Denali Advanced Integration is a prominent company specializing in delivering advanced IT solutions. Renowned for its collaborative and innovative approach, Denali provides expertise in technology and business processes, establishing itself as a leader in the tech industry.

The Data Engineer role at Denali involves working closely with an agile development team to optimize ETL processes and develop high-performance data warehouse solutions. Responsibilities include designing, implementing, and deploying data processing infrastructure, creating stored procedures, developing dimensional data models, and ensuring data quality. Proficiency in systems such as Amazon Redshift, Snowflake, and deep SQL skills are essential.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the interview process, commonly asked interview questions, and provide valuable tips for the Data Engineer position at Denali Advanced Integration. Let’s get started!

Submitting Your Application

The first step is to submit a compelling application that reflects your technical skills and interest in joining Denali Advanced Integration as a Data Engineer. Whether you were contacted by a Denali recruiter or have taken the initiative yourself, carefully review the job description and tailor your CV according to the prerequisites.

Tailoring your CV may include identifying specific keywords that the hiring manager might use to filter resumes and crafting a targeted cover letter. Furthermore, don’t forget to highlight relevant skills and mention your work experiences.

Recruiter/Hiring Manager Call Screening

If your CV happens to be among the shortlisted few, a recruiter from the Denali Talent Acquisition Team will make contact and verify key details like your experiences and skill level. Behavioral questions may also be a part of the screening process.

In some cases, the Denali data engineer hiring manager stays present during the screening round to answer your queries about the role and the company itself. They may also indulge in surface-level technical and behavioral discussions.

The whole recruiter call should take about 30 minutes.

Technical Virtual Interview

Successfully navigating the recruiter round will present you with an invitation for the technical screening round. Technical screening for the Denali Data Engineer role usually is conducted through virtual means, including video conference and screen sharing. Questions in this 1-hour long interview stage may revolve around Denali’s data systems, ETL pipelines, and SQL queries.

In the case of data engineer roles, take-home assignments regarding data modelling, analytics, and data optimization are incorporated. Apart from these, your proficiency in SQL optimization, ETL process design, and data architecture fundamentals may also be assessed during the round.

Depending on the seniority of the position, case studies and similar real-scenario problems may also be assigned.

Onsite Interview Rounds

Followed by a second recruiter call outlining the next stage, you’ll be invited to attend the onsite interview loop. Multiple interview rounds, varying with the role, will be conducted during your day at the Denali office. Your technical prowess, including programming and data modelling capabilities, will be evaluated against the finalized candidates throughout these interviews.

If you were assigned take-home exercises, a presentation round may also await you during the onsite interview for the Data Engineer role at Denali Advanced Integration.

Quick Tips For Denali Advanced Integration Data Engineer Interviews

• Understand Denali’s Data Systems: Denali questions are standardized and rely heavily on your experience with their data systems like Amazon Redshift, Snowflake, and S3. Familiarize yourself with these platforms and understand how you can optimize them.
• Strong SQL Skills: Denali’s data engineering interviews often focus on SQL optimization. Brush up on your SQL skills, specifically on how to write highly efficient queries and perform query optimization.
• Problem-Solving and Agility: Denali values candidates who can think creatively and work effectively in an Agile environment. Be ready to discuss your experience with Agile methodologies and demonstrate strong problem-solving skills.

Typically, interviews at Denali Advanced Integration vary by role and team, but commonly Data Engineer interviews follow a fairly standardized process across these question topics.

• Write a SQL query to select the 2nd highest salary in the engineering department. Write a SQL query to select the 2nd highest salary in the engineering department. If more than one person shares the highest salary, the query should select the next highest salary.

• Write a function to find the maximum number in a list of integers. Given a list of integers, write a function that returns the maximum number in the list. If the list is empty, return None.

• Create a function convert_to_bst to convert a sorted list into a balanced binary tree. Given a sorted list, create a function convert_to_bst that converts the list into a balanced binary tree. The output binary tree should be balanced, meaning the height difference between the left and right subtree of all the nodes should be at most one.

• Write a function to simulate drawing balls from a jar. Write a function to simulate drawing balls from a jar. The colors of the balls are stored in a list named jar, with corresponding counts of the balls stored in the same index in a list called n_balls.

• Develop a function can_shift to check if one string can be shifted to become another. Given two strings A and B, write a function can_shift to return whether or not A can be shifted some number of places to get B.

