What is a Data Scientist at Garmin?

As a Data Scientist at Garmin, you are stepping into a role that directly influences the functionality and innovation of world-renowned GPS, fitness, and health technologies. Garmin is a uniquely data-rich environment. From millions of users syncing their daily smartwatch health metrics to complex aviation and marine navigation systems, the sheer volume and variety of time-series and spatial data are immense.

In this position, your impact spans across product lines. You will help extract actionable insights from user behavior, refine algorithms that calculate fitness metrics (like Body Battery or VO2 Max), and build predictive models that enhance user safety and performance. The business relies on its Data Science teams to turn raw sensor data into the premium, reliable features that define the Garmin brand.

This role requires a blend of rigorous statistical knowledge, practical coding skills, and a strong product sense. You will not just be building models in isolation; you will be collaborating with software engineers, product managers, and hardware teams to ensure your data solutions are scalable and directly benefit the end-user. Expect a challenging but highly rewarding environment where your work is worn, driven, and flown by millions globally.

Common Interview Questions

The questions below are representative of what candidates face during the Garmin interview process. While you should not memorize answers, use these to identify patterns in how Garmin tests technical fluency and project experience.

Python and SQL Assessment

These questions are typically part of the initial writing test. They assess your baseline ability to manipulate data and write clean, bug-free code.

• Write a Python function that takes a list of integers and returns the two numbers that sum to a specific target value.
• Given a table of user activity logs, write a SQL query to find the top 3 most frequently used features in the last 30 days.
• Write a SQL query to calculate the rolling 7-day average of active users.
• Using Pandas, how would you merge two dataframes and fill any resulting missing values with the column mean?
• Write a Python script to extract specific text patterns from a messy log file using regular expressions.

Machine Learning Foundations

This category tests your theoretical knowledge and your ability to apply the right statistical methods to Garmin's specific data challenges.

• What is the difference between Precision and Recall, and in what scenario would you optimize for Recall?
• Explain the concept of stationarity in time-series analysis. Why is it important?
• How do you evaluate the performance of a forecasting model?
• Describe how you would handle a highly imbalanced dataset when training a classification model.
• What are the trade-offs between using a Random Forest versus a Gradient Boosting Machine?

Experience and Behavioral

These questions dominate the team interview stage. Interviewers are looking for deep reflections on your past work and your ability to communicate complex ideas.

• Walk us through a recent data science project you led from conception to deployment.
• Tell me about a time you had to explain a complex machine learning concept to a non-technical stakeholder.
• Describe a situation where your data was messy or incomplete. How did you handle it?
• What is a technical mistake you made in a past project, and what did you learn from it?
• Why are you interested in joining Garmin, and what product line excites you the most?

Getting Ready for Your Interviews

Preparing for the Data Scientist interview at Garmin means understanding that they value practical application over theoretical perfection. Your interviewers want to see how you handle real-world data constraints and how effectively you can communicate your past successes.

Focus your preparation on these key evaluation criteria:

Technical Fluency – You must demonstrate a solid command of Python and SQL. Interviewers will look at your ability to write clean, efficient code to manipulate data and extract insights. You can show strength here by quickly identifying edge cases and explaining your logic as you write.

Machine Learning & Statistical Foundations – Garmin deals heavily with continuous sensor data. You will be evaluated on your understanding of core machine learning concepts, particularly time-series analysis and evaluation metrics. Strong candidates will be able to explain not just how to build a model, but why a specific metric is the right choice for a given business problem.

Project Impact and Problem Solving – A significant portion of your evaluation will center on your past experiences. Interviewers want to see how you approach and structure ambiguous challenges. Be ready to articulate the business value of your previous projects, the technical hurdles you overcame, and what you would do differently today.

Culture Fit and Collaboration – Garmin values teamwork, clear communication, and a passion for their product ecosystem. You will be assessed on how well you can explain complex data science concepts to non-technical stakeholders and how you integrate feedback from team members.

Interview Process Overview

The interview process for a Data Scientist at Garmin is designed to be straightforward and practical, generally leaning toward an "easy to medium" technical difficulty but requiring a deep, articulate understanding of your own resume. The company emphasizes a hands-on approach to assessing your skills, prioritizing written technical assessments over high-pressure, live-coding whiteboard sessions.

Typically, the process begins with an initial recruiter screen to align on your background, location preferences (such as the Olathe, KS headquarters or international offices like Taiwan), and basic qualifications. Following this, you will face a dedicated Writing Test. This is a core differentiator in Garmin’s process. Instead of live coding, you are given a focused assessment covering Python, SQL, and Machine Learning foundations.

