LinkedIn Senior Data Engineer (IC3) On Site
Summary
I recently completed an interview process for a Senior Data Engineer (IC3) role at LinkedIn. The process included an Online Assessment, a Telephonic Screening, and five on-site rounds covering DSA, Data Manipulation, System Design, Technical Discussion, and a Hiring Manager interview. Overall, I felt the interviews went well, and I'm currently awaiting the final decision.
Full Experience
I interviewed for a Senior Data Engineer (IC3) position at LinkedIn. The process started with an Online Assessment on Hackerrank, which lasted 2 hours. I had to solve two Leetcode Medium DSA questions and two SQL medium questions. I successfully completed all four problems within the given time, passing all test cases.
Following the OA, I had a 1-hour Telephonic Screening. Two interviewers from the hiring team joined, and the emphasis was on optimizing code and queries. I was given one Leetcode Medium DSA question with follow-ups and one SQL Medium question focusing on window/rank functions, also with follow-ups. I felt this round went well and was confident about receiving an on-site invitation.
After receiving positive feedback from Round 0, HR scheduled my on-site interviews for a single day. Each interview round lasted one hour.
Round 1: DSA
In this round, I tackled a Leetcode medium question related to "top k elements," and I made sure to present an optimal approach. Additionally, I was presented with a scenario-based question where my choice of data structure and the complexities of various use-cases within that scenario were evaluated. I felt good about this round, rating it around 7/10.
Round 2: Data Manipulation
This round involved two scenarios with different dataset schemas. I faced multiple questions for each scenario, primarily dealing with timestamps and ranks. My task was to solve each use case using optimized SQL Queries or pyspark. I thought this round also went well, rating it 8/10.
Round 3: System Design / Data Architecture
Here, I engaged in an end-to-end data system design discussion, covering various use cases. The main focus was on ETL pipelines and data storage. We delved into how data would be stored and optimized for querying, discussing the scenario, multiple corner cases, and how to address them in the data architecture. I felt this was another solid round, rating it 7/10.
Round 4: Technical Discussion
This round involved discussing my technical projects. I shared challenges I faced while working on my current project and explained how I resolved them. We also covered multiple behavioral/technical questions related to project planning and feature designing/implementation. I felt this round went very well, rating it 8/10.
Round 5: Hiring Manager
The final round was with the Hiring Manager. This round primarily consisted of behavioral questions, discussions about my projects and skills, and back-and-forth communication regarding how things operate at LinkedIn. I was also asked about my motivations for choosing LinkedIn and my aspirations. Hiring Manager rounds are always crucial and can be tricky, so I'm never overly confident about them. I rated this round 7/10.
Overall, I'd rate my entire interview experience around 7.5/10. I might be under-estimating my performance, possibly due to hints I received from the interviewers. I'm currently waiting for the final decision.
Interview Questions (3)
During my telephonic screening, I was asked a medium-difficulty SQL question that required the use of window functions and ranking. There were also several follow-up questions.
In the DSA round, I encountered a LeetCode medium question focused on finding 'top k elements'. The expectation was to provide an optimal approach for solving it.
I was given a scenario to design an end-to-end data system. The discussion focused on various use cases, ETL pipelines, and data storage strategies. I had to explain how data would be stored and optimized for querying, including handling multiple corner cases within the data architecture.