Dataiku software engineer candidates report a recruiter screen, a technical conversation, a long production-style take-home, and final interviews with VPs or managers. The take-home is consistently described as the main hurdle.
$128K
Avg. Base Comp
$145K
Avg. Total Comp
3-5 rounds
Typical Rounds
Not reported
Process Length
Candidates describe the Dataiku software engineering process as built around one thing: the take-home assignment. Most accounts begin with a recruiter or HR call, then a conversation with a manager, engineer or team member. Reported content for that conversation includes a product demo, a logical problem and, in one case, a systems design question about sorting a billion-line file. That question rewards thinking about memory limits, I/O patterns and practical trade-offs rather than only algorithm complexity.
The take-home is where reports diverge most. Time estimates range from 5-10 hours to about 15 hours, and one candidate spent more than the estimate. Several candidates say the assignment expected production-ready work: a backend, CLI and frontend, plus deployment automation, tests, logging, no compiler warnings and a functional UI. One candidate was told the test was being phased out. Others said the evaluation criteria were unclear, and two described shortest-path or algorithm performance being weighted heavily. Ask upfront how the submission will be judged.
After the take-home, candidates report interviews that revisit the submission. Two accounts describe back-to-back conversations with two VPs, covering the submission, a company presentation and demo, and team fit. One AI/ML candidate instead had a one-hour technical and behavioral round with managers. That round covered the candidate's approach and decisions, plus data structures, complexity and basic ML questions.
Outcomes were mixed. Some candidates received offers and others did not. A couple of rejected candidates said the grading criteria felt opaque or that follow-up went quiet. Prepare to defend trade-offs verbally, keep notes on blockers, and pick one area to make exceptional.
Synthesized from 9 candidate reports by our editorial team.
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Explaining optimizations needed to sort a 100GB file with 10GB RAM
| Question | |
|---|---|
| Why Do You Want to Work With Us | |
| 2nd Highest Salary | |
| Empty Neighborhoods | |
| Top Three Salaries | |
| Merge Sorted Lists | |
| Closest SAT Scores | |
| Subscription Overlap | |
| Monthly Customer Report | |
| Raining in Seattle | |
| Random SQL Sample | |
| Bagging vs Boosting | |
| String Shift | |
| Job Recommendation | |
| Minimum Change | |
| Rolling Bank Transactions | |
| Top 3 Users | |
| Customer Orders | |
| Scrambled Tickets | |
| Comments Histogram | |
| Find the First Non-Repeating Character in a String | |
| The Brackets Problem | |
| P-value to a Layman | |
| First Touch Attribution | |
| Flight Records | |
| Level Of Rain Water In 2D Terrain | |
| Size of Joins | |
| Prime to N | |
| Download Facts | |
| Upsell Transactions |
Synthesized from candidate reports. Individual experiences may vary.
Candidates report an initial recruiter or HR call. One account describes it as relaxed and about 30 minutes long. It typically covers your background and your motivation for joining Dataiku, and it may set expectations for the later stages.
Candidates report a conversation with a manager, engineer or team member, lasting about an hour in one account. Reported content includes a product demo, a logical problem, basic questions, or a design question about sorting a billion-line file. Expect a mix of background and fundamentals.
Candidates report a long take-home, estimated at roughly 5-15 hours, with some spending more. Reports describe backend, CLI and frontend work, shortest-path algorithms, tests, logging, deployment and polish. Criteria were reportedly unclear, so clarify them upfront and document your decisions.
Candidates report final rounds in which interviewers revisit the submission, discuss your approach and decisions, and assess team fit. Two accounts mention back-to-back interviews with two VPs, including a company presentation and demo. Another describes a one-hour round with managers. Keep your trade-offs ready to explain.
