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Prep plan
Updated weekly · Last refresh Oct 17

Blackstraw.ai Data Engineer Interview Questions

The questions to prepare for a Blackstraw.ai Data Engineer interview. Questions from real interview reports rank first. Updated daily.

15questions
~2htotal time
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1
PipelinesStart here. 5 questions · ~40 min
Batch vs Streaming Data ProcessingEasy

Compare batch and streaming data processing, including when each fits best in a pipeline.

Stream ProcessingETLBatch ProcessingBlackstraw.ai
Spark Memory and TuningHard

Tests ability to tune Spark execution through configuration, caching, and memory management.

memory managementPerformance TuningsparkBlackstraw.ai
PySpark Repartition vs CoalesceMedium

Tests understanding of Spark partitioning behavior and how it impacts shuffle and performance.

pysparkdata processingperformanceBlackstraw.ai
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2
SQL & Data Manipulation9 questions + 3 drills · ~102 min
Explain SQL JoinsEasy

Assesses your understanding of join semantics and when to use different join types.

JoinssqlBlackstraw.ai
SCD Types and ExamplesMedium

Tests dimensional modeling knowledge and correct selection of SCD strategies for changing attributes.

slowly changing dimensionssqlData ModelingBlackstraw.ai
Hive vs HBase vs RelationalMedium

Tests understanding of storage and query architectures across big data and relational systems.

databasesBlackstraw.ai
SQL and Spark with HiveMedium

Evaluates your ability to work across SQL, PySpark, and Hive for data engineering tasks.

sqlsparkBlackstraw.ai
Project Overview with SQL and PySparkMedium
Practice
Practice drill

Identify department maximum salaries, rank ties, and count assigned projects using PostgreSQL joins and window functions.

pysparkdata processingJoinsIBM
ETL, Data Cleaning, and SQLMedium
Practice
Practice drill

Clean staged customer events and return valid records with invalid-row reasons using joins and CASE logic.

data cleaningJoinsETLSnowflake Computing
Optimizing Poorly Performing SQLHard
Practice
Practice drill

Optimize a PostgreSQL reporting query by reducing scanned rows, preserving unmatched records, and selecting the latest related review efficiently.

database optimizationlarge datasetsperformancePPriority Technology Holdings, LLCZillowOne
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3
More topics1 question · ~8 min
Working Across SQL, Python, and SparkMedium

Assesses your practical experience delivering end to end data pipelines in production-like environments.

experienceToolsBlackstraw.ai
The finish line: interview-readyComplete all 15 questions plus 3 hands-on drills to finish this plan.