Draper is a pioneering engineering firm celebrated for its groundbreaking work in technological innovation and defense solutions. With a legacy rooted in collaboration and excellence, Draper plays a pivotal role in developing advanced systems that address some of the world's most challenging problems.

Joining Draper as a Business Analyst presents a unique opportunity to engage in a stimulating environment where business meets technology. The role demands proficiency in data analysis, problem-solving, and strategic planning, with a strong focus on translating data insights into actionable business strategies. As a Business Analyst at Draper, you will work closely with cross-functional teams to drive project success, enhance operational efficiency, and contribute to the technological advancements that Draper is known for.

If you're preparing for an interview at Draper, this guide will be your go-to resource. We'll walk you through the interview process, share common questions, and offer tips to help you succeed. Let's dive in!

Submitting Your Application

The first step is to submit a compelling application that reflects your technical skills and interest in joining Draper as a Business Analyst. Whether you were contacted by a Draper 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 Draper 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 Draper Business Analyst 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 Draper Business Analyst role usually is conducted through virtual means, including video conference and screen sharing. Questions in this 1-hour long interview stage may revolve around Draper’s data systems, ETL pipelines, and SQL queries.

In the case of business analyst roles, take-home assignments regarding product metrics, analytics, and data visualization are incorporated. Apart from these, your proficiency against hypothesis testing, probability distributions, and machine learning 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 Draper office. Your technical prowess, including programming and ML modeling 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 business analyst role at Draper.

Quick Tips For Draper Business Analyst Interviews

• Should contain three tips for interviewing for this specific company based on interview experiences.

Example:

You should plan to brush up on any technical skills and try as many practice interview questions and mock interviews as possible. A few tips for acing your Draper interview include:

• Understand Draper's Projects and Services: Draper questions often rely on situational scenarios within their projects and services. Study Draper’s range of projects and services and understand how you would personally contribute or improve them.
• Be Data-Driven: Draper’s business analyst interviews assess how well you can provide business-driving insights with data analytics. Brush up on your knowledge of statistics and probability, given these questions can be some of the hardest to solve.
• Embody the Culture: Draper values innovation and a collaborative work environment. Practice responding to behavioral questions with answers that demonstrate your alignment with Draper’s core values and culture.

Typically, interviews at Draper vary by role and team, but commonly Business Analyst interviews follow a fairly standardized process across these question topics.

• Identify all duplicate values in a list of integers. Given a list of integers, identify all the duplicate values in the list. Assume that the list can contain both positive and negative numbers, and the order of the list does not matter. A number is considered a duplicate if it appears more than once in the list. Return a list of the duplicate numbers.

• Select the five most expensive projects by budget to employee count ratio. We want to select the five most expensive projects by budget to employee count ratio. Account for duplicate rows in the employee_projects table and write a query to select the top five projects.

• Create a subquery or CTE to find the top 3 ads and return join results. Create a subquery or common table expression named top_ads containing the top 3 ads by popularity. Return the number of rows resulting from different join operations between ads and top_ads.

• Find employees who joined before their manager. You're given two tables: employees and managers. Find the names of all employees who joined before their manager.

• Write a function to rotate a matrix by 90 degrees clockwise. Given an array filled with random values, write a function rotate_matrix to rotate the array by 90 degrees in the clockwise direction.

• How do we select the best 10,000 customers for a pre-launch of a new show? You are working as a data scientist at Amazon Prime Video, and they want to test the launch of a new show on 10,000 customers first. How would you go about selecting the best 10,000 customers for the pre-launch?

• What is the process for pre-launching a TV show on Amazon Prime to measure performance? Describe the steps involved in pre-launching a TV show on Amazon Prime to measure its performance.

• How would you evaluate the success of an A/B test on free shipping increasing conversions? You work at an eCommerce startup and ran an A/B test on the checkout product page to see if surfacing free shipping increases conversions. The control group had no specification of free shipping, while the experiment group did. How would you evaluate the results and determine if the test was successful?

• How would you conduct an experiment to test displaying ETA as a range instead of a direct estimate? You work at Uber, and a PM suggests displaying ETA as a range (e.g., 3-7 minutes) instead of a direct estimate (e.g., 5 minutes). How would you conduct this experiment and determine if the results are significant?

• How would you decide whether Google should build a game feature for Google Home? You are tasked with pitching a new feature for Google Home, and a co-worker suggests building a game feature. How would you go about deciding whether Google should build it?

• How would you measure the effectiveness of extra pay for delivery drivers during peak hours? You work at a food delivery company and need to measure the effectiveness of giving extra pay to delivery drivers during peak hours to meet consumer demand. How would you measure this?

• What is the difference between Logistic and Linear Regression? When would you use one instead of the other? Explain the key differences between Logistic and Linear Regression. Describe scenarios where each method is more appropriate to use in practice.

• How would you explain what a p-value is to someone who is not technical? Explain the concept of a p-value in simple terms to someone without a technical background. Use analogies or everyday examples to make it understandable.

• What is the difference between Logistic and Linear Regression? When would you use one instead of the other in practice? Describe the key differences between Logistic and Linear Regression. Provide examples of scenarios where each type of regression would be appropriately used.

What is the average salary for a Business Analyst at Draper?

Q: What is the interview process at Draper like?

A: Draper’s interview process typically includes an initial phone screen with HR, followed by technical interviews, and finally an onsite interview. The stages are designed to assess your analytical skills, problem-solving abilities, and your compatibility with Draper's work culture.

Q: What are some common interview questions for a Business Analyst position at Draper?

A: Common interview questions at Draper may include behavioral questions, case study analysis, and technical questions relevant to data analysis and business strategy. You should be ready to discuss your past experiences, analytical methodologies, and problem-solving skills.

Q: What skills and qualifications are required for the Business Analyst position at Draper?

A: Draper looks for candidates with strong analytical skills, proficiency in data analysis tools, and a solid understanding of business processes. Experience with SQL, Python, or other data analysis software is often required, along with excellent communication and problem-solving abilities.

Q: What is the company culture like at Draper?

A: Draper values innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement. The company encourages employees to think creatively, work collaboratively across teams, and contribute to a supportive and dynamic work environment.

Q: How can I best prepare for an interview at Draper?

A: To prepare for an interview at Draper, you should research the company extensively, practice common interview questions using Interview Query, and refresh your technical skills. Be prepared to discuss your past experiences, analytical techniques, and how you can add value to Draper.

If you want more insights about the company, check out our main Draper Interview Guide, where we have covered many interview questions that could be asked. We’ve also created interview guides for other roles, such as software engineer and data analyst, where you can learn more about Draper’s interview process for different positions.

At Interview Query, we empower you to unlock your interview prowess with a comprehensive toolkit, equipping you with the knowledge, confidence, and strategic guidance to conquer every Draper Business Analyst interview question and challenge.

You can check out all our company interview guides for better preparation, and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

Good luck with your interview!