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Northwestern University Interview Questions

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Let’s say you work for a social media company that has just done a launch in a new city. Looking at weekly metrics, you see a slow decrease in the average number of comments per user from January to March in this city.

The company has been consistently growing new users in the city from January to March.

What are some reasons why the average number of comments per user would be decreasing and what metrics would you look into?

What metric could be used to measure if active users are still engaging on the platform despite an overall decrease in the average number of comments per user?

What metric could be used to measure if active users are still engaging on the platform despite an overall decrease in the average number of comments per user?

Decreasing Comments

How would you investigate a decline in the average number of comments per user?

You are testing hundreds of hypotheses with many t-tests. What considerations should be made?

What is a key disadvantage of the F-test when compared to multiple t-tests?

What is a key disadvantage of the F-test when compared to multiple t-tests?

Hundreds of Hypotheses

You are testing hundreds of hypotheses with many t-tests. What considerations should be made?

Let’s say we have a table with an <code>id</code> and <code>name</code> fields. The table holds over 100 million rows and we want to sample a random row in the table without throttling the database.

Write a query to randomly sample a row from this table.

Input:

<code>big_table</code> table

<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Columns</th>
<th>Type</th>
</tr>
</thead>

<tbody>
<tr>
<td><code>id</code></td>
<td>INTEGER</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td><code>name</code></td>
<td>VARCHAR</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

Write a query to randomly sample a row from a big table.

Random SQL Sample

Northwestern University Salaries by Position

Department: MED-Pulmonary Salary/Grade: EXS/8 Job Summary: Provides expertise in data management, quality assurance, analysis and reporting. Establishes data accuracy and validity derived from a variety of systems. Performs data analysis using statistical techniques. Researches and analyzes information using multiple databases and creates reports of data and results. Assists in the preparation and delivery of decision support reports to both internal and external customers. Specific Responsibilities : Strategic Planning <ul><li> Partners with clients to define requirements based on business objectives. </li></ul> Administration <ul><li> Develop standardized templates, policies, and procedures for internal and external reporting. </li><li> Designs and prepares documentation for qualitative and quantitative data analysis. </li><li> Discuss findings with senior management </li></ul> Development <ul><li> Develop queries and quality metrics. </li><li> Interprets results using a variety of techniques, ranging from simple data aggregation to more complex statistical analysis. </li><li> Manages complex databases. </li></ul> Performance <ul><li> Completes data cleaning and organizes data files for analysis. </li><li> Reviews data and identifies quality issues. </li><li> Presents findings in an appropriate manner. </li></ul> Supervises <ul><li> Provides work direction and/or supervises staff such as team members, subordinates, contractors, vendors, students, etc. </li></ul> Miscellaneous Performs other duties as assigned. Minimum Qualifications: <ul><li> Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree; OR appropriate combination of education and experience. </li><li> 2 years data analysis/report writing or similar experience required. </li></ul> Infrastructure (extends across applications) <ul><li> Amazon Web Services (AWS) </li><li> GlobusOnline </li><li> High Performance Computing (HPC) </li><li> Linux Operating System </li><li> Mac OS X Operating System </li><li> Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Access, Outlook) </li><li> Microsoft SharePoint </li></ul> Programming Languages and Frameworks <ul><li> Python </li><li> Shell Scripting </li></ul> Analytical <ul><li> critical thinking </li><li> data mining </li><li> data modeling </li><li> data warehouse design/develop </li><li> database design/ data structure </li><li> Debugging </li><li> judgment </li><li> metadata creation and management </li><li> problem solving </li><li> Troubleshooting </li><li> use-case analysis </li></ul> Project <ul><li> agile environment </li><li> Code documentation </li><li> collaboration and teamwork </li><li> cost/benefit analysis </li><li> evaluate resources </li><li> facilitate collaboration </li><li> functional documentation </li><li> iterative & incremental development </li><li> organizational skills </li><li> planning </li><li> workflow development & documentation </li></ul>Target hiring range for this position will be between $70,017 - 98,462 per year. Offered salary will be determined by the applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data. Benefits: At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful, competitive, high-quality health care plans, retirement benefits, tuition discounts and more! Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/index.html to learn more. Work-Life and Wellness: Northwestern offers comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life's challenges and opportunities, and adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles. We support flexible work arrangements where possible and programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/work-life/index.html to learn more. Professional Growth & Development: Northwestern supports employee career development in all circumstances whether your workspace is on campus or at home. If you're interested in developing your professional potential or continuing your formal education, we offer a variety of tools and resources. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/learning/index.html to learn more . Northwestern strongly recommends COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters for people who can obtain them as a critical tool for minimizing severe illness. More information can be found on the COVID-19 and Campus Updates webpage. The Northwestern campus sits on the traditional homelands of the people of the Council of Three Fires, the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa as well as the Menominee, Miami and Ho-Chunk nations. We acknowledge and honor the original people of the land upon which Northwestern University stands, and the Native people who remain on this land today. Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer of all protected classes, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply. Click for information on EEO is the Law. #LI-JP1

