Maximum Sum Obtained of Any Permutation
A medium-tier problem at 39% community acceptance, tagged with Array, Greedy, Sorting. Reported in interviews at PayPal and 0 others.
Maximum Sum Obtained of Any Permutation is a medium-difficulty greedy problem that PayPal has reportedly asked. It hits a 39% acceptance rate, which means most candidates either miss the sorting insight or fail to optimize the greedy choice. The trick is that you need to pair the largest multipliers with the largest array values, but the multiplier sequence itself is fixed by the permutation rules. This is the kind of problem where the obvious brute-force approach (trying all permutations) will timeout, and the actual solution requires you to see why sorting both halves in opposite directions gives the maximum sum. If this problem hits your live assessment and you blank on the greedy pairing strategy, StealthCoder surfaces a working solution in seconds, invisible to the proctor.
Companies that ask "Maximum Sum Obtained of Any Permutation"
Maximum Sum Obtained of Any Permutation is the kind of problem that decides whether you pass. StealthCoder reads the problem on screen and surfaces a working solution in under 2 seconds. Invisible to screen share. The proctor sees nothing. Built by an Amazon engineer who realized the OA tests how well you memorized 200 problems, not how well you code.
Get StealthCoderThe core insight is that you're not permuting the array itself; you're permuting indices in a way that creates a fixed multiplier sequence. The greedy strategy is to sort the original array in descending order and multiply each value by its corresponding multiplier in descending order as well. The pitfall is thinking you need to try different array orderings when in fact the multiplier pattern is deterministic. Many candidates get stuck implementing a brute-force permutation generator instead of recognizing this is a sorting and pairing problem. Array, Sorting, and Prefix Sum all come into play because you're reducing the problem space by precomputing multipliers. Greedy is the actual pattern: always pair large with large. If you're prepping and this pattern doesn't click during a timed session, StealthCoder runs invisibly during your assessment and gives you the approach instantly.
Pattern tags
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Make sure you actually pass it.
Maximum Sum Obtained of Any Permutation recycles across companies for a reason. It's medium-tier, and most candidates blank under the timer. StealthCoder is the hedge: an AI overlay invisible during screen share. It reads the problem and surfaces a working solution in under 2 seconds. Built by an Amazon engineer who realized the OA tests how well you memorized 200 problems, not how well you code. Works on HackerRank, CodeSignal, CoderPad, and Karat.
Maximum Sum Obtained of Any Permutation interview FAQ
Why doesn't brute-force permutation work here?+
With an array of size n, you'd generate n! permutations and compute the sum for each. Even n=12 hits 479 million combinations. The greedy sort-and-pair approach runs in O(n log n) because the multiplier sequence is fixed by the problem rules, not the array permutation.
Is this still asked at top companies?+
PayPal has confirmed it. At a 39% acceptance rate, it's not a warmup. Most candidates who see it fail to recognize the greedy pattern and waste time on permutation logic or dynamic programming approaches that don't apply.
How does Sorting connect to Greedy here?+
Sorting is the enabler for greedy. Once you sort the array and the multiplier sequence in the right direction, greedy works: pair largest multipliers with largest values. Without sorting first, you can't apply the greedy choice.
What's the common mistake?+
Treating the array itself as the permutation target instead of recognizing that the multiplier sequence is what's fixed. Candidates often write recursive permutation generators or try DP when the answer is just two sorted lists paired smartly.
Do I need Prefix Sum?+
Not strictly for the core greedy pairing, but it can optimize or validate your result. Some approaches precompute prefix sums of the multipliers to avoid recalculating. It's a secondary optimization, not the main trick.
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