walk me through your project." they asked follow-up questions about design decisions i made. this part mattered more than i expected. virtual onsite: three rounds. one more coding question (graph traversal, medium), one system design-lite (they call it "technical design" for new grads; scale was small, like design a notification system for a retail app), and one behavioral focused on teamwork and ownership.
what actually matters for new grads at nike specifically:
project depth. they ask a LOT about internship or personal project work. not just "what did you do" but "what was hard about it," "what would you do differently," "how did you handle x problem." your resume projects need a story behind them.
culture fit signals. nike cares about whether you're enthusiastic about the brand and sport/fitness connection. i don't mean you have to be a sneakerhead but knowing something about their digital product direction (NRC, SNKRS app, Nike.com) goes a long way. i mentioned the SNKRS app waitlist feature in my behavioral and got genuine engagement from the interviewer.
behavioral prep is not optional. i saw someone in another thread skip behavioral prep for a nike new grad role because they thought it was "just vibes." they got cut after the phone screen. treat it seriously.
tl;dr: medium LC is enough on algo. go deeper on projects, system design basics, and why nike specifically. good luck.