ZS Associates Associate Platform Engineer interview questions

The interview had two rounds. The technical round started with an introduction and a detailed discussion on the candidate's internship, challenges faced, and solutions. Candidates rated themselves in SQL and Python, followed by advanced SQL questions on lead, lag, coalesce, window functions like rank/dense_rank, guesstimates (e.g., estimating cabs in a city, food wastage), ETL vs. ELT, data pipelines, sharding, data architecture, virtual cloud networks, and ingestion concepts. Python topics like list vs. tuple, deep vs. shallow copy, data frames, and Power BI data types were also covered.SQL Coding questions included finding the third-highest salary per department and handling ties.Advanced SQL coding questions & Data engineering core concepts were also asked. The second round (EBI) focused on internship relevance, leadership scenarios like overcoming bias/groupism, and corporate parallels. Puzzles included the hourglass problem and dividing a cuboidal cake into two equal parts. The process tested technical skills, problem-solving, adaptability, and workplace readiness.