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Data Engineer Interview Questions

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Data Engineer Interview Questions

Data engineers are IT professionals who are needed in almost every industry. Data engineers monitor data trends to determine best next steps for companies. A critical part of a data engineer job is to process raw data into usable data by creating data pipelines and building data systems.

Top Data Engineer Interview Questions & How To Answer

Question 1

Question #1: Can you describe in detail your level of expertise with programming languages?

How to answer
How to answer: Before the interview, review your resume and/or portfolio and make a list of the programs you are most proficient with. If you find that you are lacking the expertise in a program that the company predominately uses, describe yourself as a highly motivated self-starter who will work tirelessly to learn the program(s).
Question 2

Question #2: Explain data engineering in your own words.

How to answer
How to answer: Highlight your role in relation to the larger organization and other roles like data scientists to clearly define your contribution to the overall system of business. Clarify the difference between a database-centric engineer and a pipeline-centric engineer.
Question 3

Question #3: Can you describe your experience working with Apache Hadoop and cloud data management environments?

How to answer
How to answer: Research the company's software, data cloud products, and use of Apache Hadoop to be prepared for this inquiry. Data Engineers must be fluent in programming languages and data management systems used throughout the industry such as Apache Hadoop.

20,235 data engineer interview questions shared by candidates

During the on-site interview I had a total of 4 rounds of interviews: 1st round is a coding interview for 90 minutes, during which time I was asked to design and implement a transaction supported in-memory database using any programming language of choice. 2nd round is a white-board design interview for 60 minutes, during which time I was asked to design a messaging application on the white-board with a few followup questions in the end 3rd round is an algorithms interview, I was asked a Leetcode medium question. The interviewers helped me when I was stuck 4th round is a general discussion with the hiring manager, who tested me on my knowledge of Data Engineering solutions/software out there in the market.
avatar

Data Science Engineer

Interviewed at Caffeine

3.9★
Mar 5, 2020

During the on-site interview I had a total of 4 rounds of interviews: 1st round is a coding interview for 90 minutes, during which time I was asked to design and implement a transaction supported in-memory database using any programming language of choice. 2nd round is a white-board design interview for 60 minutes, during which time I was asked to design a messaging application on the white-board with a few followup questions in the end 3rd round is an algorithms interview, I was asked a Leetcode medium question. The interviewers helped me when I was stuck 4th round is a general discussion with the hiring manager, who tested me on my knowledge of Data Engineering solutions/software out there in the market.

There were SQL questions on RANK() Vs ROW_NUMBER() and Order Analytical Function usage such as SUM() OVER(PARTITION BY <> ORDER BY <> ROW UNBOUNDED PRECEDING). Question on how to club the set of Anagrams together from a list of words.
avatar

Data Engineer

Interviewed at NerdWallet

3.5★
Aug 10, 2017

There were SQL questions on RANK() Vs ROW_NUMBER() and Order Analytical Function usage such as SUM() OVER(PARTITION BY <> ORDER BY <> ROW UNBOUNDED PRECEDING). Question on how to club the set of Anagrams together from a list of words.

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