Steampunk is a forward-thinking enterprise in the Federal contracting industry, bringing innovative solutions to clients in the Homeland, Federal Civilian, Health, and DoD sectors. Known for its Human-Centered delivery methodology and as an employee-owned company, Steampunk invests in its employees, enabling them to excel and rewarding them for their contributions.

The Data Analyst position at Steampunk is pivotal, focusing on architecting and developing data models, warehouses, governance, services, and pipelines. As a Data Analyst, you will work on complex data problems using cloud-based solutions like AWS and Azure, and employ modern data platforms, maintaining high standards for data quality and user experience. To excel in this role, expertise in data modeling, cloud technologies, and effective communication is crucial.

Explore this Interview Query guide to prepare for your application and step into a fulfilling career at Steampunk!

Submitting Your Application

The first step is to submit a compelling application that reflects your technical skills and interest in joining Steampunk.Com as a Data Analyst. Whether you were contacted by a Steampunk 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 is shortlisted, a recruiter from the Steampunk Talent Acquisition Team will make contact and verify key details such as your experiences and skill level. Behavioral questions may also be a part of the screening process.

In some cases, the Steampunk data analyst hiring manager might be present during the screening round to answer your queries about the role and the company itself. They may also engage in initial technical and behavioral discussions.

The recruiter call typically lasts 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 Steampunk Data Analyst role is usually conducted through virtual means, including video conference and screen sharing. Questions in this 1-hour long interview stage may revolve around Steampunk’s data systems, ETL pipelines, and SQL queries.

In the case of data analyst roles, take-home assignments regarding product metrics, analytics, and data visualization are incorporated. Apart from these, your proficiency in 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-world scenarios may also be assigned.

Onsite Interview Rounds

Following 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. Your technical prowess, including programming and data modeling capabilities, will be evaluated against other finalists throughout these interviews.

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

Quick Tips For Steampunk Data Analyst Interviews

• Familiarize Yourself with Steampunk’s Industry: Understanding the Federal contracting industry and the unique challenges of Homeland, Federal Civilian, Health, and DoD sectors can give you an edge. Familiarize yourself with their Human-Centered delivery methodology.

• Data Proficiency: Ensure you are adept at data modeling, data understanding, and have experience with cloud technologies, particularly AWS.

• Excellent Communication Skills: You'll need to articulate your thoughts clearly both verbally and in written form. Practice explaining technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders effectively.

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

• How would you explain what a p-value is to someone who is not technical? Explain a p-value as a measure of how likely it is that an observed result occurred by chance. A lower p-value indicates that the result is less likely due to random chance.

• Write a function to simulate coin tosses with a given probability of heads. Create a function that takes the number of tosses and the probability of heads as inputs. The function should return a list of 'H' for heads and 'T' for tails, based on the given probability.

• How much do you expect to pay for a sports game ticket, considering a 20% chance of a scalped ticket not working? Calculate the expected cost by considering the probability of the scalped ticket working and the additional cost if it doesn't. Determine how much money to set aside for the game based on this expected cost.

• What is the probability of drawing three cards in increasing order from a shuffled deck of 500 cards? Calculate the probability that each subsequent card drawn from a shuffled deck of 500 cards is larger than the previous one.

• How do you calculate the average lifetime value for a SAAS company with given metrics? Given a product cost of $100 per month, a 10% monthly churn rate, and an average customer lifespan of 3.5 months, derive the formula to calculate the average lifetime value.

• 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 the value of each marketing channel?

• What would you do if friend requests are down 10% on Facebook? A product manager at Facebook informs you that friend requests have decreased by 10%. What steps would you take to address this issue?

• How would you improve Google Maps and measure the success of your improvements? As the PM on Google Maps, how would you improve the application? What metrics would you check to determine if your feature improvements are successful?

• How do you calculate the average lifetime value for a SAAS company? For a SAAS company with a product costing $100 per month, a 10% monthly churn rate, and an average customer lifespan of 3.5 months, how would you calculate the average lifetime value?

