Top 5 Disney Data Analyst Interview Questions + Guide in 2024

As Disney expands its subscriber base in the Streaming Wars, more and more data analyst jobs are opening up in the company’s streaming business unit, Disney Streaming Services (DSS).

DSS includes a number of direct-to-consumer video brands, including Disney+, ESPN+, BAMTECH Media (which includes MLB and NHL streaming), as well as Disney’s SVOD service. Disney Streaming data analysts work on a range of projects for the company, including analyzing subscriber data and creating streaming data visualizations for stakeholders across the organization.

This guide is tailored to help you prepare for the Disney data analyst interview process and questions, designed to give you the edge in securing a role within Disney’s rapidly growing Streaming Services division.

Disney data analysts perform a variety of functions, and ultimately, the exact job description depends on the team. For example, a senior data analyst in the DSS Enterprise Portfolio Team is responsible for:

• Exploratory analysis
• Advanced reporting
• Data modeling and visualizations

Ultimately, the role of a Disney data analyst is to provide analysis that drives “decision making and delivers fact-based actionable recommendations.” For success, Disney analysts must have a strategic mindset and strong analytical skills.

The company hires a range of analyst roles, including:

• Data analysts
• Analytics analysts
• Lead and senior data analysts

Recently, we interviewed a Disney Streaming analyst, who specializes in Tableau development about her day-to-day role:

I work a lot in Tableau. Essentially, my role is as a Tableau developer. I work on a team that handles executive reporting for subscriber analytics. So we look at Disney+ data, as well as all of the streaming products that fall under the Disney umbrella, including Hulu and ESPN+.

Our team is really in charge of the design and execution of the subscriber analytics reporting that is delivered to the executive team.

So day-to-day, I’m doing a lot of ETL data querying with SQL and managing the daily flow of reports, with an eye for new design opportunities, new reports, and new tools to iterate on and maintain those reports.

Job function varies by role and team, but here’s an overview of responsibilities for Disney data analyst roles:

• Performing root-cause analysis to identify patterns
• Investigating and explaining data anomalies
• Developing visualizations and reporting to drive recommendations
• Delivering presentations that make data accessible
• Creating technical workflows that align with product roadmaps

The majority of Disney data analyst jobs require:

• Demonstrable work experience with Tableau reporting and visualizations (assessed in the interview process)
• Experience in building financial and/or data models with predictive analytics
• Experience in collecting, validating, and analyzing data. Must be able to manipulate data, develop visualizations, triangulate and summarize results.
• Passion for accuracy and a strong drive to create new processes and utilize tools that have yet to be explored; it is essential to be able to maintain a balance between the details and the larger picture
• Ability to engage with the business and use data analysis to influence key stakeholders at various levels
• Ability to translate high-level requirements into functional specifications
• Strong written, verbal, and analytical skills
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced highly iterative environment
• Ability to manage multiple tasks with demonstrated ability to organize and schedule work effectively
• Ability to successfully work with all levels of management, especially in a matrixed environment

Disney’s interview process is standardized and follows a similar process to most FAANG companies. This includes a recruiter screen, a technical interview, and an on-site interview. Top skills for data analyst roles include SQL and Python.

Recruiter Screen

This is just a short introductory call with the recruiter. Expect behavioral questions and have some questions about the role prepared. Practice questions include:

• Why are you interested in the role at Disney?
• Talk about your strengths and weaknesses.
• How do you work in a collaborative environment?

Technical Screen

Technical screens vary by position, but typically, they include a short whiteboard session covering either SQL or Python. To prepare, work through intermediate SQL and Python questions out loud.

• Note: Some roles require more SQL than Python. Ask the recruiter what you should expect, to help you best prepare.

On-Site Interview

The Disney on-site interview typically includes 3-5 one-on-one sessions, covering technical skills, as well as a behavioral round. For data analyst positions, you can expect:

• SQL Coding - A whiteboard session that will require you to write SQL queries manually and talk through your process step-by-step.
• Python Coding - Similar to the SQL round, but focused on intermediate Python coding sessions. You should also prepare for definition-based Python questions.
• Data Visualization - This round will cover data visualization, including your design philosophy and how you would design dashboards for stakeholders, as well as Tableau technical questions.
• Behavioral Rounds - An interview to determine if you are the right culture fit for the role.

Here’s some interview prep advice from a Disney data analyst interview:

“I had been job hunting off and on for about a year, and after a year of interviewing, I was well aware of my strengths and weaknesses. I knew my design portfolio was very strong and jumped at any chance to talk about my portfolio in interviews, which allowed me to talk through my design process and approach.

So I was aware of where I was doing well, but also where I struggled, which was in SQL. Interview Query helped with practical practice, so I wouldn’t bomb when asked simple questions. I did a lot of cramming leading up to the interview.

But, in hindsight, I was like, was that really helpful? Understanding the core concepts was more important than whether or not I got the query correct. And that’s something that I would stress: Don’t worry if you don’t get the query correct. It’s the concept and explanation of your approach to the query that’s more important.”

Some example data analyst interview questions that might come are:

1. Are you familiar with the INDEX and MATCH features in Microsoft excel?

INDEX and MATCH are used to perform advanced lookups, and they can be combined to perform advanced analysis. Using INDEX and MATCH, you can perform horizontal and vertical lookups, left lookups, case-sensitive lookups, and also multi-criteria lookups.

2. Write a SQL query to get the cost of all transactions by user, ordered by total cost descending.

With a grouping SQL question like this, you would be provided sample data, and it may require you to write a simple SQL query using SELECT, GROUP BY and INNER JOIN statements.

3. Write a SQL query to determine how many users have opened an email.

This email opens SQL question that requires you to write a query using the SELECT, FROM and WHERE statements.

4. Write a query to get the number of customers that were upsold, or in other words, the number of users who bought additional products after their first purchase.

In an SQL question where you need to identify users who made purchases on multiple dates, you would typically use GROUP BY and HAVING clauses to filter users based on distinct purchase dates. The key is to count unique dates per user and apply a filter to exclude those who only purchased on a single date.

5. Write a query to identify customers who placed more than three transactions each in both 2019 and 2020.

To find customers with more than three transactions in both 2019 and 2020, you would join the transactions and users tables, group by user ID, and use conditional aggregation to count transactions per year. The HAVING clause then filters out those who don’t meet the criteria, ensuring only qualifying customers’ names are returned.

More Disney Data Analyst Interview Questions