If you pass the technical assessment, you will move on to an interview with team members. This stage is highly conversational and heavily focused on your previous experience. Interviewers will dive deep into the projects listed on your resume, probing your architectural decisions, the evaluation metrics you chose, and the ultimate business impact of your work.

The visual timeline above outlines the typical progression from the initial recruiter screen through the technical writing assessment and into the final team-based behavioral and project deep-dives. Use this to pace your preparation—focus first on sharpening your core Python and SQL skills for the written test, and then transition to refining the narrative around your past projects for the final rounds. Keep in mind that specific stages may vary slightly depending on the seniority of the role and the regional office.

Deep Dive into Evaluation Areas

To succeed in the Garmin interview, you need to understand exactly what the team is looking for across their primary evaluation areas. The technical expectations are grounded in practical, day-to-day data science tasks.

Programming and Data Manipulation (Python & SQL)

This area tests your ability to retrieve, clean, and manipulate data efficiently. Garmin relies on vast databases of user and device data, making SQL and Python essential tools for any Data Scientist. The difficulty here is generally rated as easy to medium, meaning the focus is on accuracy and fundamental understanding rather than obscure algorithmic tricks.

Be ready to go over:

• Basic to Intermediate SQL – Expect questions involving JOINs, GROUP BY, filtering, and basic window functions to aggregate user data over time.
• Python Data Structures – You will need to write functional Python code using lists, dictionaries, and common libraries like Pandas or NumPy to process datasets.
• Data Cleaning – Handling missing values, filtering outliers, and formatting timestamps.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Optimizing slow SQL queries, complex recursive CTEs, or advanced object-oriented programming in Python.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Write a SQL query to find the average daily step count for users who have been active for at least 5 consecutive days."
• "Using Python, write a function to parse a log file of GPS coordinates and calculate the total distance traveled."

Machine Learning Foundations

Because Garmin products continuously track metrics over time, a strong grasp of foundational machine learning—especially time-series analysis—is critical. Interviewers want to ensure you understand how to evaluate models properly and avoid common pitfalls like data leakage.

Be ready to go over:

• Evaluation Metrics – Deep understanding of Precision, Recall, F1-Score, ROC-AUC, RMSE, and MAE. You must know when to use which metric based on the class distribution and business goal.
• Time-Series Analysis – Concepts like seasonality, trend, autocorrelation, and forecasting models (ARIMA, Prophet, or LSTM).
• Model Selection – Discussing the trade-offs between interpretable models (like logistic regression) and complex models (like gradient boosting or neural networks).
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Deployment strategies (A/B testing, shadow deployment), deep learning architectures for sensor data, or anomaly detection in real-time streams.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "If we are building a model to detect irregular heartbeats, which evaluation metric would you prioritize and why?"
• "Explain how you would handle missing data in a continuous time-series dataset from a wearable device."

Experience and Project Deep Dive

Garmin places a heavy emphasis on your past work. The team interview will revolve almost entirely around the projects you choose to highlight. They want to see that you actually drove the outcomes you claim and that you understand the end-to-end lifecycle of a data science project.

Be ready to go over:

• Problem Formulation – How you translated a vague business request into a concrete data science problem.
• Technical Trade-offs – Why you chose a specific algorithm or architecture over another in your past projects.
• Impact and Results – Quantifying the success of your models using clear business metrics (e.g., revenue increased, processing time reduced).
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Handling cross-functional conflicts, managing technical debt in data pipelines, or scaling a prototype into production.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Walk me through the most complex predictive model you’ve built. What were the primary challenges, and how did you measure its success?"
• "Tell me about a time your model's real-world performance did not match your training metrics. How did you investigate and fix it?"

Key Responsibilities

As a Data Scientist at Garmin, your day-to-day work will be a mix of exploratory data analysis, model building, and cross-functional collaboration. You will spend a significant amount of time querying large databases to understand user behavior and device performance. This involves writing complex SQL queries to extract the right features from raw sensor logs, followed by using Python to clean and shape the data.

You will be responsible for developing and refining machine learning models that power core product features. This could range from improving the accuracy of sleep tracking algorithms to building predictive maintenance models for aviation hardware. You will run experiments, validate your models against rigorous evaluation metrics, and ensure they perform reliably across diverse user demographics.

Collaboration is a massive part of the role. You will frequently partner with software and data engineers to deploy your models into production environments. You will also work closely with product managers to define what success looks like for a new feature, translating their business requirements into technical data science tasks. Communicating your findings through clear visualizations and presentations to non-technical stakeholders is a regular expectation.

