Got call from Google HR team to discuss regarding the job opportunity and interview rounds.

Note: I may not be able to disclose the exact questions due to the agreement signed.

✅ Round 1: DSA & SQL Round (Eliminatory)

SQL Questions: Medium to hard level difficulty

- Window functions

- Joins

- Aggregations

- GROUP BY, HAVING

Python Questions: Medium level

- Focused on writing optimized solutions.

DSA Topics to Focus For DE Roles:

- Arrays

- Strings

- Searching & Sorting

- Recursion

- Hashing

- Dynamic Programming

- Stack & Queue

Scenario-Based Questions:

- Troubleshooting data pipeline failures in different scenarios.

✅ Round 2: System Design (Role-Specific to YouTube Team)

Given: Tables and the final expected output.

Task: Design the entire data pipeline architecture.

- Identify and define staging tables.

- Design table schemas.

- Plan dashboard creation and reporting.

Cross-Questioning Areas:

- Pipeline behavior under various scenarios and edge cases.

- Required changes based on design flaws or missed cases.

- Emphasis on thinking out loud and exploring multiple possibilities.

Important:

Always highlight best practices in system design:

- Scalability

- Modularity

- Fault-tolerance

- Maintainability

- Data consistency

✅ Round 3: Technical & Googleyness Round

Discussion Areas:

- Past projects and experience.

Deep dive into:

- Pipeline architecture

- Tech stack used

- Volume of data handled

- Data warehousing strategy

Cross-Questions:

- Handling of pipeline scenarios:

- Monitoring

- Alerting

- Failure resolution

Additional Topics:

- Dashboarding use cases and application.

- Understanding of data KPIs and their business impact.

Googleyness Traits Evaluated:

- Collaboration

- Innovation

- Leadership

- Adaptability

- Alignment with Google’s culture and values

Then HR discussions were there regarding package, project and the team. Overall it took 1.5 months for the interview process to complete; from getting the call to getting the final Offer Letter.