Robinhood Data Engineer Interview Questions + Guide in 2024

Robinhood is a pioneering fintech company dedicated to democratizing finance by making financial markets accessible to everyone. With customers at the center of its decisions, Robinhood aims to break barriers and provide greater access to financial information, creating an inclusive financial system.

As a Data Engineer at Robinhood, you will be crucial in building and maintaining key datasets and scalable data pipelines that drive data-informed decision-making. You will collaborate with engineering, data science, and business teams to enhance data generation, design intuitive data models, and establish data engineering best practices. This role offers opportunities for technical growth while contributing to Robinhood’s mission to create a financial system that everyone can participate in.

Are you prepared to take on complex analytical challenges and drive positive change in a dynamic environment? In this guide, we’ll explore the interview process and review commonly asked Robinhood data engineer interview questions to help you better prepare.

The interview process usually depends on the role and seniority; however, you can expect the following on a Robinhood data engineer interview:

Recruiter/Hiring Manager Call Screening

Once your CV is shortlisted, a recruiter from the Robinhood Talent Acquisition Team will contact you to verify key details like your experiences and skill level. During this screening process, expect a blend of technical and behavioral questions.

In some cases, the hiring manager may join the call to provide additional insights about the role and answer any questions you may have. The recruiter call typically lasts about 30 minutes.

Technical Virtual Interview

Successfully navigating the recruiter round will earn you an invitation to the technical screening round. This is conducted virtually via a video conference and screen sharing session. Questions in this one-hour interview will often focus on Robinhood’s data systems, ETL pipelines, and SQL queries.

You might also encounter coding questions and need to describe your previous projects. Preparing in advance for subjects such as data structures, queues, priority queues, and basic algorithms will be highly beneficial.

Onsite Interview Rounds

After passing the technical virtual interview, you will be invited to attend the onsite interview loop, typically consisting of multiple stages:

1. Coding Task: One-on-one coding problems.

2. Architecture Discussions: In-depth data pipelines and system architecture discussions.

3. Algorithmic Whiteboard Interview: Problem-solving and algorithm challenges.

Each session usually lasts about 45 minutes. You can expect a mix of coding challenges, system design evaluations, and discussions of your previous projects and experiences.

Typically, interviews at Robinhood vary by role and team, but common data engineer interviews follow a fairly standardized process across these question topics.

1. Create a function traverse_count to determine the number of paths in an (n \times n) grid.

Given an integer (n), write a function traverse_count to determine the number of paths from the top left corner of an (n \times n) grid to the bottom right. You may only move right or down.

2. Write a function fund_return function to calculate an index fund’s total profit.

Given two lists: a dictionary of deposits and withdrawals with timestamps and a daily price of the index fund by date, write a function fund_return to calculate the total profit gained from investing in the index from the start to end date. You may only purchase and sell discrete shares of the index fund.

3. What metrics would you use to determine the value of each marketing channel?

Given all the different marketing channels and their respective costs at Mode, a B2B analytics dashboard company, what metrics would you use to evaluate each channel’s value?

4. How do we measure the launch of Robinhood’s fractional shares program?

As a data scientist at Robinhood, how would you measure the success and impact of launching Robinhood’s fractional shares program?

5. What criteria would you use to determine whether Robinhood should roll out push notifications for market openings to all users?

Robinhood experimented with sending push notifications to active users when the market opened. Analyze the experiment results, determine significant metrics, and decide if the company should implement these notifications for all users. Explain your decision.

6. What is the probability that both flips result in the same side when selecting a coin at random?

Suppose we have two coins: fair and biased (³⁄₄ probability of heads). If we randomly select a coin and flip it twice, what is the probability that both flips result in the same side?

7. What is the probability that (D) has one normal and one mutated gene given that (E) appears normal?

Animals (A) and (B) have one normal and mutated gene. (C) and (D) are their offspring and both appear normal. (C) and (D) are parents of (E), who also appears normal. What is the probability that (D) has one normal and one mutated gene?

8. What is the probability that you win 100 dollars in a coin flip game starting with 30 dollars?

You start with 30 dollars and play a coin flip game in which heads win you one dollar and tails lose you one dollar. You continue until you either run out of money or win 100 dollars. What is the probability that you win 100 dollars?

9. How would you build a fraud detection model with a text messaging service for transaction approval?

You work at a bank that wants to build a model to detect fraud. The bank also wants to implement a text messaging service to text customers when the model detects a fraudulent transaction, allowing the customer to approve or deny the transaction with a text response. How would you build this model?

10. How would you design a machine learning system to identify good investors on Robinhood?

Imagine you have access to all of Robinhood’s transaction-level data of all users on the platform. How would you define and identify a “good” investor, and how would you design a machine learning system to find them?

11. Is a logistic model still valid if a key variable has data quality issues?

Assume you have a logistic model heavily weighted on one variable, and that variable has sample data like 50.00, 100.00, 40.00, etc. If there was a data quality issue where an unknown number of values removed the decimal point (e.g., 100.00 turned into 10000), would the model still be valid? Why or why not? How would you fix the model?

Here are some tips on how you can ace your Robinhood data engineer interview:

1. Understand Robinhood’s Customer Intelligence and AI (CIAI) Team: Familiarize yourself with the team’s work, especially around customer behavior analytics and AI implementations. This will help you provide relevant answers during the interview.

2. Prepare Thoroughly for Technical Rounds: Sharpen your skills in data engineering, system design, and algorithms. Use resources like Interview Query to practice potential questions you may encounter.

3. Communication is Vital: Clearly articulate your thoughts and solutions during interviews. Good communication can significantly impact the reception of your technical responses.

What is the average salary for a Data Engineer at Robinhood?

What is the culture like at Robinhood?

Robinhood prides itself on a collaborative, inclusive work environment that values diversity and creativity. The company encourages employees to take initiative, think boldly, and drive change. It’s a mission-driven culture focused on democratizing finance for all.

What skills can I expect to develop in this role?

As a Data Engineer at Robinhood, you will hone your skills in systems engineering, data management, collaboration, and strategic project ownership. You’ll gain exposure to large-scale data operations, AI integration, and customer insights research, providing a well-rounded experience in both technical and business strategy.

Robinhood is a dynamic and inclusive workplace dedicated to democratizing finance for all. The interview process, while rigorous, is designed to be thorough and supportive, ensuring candidates have ample opportunity to showcase their skills and fit within the company culture.

If you want more insights about the company, check out our main Robinhood Interview Guide, where we have covered many interview questions that could be asked. We’ve also created interview guides for other roles.

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

Good luck with your interview!