Dataford
Top 42
Company roadmap
Updated weekly · Last refresh Aug 30

Substack Interview Questions

The questions to prepare for Substack interviews, across all roles. Questions from real interview reports rank first. Updated weekly.

42questions
~6htotal time
Track your progressSign up free to work through all 42 questions and resume where you left off.
Start practicing free →
1
CodingStart here. 5 questions · ~43 min
Key-Value Store ImplementationMedium
Practice

Implement Substack's in-memory key value store with separate chaining for average O(1) updates, lookups, and deletes.

Data StructuresSubstack
More Coding questions with a free account
2
Metrics4 questions · ~34 min
Choose Metrics for Feature SuccessMedium

Define a metric framework for evaluating a new feature, from immediate adoption signals to long-term retention impact.

Funnel AnalysisKPIsLeading IndicatorsSubstack
Measure Financial Success of FeaturesEasy

Choose metrics that show whether a feature creates incremental profit, not just usage.

KPIsLeading IndicatorsDiagnosisSubstack
More Metrics questions with a free account
3
System Design7 questions · ~60 min
Email Throughput vs Real-TimeHard
Recently asked

Evaluates system design trade-offs for throughput, latency, and reliability.

Trade-offsdata processingSubstack
More System Design questions with a free account
4
Product Sense6 questions · ~51 min
Designing for Power and CasualMedium

Assesses your ability to balance usability, complexity, and personalization for different reader segments.

user experienceSubstack
More Product Sense questions with a free account
5
Behavioral & Leadership16 questions · ~137 min
More Behavioral & Leadership questions with a free account
6
More topics4 questions · ~34 min
Prioritize Competing Team ProjectsMedium

Decide how to prioritize competing engineering projects when stakeholders, dependencies, and capacity all conflict.

Trade-offsRoadmappingPrioritizationSubstack
SQL for Subscription TransitionsMedium
Recently asked

Tests ability to model subscription state transitions and data integrity in SQL.

sqlSubstack
Biggest Threat CompetitorMedium

Evaluates competitive thinking and strategic reasoning for Substack's market position.

market positioningCompetitive AnalysisSubstack
More questions with a free account

Sign up to see every question

Create a free account to unlock this list and practice real interview questions.

Get my prep plan
Hands-on SQL practiceWrite and run real queries in the editor. 3 drills · ~30 min
Top 5% Users by EngagementMedium
Practice
Practice drill

Use a CTE and window function to identify The's top 5% of users by engagement score for the last quarter.

sqluser engagementThe
Second Attempt Score Per UserMedium
Practice
Practice drill

Use ROW_NUMBER to return each student's second score on a specified Khan Academy exercise.

Data Analysissqluser engagementKhan Academy
Identify Funnel Bottlenecks in OnboardingMedium
Practice
Practice drill

Use joins, CTEs, and aggregations to find the weakest step in an onboarding funnel and estimate lost conversions.

Funnel AnalysissqlDiagnosisAtlassianRevolut
The finish line: interview-readyComplete all 42 questions plus 3 hands-on drills to finish this plan.