• What are the drawbacks of having student test scores organized in the given layouts? Assume you have data on student test scores in two different layouts. Identify the drawbacks of these layouts and suggest formatting changes to make the data more useful for analysis. Additionally, describe common problems seen in "messy" datasets.

• How would you locate a mouse in a 4x4 grid using the fewest scans? You have a 4x4 grid with a mouse trapped in one of the cells. You can scan subsets of cells to know if the mouse is within that subset. Describe a strategy to find the mouse using the fewest number of scans.

• How would you select Dashers for Doordash deliveries in NYC and Charlotte? Doordash is launching delivery services in New York City and Charlotte. Describe the process for selecting Dashers (delivery drivers) and discuss whether the criteria for selection should be the same for both cities.

• What factors could bias Jetco's study on boarding times? Jetco, a new airline, was found to have the fastest average boarding times in a study. Identify potential factors that could have biased this result and what you would investigate further.

• How would you design an A/B test to evaluate a pricing increase for a B2B SAAS company? You work at a B2B SAAS company interested in testing different subscription pricing levels. Describe how you would design a two-week-long A/B test to evaluate a pricing increase and determine if it is a good business decision.

• How much should we budget for a $5 coupon initiative in a ride-sharing app? A ride-sharing app has a probability (p) of dispensing a $5 coupon to a rider and services (N) riders. Calculate the total budget needed for the coupon initiative.

• What is the probability of both or only one rider getting a coupon? A driver using the app picks up two passengers. Determine the probability of both riders getting the coupon and the probability that only one of them will get the coupon.

• What is a confidence interval for a statistic and why is it useful? Explain what a confidence interval is, why it is useful to know the confidence interval for a statistic, and how to calculate it.

• What is the probability that item X is found on Amazon's website? Amazon has a warehouse system where items are located at different distribution centers. Given the probabilities that item X is available at warehouse A (0.6) and warehouse B (0.8), calculate the probability that item X would be found on Amazon's website.

• Is a coin fair if it comes up tails 8 times out of 10 flips? You flip a coin 10 times, and it comes up tails 8 times and heads twice. Determine if this coin is fair.

• What are time series models and why are they needed? Describe what time series models are and explain why they are necessary when less complicated regression models are available.

• How would you justify the complexity of building a neural network model and explain predictions to non-technical stakeholders? Your manager asks you to build a neural network model to solve a business problem. How would you justify the complexity of the model and explain its predictions to non-technical stakeholders?

• How would you evaluate the suitability and performance of a decision tree model for predicting loan repayment? You are tasked with building a decision tree model to predict if a borrower will repay a personal loan. How would you evaluate if a decision tree is the correct model, and how would you assess its performance before and after deployment?

• How does random forest generate the forest, and why use it over logistic regression? Explain how a random forest algorithm generates its forest. Additionally, discuss why you might choose random forest over logistic regression for certain problems.

• How would you explain linear regression to a child, a first-year college student, and a seasoned mathematician? Explain the concept of linear regression to three different audiences: a child, a first-year college student, and a seasoned mathematician. Tailor your explanations to each audience's understanding level.

• What are the key differences between classification models and regression models? Describe the main differences between classification models and regression models.

What is the average salary for a Data Engineer at Denali Advanced Integration?

Q: What is the primary focus of the Data Engineer role at Denali Advanced Integration? The Data Engineer will work closely with an agile development team to analyze and optimize ETL processes, tables, views, materialized views, and stored procedures to create a high-performance data warehouse solution for our clients.

Q: What technologies will I be working with in this role? You'll work with a diverse set of technologies, including Amazon Redshift, S3, and Snowflake. Additionally, you may utilize industry-standard data integration tools and be involved in developing dimensional data models.

Q: What are the essential functions of the Data Engineer position? Key responsibilities include designing, implementing, and deploying data processing infrastructure, contributing to architecture for scalable data engineering solutions, performing Agile development tasks, and developing high-performance ETL processes.

Q: What qualifications are required for the Data Engineer role? Successful candidates will need a Bachelor's Degree and/or 5+ years of experience in data engineering. Essential qualifications include excellent SQL skills, deep knowledge of systems like Redshift and Snowflake, and experience with programming languages like Java and Ruby.

Q: What benefits does Denali Advanced Integration offer? The company offers comprehensive benefits including medical, dental, vision, short and long-term disability, life insurance, participation in a 401K plan, and paid time off.

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Good luck with your interview!