Department: MCC Office of the Dean Salary/Grade: ITS/79 Job Summary: The Data Analyst collaborates with senior leadership of McCormick School of Engineering (McC) to build and manage a comprehensive data repository; perform sophisticated analysis and observation; develop metrics, reports and presentations to inform McC Administration strategy, decision making and communications. The Data Analyst is the product owner/lead for McCormick's PowerBI and Tableau data reporting dashboards. Quantitative information spans the broad spectrum of faculty, student, alumni, staff demographics, including diversity, engagement, satisfaction, productivity, global reach, student enrollment, budget, staffing, space utilization, research activity, etc. The Data Analyst leads data gathering and validation for external reporting processes for the McCormick School. The Analyst creates a network of resources within the School including McC IT, Finance & Business Services, Facilities Administration, HR, Research Administration, Undergraduate and Graduate Studies, Career and Personal Development, Marketing, and Development as well as within Northwestern Offices of the Provost, Senior VP Business & Finance, VP of Research, Institutional Analysis, Risk Management and HR and external associations and organizations. The Manager reports to the McC Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives & Marketing. Performs tasks related to the design, implementation, support/maintenance, and enhancement of NU's enterprise, vendor and in-house developed applications. Documents functional requirements, analyzes requirements in the context of software and processes, develops and executes test plans, assists with and documents business process improvement efforts, and works with production issues. Completes content, process, and procedures for technical and functional system work that is low to medium in complexity. Typically works with senior staff, but may coordinate smaller or less complex projects independently. Specific Responsibilities: Strategic Planning <ul><li> Partners with senior analysts, end users and peers to document and analyze functional requirements, identify gaps and alternative approaches to meet requirements, and ensure all deliverables completed (adhering to approved methodology and documentation standards). </li><li> Partners with functional users and technical and reporting staff to determine best approaches, ensuring that approved solutions are implemented in a timely and correct fashion. </li></ul> Administration <ul><li> Drafts accurate documentation of process, procedure, and system/application configuration. </li><li> Formulates and executes test scripts, implementation project plans, rolls out communications and training materials. </li><li> Outlines medium complexity use cases. </li></ul> Development <ul><li> Formulates test scripts and performs detailed testing for moderate to complex use cases to ensure that the implemented software functions correctly. </li><li> Participates in and may facilitate iterative feedback processes among users, developers, and analysts to ensure software functionality aligns with requirements. Draws on prior implementation experience to engage in discussions. </li></ul> Performance <ul><li> Assists in software evaluation and enters moderate to complex configurations to meet user needs. </li><li> Collects feedback from users on application performance and escalates moderate to complex critical performance issues with technical resources and management. </li><li> Collaborates with technical, reporting and application resources to analyze and resolve moderate to complex production issues in a timely manner. Provides input into possible solutions based on prior system knowledge and basic analytical skills. </li></ul> Supervises <ul><li> Provides work direction and/or supervises staff such as subordinates, contractors, vendors, students, etc. </li><li> Manages basic projects or work packets ensuring timelines, deliverables and expectations are met. </li><li> Other duties as assigned. </li></ul> Minimum Qualifications: (Education, experience, and any other certifications or clearances) <ul><li> Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in a major such as computer science, information technology, or related; OR appropriate combination of education and experience. </li><li> 2 years functional/business/system analysis or other relevant experience required. </li><li> ERP/CRM applications </li><li> InfoEd (Grants Administration) </li><li> PeopleSoft Financials/SCM (NU Financials) </li><li> PeopleSoft HRMS (FASIS) </li><li> SIMS </li><li> Microsoft Exchange </li><li> Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Outlook) </li><li> Microsoft SharePoint </li><li> PHP </li><li> SQL/MySQL/Postgres </li><li> critical thinking </li><li> business intelligence application design </li><li> data mining </li><li> data modeling </li><li> data warehouse design/develop </li><li> database design/ data structure </li><li> debugging </li><li> decision making </li><li> judgment </li><li> problem solving </li><li> troubleshooting </li><li> use-case analysis </li><li> Code documentation </li><li> collaboration and teamwork </li><li> cost/benefit analysis </li><li> evaluate resources </li><li> facilitate collaboration </li><li> functional documentation </li><li> organizational skills </li><li> planning </li><li> workflow development & documentation </li></ul> Minimum Competencies: (Skills, knowledge, and abilities.) <ul><li> Strong experience in PowerBI and Tableau </li><li> Data visualization and presentation skills </li><li> Ability to work directly with clients and leadership to understand and shape requests based on available data </li></ul> Preferred Qualifications: (Education and experience) <ul><li> Degree in data science or similar experience </li><li> Experience with business intelligence reporting, ideally in a higher education context </li></ul> Preferred Competencies: (Skills, knowledge, and abilities) <ul><li> Working knowledge of higher education environment </li><li> Predictive analytic capabilities </li></ul>Target hiring range for this position will be between $80,297 - $112,917 per year. Offered salary will be determined by the applicant's education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities, as well as internal equity and alignment with market data. Benefits: At Northwestern, we are proud to provide meaningful, competitive, high-quality health care plans, retirement benefits, tuition discounts and more! Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/index.html to learn more. Work-Life and Wellness: Northwestern offers comprehensive programs and services to help you and your family navigate life's challenges and opportunities and adopt and maintain healthy lifestyles. We support flexible work arrangements where possible and programs to help you locate and pay for quality, affordable childcare and senior/adult care. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/benefits/work-life/index.html to learn more. Professional Growth & Development: Northwestern supports employee career development in all circumstances whether your workspace is on campus or at home. If you're interested in developing your professional potential or continuing your formal education, we offer a variety of tools and resources. Visit us at https://www.northwestern.edu/hr/learning/index.html to learn more . Northwestern strongly recommends COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters for people who can obtain them as a critical tool for minimizing severe illness. More information can be found on the COVID-19 and Campus Updates webpage. The Northwestern campus sits on the traditional homelands of the people of the Council of Three Fires, the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa as well as the Menominee, Miami and Ho-Chunk nations. We acknowledge and honor the original people of the land upon which Northwestern University stands, and the Native people who remain on this land today. Northwestern University is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer of all protected classes, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, individuals with disabilities, and veterans are encouraged to apply. Click for information on EEO is the Law.

Northwestern University Interview Questions

Northwestern University Interview Guides

Northwestern University Interview Questions

Northwestern University Salaries by Position

Northwestern University Opening Jobs