Role Requirements & Qualifications

To be a competitive candidate for the Data Scientist position at Garmin, you need a solid mix of statistical knowledge, coding proficiency, and domain interest. The role spans multiple levels, from Data Scientist 2 to Senior Data Scientist, so expectations will scale with the seniority of the position you are targeting.

• Must-have skills – Proficiency in Python and SQL. A strong foundation in statistical analysis and machine learning evaluation metrics. Experience working with continuous or time-series data. The ability to clearly articulate past project architectures and business impacts.
• Nice-to-have skills – Experience with big data tools (like Spark or Hadoop). Familiarity with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, or GCP). Background in signal processing or analyzing raw sensor data (accelerometers, GPS). A personal passion for fitness, aviation, or outdoor recreation technology.
• Experience level – For a mid-level role (Data Scientist 2), expect a requirement of 2–4 years of applied industry experience. For a Senior Data Scientist, Garmin typically looks for 5+ years of experience, including a track record of leading end-to-end data initiatives and mentoring junior team members.
• Soft skills – Strong stakeholder management, clear communication, and a collaborative mindset. You must be comfortable navigating ambiguity and iterating on feedback from cross-functional teams.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How difficult is the technical writing test? The technical writing test is generally reported as "easy to medium" by candidates. It focuses on core, practical skills in Python and SQL rather than complex, LeetCode-hard algorithmic puzzles. If you are comfortable with standard data manipulation and basic ML concepts, you should perform well.

Q: What is the typical salary structure at Garmin? Compensation varies significantly by location and seniority. For roles in Olathe, KS, a Data Scientist 2 might see a base range of $91k–$128k, while a Senior Data Scientist ranges from $126k–$162k. In international offices, such as Taiwan, candidates often report a structure based on a 15-to-18-month annual payout model rather than a standard 12-month base plus bonus.

Q: How long does the interview process typically take? The process usually moves efficiently, often concluding within 3 to 5 weeks from the initial recruiter screen to the final team interview. Garmin is generally communicative, but timelines can stretch slightly depending on team availability.

Q: Does Garmin offer remote work for Data Scientists? Garmin has traditionally valued in-person collaboration, especially given their hardware focus. While some hybrid flexibility exists, many roles, particularly those based in Olathe, KS, require a strong on-site presence. Always clarify the specific location expectations with your recruiter early in the process.

Q: What differentiates a successful candidate in the team interview? Successful candidates do not just list the tools they used; they explain why they used them. Being able to clearly articulate the business problem, defend your choice of evaluation metrics, and speak passionately about your project's impact will set you apart from candidates who only focus on the code.

Other General Tips

• Master Your Resume: The team interview will heavily scrutinize your past projects. Be prepared to defend every architectural choice, algorithm, and metric listed on your resume. If you cannot explain it deeply, do not list it.
• Focus on Time-Series: Given Garmin's product ecosystem (wearables, GPS, continuous health tracking), brush up heavily on time-series forecasting, anomaly detection, and handling sequential data.

• Think About the End User: Garmin builds consumer and professional hardware. When answering problem-solving questions, always tie your technical solution back to how it improves the user experience or enhances device reliability.
• Prepare for the Written Format: The technical test is written, not live-coded on a whiteboard. Practice writing clean, well-commented Python and SQL code in a plain text editor without relying on an IDE's autocomplete features.

• Ask Product-Specific Questions: At the end of your interviews, ask insightful questions about specific Garmin products (e.g., "How does the data science team approach optimizing the Body Battery algorithm?"). This demonstrates genuine interest in the company's domain.

Summary & Next Steps

Interviewing for a Data Scientist role at Garmin is a fantastic opportunity to work at the intersection of complex data and tangible, world-class hardware. By focusing your preparation on practical Python and SQL skills, solidifying your understanding of machine learning metrics and time-series analysis, and refining the narrative around your past projects, you will position yourself as a highly competitive candidate.

The salary data above provides a snapshot of the compensation landscape for this role. Use this information to understand the general market positioning for Garmin in the US, keeping in mind that your specific offer will depend heavily on your seniority, location, and performance during the interview process. If you are applying internationally, remember to factor in regional compensation structures.

Approach your interviews with confidence. Garmin is looking for problem-solvers who can translate massive datasets into meaningful product features. Review your fundamentals, practice articulating your past successes, and remember that you can explore even more interview insights and peer experiences on Dataford. You have the skills to succeed—now it is time to showcase them.