• How would you analyze the churn behavior of Netflix users on different pricing plans? Netflix has two pricing plans: $15/month or $100/year. An executive wants you to analyze the churn behavior of users on these plans. What metrics, graphs, or models would you use to provide an overarching view of subscription performance?

• Write a Python program to check if each string in a list has all the same characters. Given a list of strings, write a Python program to check whether each string has all the same characters or not. Determine the complexity of this program.

• Write a function to determine if a string is a palindrome. Given a string, write a function to determine if it is a palindrome — a word that reads the same forwards and backwards.

• Create a function to simulate coin tosses based on a given probability of heads. Write a function that takes the number of tosses and the probability of heads as input and returns a list of randomly generated results representing the outcomes of the coin tosses.

• Develop a function to perform bootstrap sampling and calculate a confidence interval. Given an array of numerical values, bootstrap samples, and size for a confidence interval, write a function to perform bootstrap sampling and calculate the confidence interval.

• Write a program to determine the term frequency (TF) values for each term in a document. Given a text document in the form of a string, write a program in Python to determine the term frequency (TF) values for each term in the document. Round the term frequency to 2 decimal points.

• What metrics would you use to track accuracy and validity of a spam classifier model? Assume you have built a V1 of a spam classifier for emails. What metrics would you use to track the model's accuracy and validity?

• 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? If you proceed with it, how would you evaluate its performance before and after deployment?

• What is Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) in machine learning and its use cases? Explain the concept of Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) in machine learning. What are some practical use cases for LDA?

• How would you collect and aggregate unstructured video data for an ETL pipeline? You are designing an ETL pipeline for a model that uses videos as input. How would you collect and aggregate multimedia information, specifically unstructured data from videos?

• How would you determine which search engine performed better and which metrics to track? You are working on building a better search engine for Google. After building it, how would you determine if it serves better results than the existing one in production? Which metrics would you track?

What is the average salary for a Data Analyst at Steampunk.Com?

Q: What is the primary role of a Data Analyst at Steampunk? A: As a Data Analyst at Steampunk, you will work with our team and clients to architect and develop data models, data warehouses, lakes, and lakehouses. You will be deeply involved in data governance, services, and pipelines, focusing on addressing complex data challenges and improving data-driven decisions.

Q: What qualifications are required for the Data Analyst position at Steampunk? A: The position requires a Bachelor's degree in computer science, information systems, engineering, business, or a related technical discipline. Additionally, you should have 6+ years of experience in data modeling, data warehouse design, and working with database solutions in the cloud (preferably AWS). Familiarity with Agile methodologies and strong communication skills are also essential.

Q: What kind of projects will I work on as a Data Analyst at Steampunk? A: As a Data Analyst, you will work on high-impact projects involving the migration of data environments, assessing and documenting data sources, and designing storage solutions for structured and unstructured data. You will also contribute to data science pipelines and collaborate with software and data science teams.

Q: What is the company culture like at Steampunk? A: Steampunk is an employee-owned company that focuses on investing in and rewarding its employees. Our Human-Centered delivery methodology fosters a collaborative environment where we work together to solve our clients’ toughest mission challenges. We value creativity, innovation, and shared accountability.

Q: How can I prepare for an interview at Steampunk for the Data Analyst position? A: To prepare for the interview, you should review your experience with data modeling, data warehouses, and cloud technologies like AWS or Azure. Familiarize yourself with large-scale data migration projects and tools. Practicing common interview questions on platforms like Interview Query can also help you refine your answers and improve your confidence.

If you're excited about harnessing the power of data to drive mission successes and business goals within a dynamic and supportive environment, Steampunk is the place for you. To thoroughly prepare for your interview, check out our main Steampunk Interview Guide, where we cover numerous interview questions that may arise. We’ve also developed interview guides for various roles, including software engineer and data analyst, which delve deeper into Steampunk’s interview process for different positions.

At Interview Query, we are committed to empowering you with a comprehensive toolkit that provides the knowledge, confidence, and strategic guidance needed to excel in your interview with Steampunk.

Explore our extensive company interview guides for additional preparation. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us.

Good luck with your interview!