Steampunk is a forward-thinking federal contracting firm dedicated to innovative solutions within the Homeland, Federal Civilian, Health, and DoD sectors. As an employee-owned company, Steampunk emphasizes human-centered delivery to tackle mission-critical challenges, rewarding employees for their impactful contributions.

The Senior Data Scientist position at Steampunk focuses on advanced AI and ML techniques to extract, analyze, and interpret large and unstructured datasets. Key responsibilities include developing predictive models, enhancing data operational effectiveness, and supporting AI-driven business solutions. Ideal candidates will demonstrate expertise in statistical modeling, data visualization, and handling complex technical challenges. Join Steampunk to drive data-informed decisions and shape the future of federal data exploitation. If you’re ready to take on this challenge, Interview Query provides resources to help you prepare for the interview process.

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 Senior Data Scientist. Whether you were contacted by a Steampunk.Com 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 Steampunk.Com's 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, a Steampunk.Com hiring manager may join 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 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.Com Data Scientist role is usually conducted virtually, including video conference and screen sharing. Questions in this 1-hour long interview stage may revolve around Steampunk’s data systems, data integration, statistical analysis, AI/ML models, and SQL queries.

In the case of data scientist 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 Steampunk.Com 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 Data Scientist role at Steampunk.Com.

Quick Tips For Steampunk.Com Senior Data Scientist Interviews

• Be Well-Versed in AI/ML Technologies: Steampunk emphasizes innovation using AI/ML models. Ensure that you are well-prepared in developing, validating, and deploying AI/ML models and have experience with NLP and unstructured data.

• Master Data Integration and Visualization: Be proficient at executing data integration and visualization tasks using tools like Power BI, Tableau, and Qlik. Highlight your ability to extract actionable intelligence from extensive datasets and present it comprehensively.

• Understand Cloud and Agile Methodologies: Steampunk values experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP) and Agile and DevSecOps environments. Brushing up on these areas will help you stand out in the interview process.

Typically, interviews at Steampunk.Com vary by role and team, but commonly Data Scientist 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 in simple terms to a non-technical person, focusing on its role in determining the significance of results in experiments or studies.

• 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' or 'T' representing the outcomes of the coin tosses.

• How much do you expect to pay for a sports game ticket considering the risk of a scalped ticket not working? Calculate the expected cost of attending the game by considering the probability of the scalped ticket not working and the cost of buying a box office ticket if needed.

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

• How do you calculate the average lifetime value for a SAAS company with given churn and subscription data? Given a SAAS company with a $100 monthly subscription, 10% monthly churn, and an average customer lifespan of 3.5 months, calculate the formula for 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 product? What metrics would you use to evaluate the success of your feature improvements?

• 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 an analysis of 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 or not. A palindrome 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 a 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? How would you evaluate its performance before and after deployment?

• What is LDA (Linear Discriminant Analysis) 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 Scientist at Steampunk.Com?

Q: What does a Senior Data Scientist at Steampunk do?

A: A Senior Data Scientist at Steampunk develops and supports AI/ML models, conducts advanced data analysis to identify patterns and trends, and creates innovative data-driven business solutions. They also manage big data sets, design data models, and employ modern tools and methodologies to tackle complex technical challenges.

Q: What qualifications are required for the Senior Data Scientist position?

A: Required qualifications include 4+ years of experience in AI/ML model development, proficiency in programming languages such as Python or R, 2+ years of experience with unstructured data processing, and data visualization tools like Power BI or Tableau. A Bachelor's Degree in Data Science or a related field is essential, and an advanced degree is desirable.

Q: What is the interview process like at Steampunk for a Data Scientist position?

A: The interview process typically involves an initial screening, followed by technical interviews to assess your expertise in AI/ML, data analysis, and statistical modeling. Candidates may also be required to participate in case studies or practical tests to demonstrate their problem-solving abilities.

Q: What does Steampunk’s company culture emphasize?

A: Steampunk emphasizes human-centered delivery and shared accountability in solving clients' challenges. As an employee-owned company, it focuses on investing in its employees, fostering a collaborative environment, and rewarding outstanding contributions. Steampunk’s culture values creativity, teamwork, and innovation.

Q: How can I prepare for an interview at Steampunk as a Data Scientist?

A: To prepare, research the company's projects and methodologies, review common interview questions on Interview Query, and brush up on your technical skills in AI/ML and data analysis. Practice discussing your past experiences and how they align with the role you’re applying for.

If you want more insights about the company, check out our main Steampunk.Com 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 Steampunk.Com’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 Steampunk.Com Data Scientist 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!