DataRobot Interview Guide: Ace Your Engineering Interview and Land Your Dream Job

In this article, we'll take you through the DataRobot interview process, including what they’re looking for, current positions, job requirements, and interview questions. So without further ado, let's jump straight into it - but first...

Who is DataRobot?

DataRobot is a leader in value-driven AI. The company is all about enhancing all aspects of a business through AI.

DataRobot helps large companies worldwide join the Intelligence Revolution through its trusted AI services and technology. The company takes complex structures like machine learning models and makes them accessible to everyone. This makes it easy for businesses to use, manage, and build machine learning models.

DataRobot makes AI and machine learning achievable for any business, regardless of size. They’re on a mission to make AI a reality, helping businesses improve how they operate, grow, and optimize their businesses.

DataRobot Interview Process

The process might look slightly different from role to role; experienced roles might require more interviews. DataRobot interviews tend to range from two to five. For example, the following is for the data scientist interview process.

1. Applying on the DataRobot careers page.
2. First interview: (phone or in-person) with the recruiter to discuss your experience, background, and the position.
3. Second interview: You’ll go more in-depth about things on your resume, particularly your experience and where it’s led you.
4. Third interview: Here, you’ll dive into more technical requirements and your experience working with programs, machine learning, AI, analytics, etc. Expect some on-the-spot technical questions from the CTO or analytics team.
5. Technical assignment: If the interviewer likes what they hear, you must do an at-home assignment showing off some of your technical skills. You may also be asked to present your work to your future team and hiring manager.

If all goes well, you may receive a response that you've gone through to the next interview to discuss an offer and salary.

DataRobot Interview Questions

The interview questions vary based on the job role. For a software engineering / data science interview, you can expect interview questions that cover the following topics:

• Python
• A/B testing
• Analytics
• Algorithms
• SQL
• Statistics
• Product metrics
• Machine learning

After your interview experience, you may also be required to do a task at home and present it to someone from the team, like the manager and future team members.

Some example interview questions:

• Walk me through your resume.
• What experience do you have working with Python?
• Why are you interested in the role?
• How would you define AI?
• Provide a few types of machine learning.
• What is the difference between strong and weak AI?
• What is your preferred leadership style?
• What is your greatest career achievement?
• Do you believe AI is the way of the future?
• What data science experience do you have?

These are just some of the roles that make up over 1,000 employees.

What is DataRobot Looking For?

Looking at the job requirements for a senior software engineer, DataRobot is looking for the following:

• Five or more years as a software developer.
• Networking understanding.
• Ability to lead and plan projects from the start to the finish while providing design decisions and how you’ve come to them.
• Understanding of fundamentals in computer science.
• Basic knowledge of algorithms and time complexity.
• Ability to write functional tests and quality integrations.
• Excellent Python skills.
• Fantastic communication skills that enable you to work well in a team and share knowledge.

Here’s what you should have experience in:

• Docker
• AWS/GCP/Azure
• DevOps fundamentals and scripting
• Jenkins (building CD/CI pipelines

The benefits of working for the DataRobot team are extensive because they only hire the best candidates. Getting in can be tough, but once you’re in, you can be sure you’re well taken care of.

Their benefits include:

• Flexible time off program
• Mental, vision, and dental insurance
• Paid holidays
• Extensive opportunity to grow your knowledge and upskill
• Company outings

How to Prepare for a Job Interview at DataRobot

1. Do Your Homework

You can’t go into an interview empty-handed. Be sure to do your due diligence and learn as much as possible about the company and its values.

It’s important because the interviewer will likely ask why you’re a good match for the company and what you think of its current business direction.

We recommend looking through the company website to gain insight into how they do things and what they find important.

2. Practice Situational Questions

The best way to answer a "situational experience question" (e.g. "Tell me about a time you experienced a workplace dispute and how you resolved the problem") examples is to stick with the STAR method:

• Situation: Set the scene
• Task: Describe your role in the situation.
• Action: Explain what you did in the situation.
• Result: Share how your involvement affected the result.

3. Prepare Your Personal Elevator Pitch

The interviews at DataRobot look to be around 30-45 minutes each. That doesn’t leave much time for you to talk about yourself.

We highly recommend going in with a two-minute pitch for yourself that provides your:

• Education
• Background
• One or two projects you’re proud of
• A fun fact (if it feels appropriate)

Wrap Up

The most important thing to remember for your DataRobot interview is to be yourself. The company is looking for a genuine human with a passion for all things AI and machine learning. We hope our guide helps you find your dream role. Now, go get those answers ready and good luck!

If instead you'd like to land a job with a shorter work week, check our out engineering jobs with a better work-life balance.