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Prep plan
Updated weekly · Last refresh Aug 30

McKinsey & Data Engineer Interview Questions

The questions to prepare for a McKinsey & Data Engineer interview. Questions from real interview reports rank first. Updated weekly.

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1
PipelinesStart here. 12 questions · ~120 min
PySpark map vs flatMapEasy
Recently asked

Explain when to use PySpark map versus flatMap, with examples that show one-to-one and one-to-many transformations.

transformationsData WranglingsparkMcKinsey &
Data Quality and Schema EvolutionMedium
Recently asked

Approach for handling schema changes and data quality checks in a high-volume data lake pipeline.

schema evolutionData ModelingQualityMcKinsey &
Optimize Skewed PySpark JoinMedium
Recently asked

Optimize a PySpark join when one DataFrame is much smaller, focusing on join strategy, shuffle reduction, and practical Spark tuning.

JoinsperformancesparkMcKinsey &
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2
Behavioral & Leadership7 questions · ~70 min
Persuading a Resistant Senior StakeholderMedium
Recently asked

Tests influence without authority in a high-stakes disagreement with a senior stakeholder, including communication, conflict handling, and outcome ownership.

Influence Without AuthorityStakeholder ManagementCommunicationMcKinsey &
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3
More topics4 questions · ~40 min
Customer Transaction Running TotalsEasy
Practice
Recently asked

Calculate each customer's cumulative transaction amount over time using a CTE and window function.

Window FunctionsDate FunctionsRunning TotalsMcKinsey &
First Non-Repeating CharacterEasy
Practice
Recently asked

Find the first character in a string that appears exactly once using a hash table in linear time.

Hash Tablestime complexityStringsMcKinsey &
Flatten Deeply Nested JSONMedium
Practice
Recently asked

Use recursive traversal to flatten nested JSON objects and arrays into path-based key-value pairs.

Recursionjson parsingData WranglingMcKinsey &
Optimizing Complex SQL JoinsHard
Recently asked

Tests your query tuning approach for performance and correctness on partitioned datasets.

JoinsperformanceAggregationsMcKinsey &

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Hands-on SQL practiceWrite and run real queries in the editor. 2 drills · ~20 min
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