Prepare for and practice interview questions from PACCAR across topics like Algorithms, Statistics, SQL and more.

PACCAR Interview Questions

PACCAR Interview Guides

Machine Learning

Interpret coefficients of logistic regression for categorical and boolean variables

Coefficients of Logistic Regression

Lasso vs Ridge

In which case would you use a bagging algorithm versus a boosting algorithm

Bagging vs Boosting

What are some machine learning methods for building this system

FAQ Matching

How to model merchant acquisition in a new market?

Merchant Acquisition

Data Structures & Algorithms

Given an array and a target integer, write a function that returns the indices of two integers in the array that add up to the target integer.

Target Indices

Write a function that tests whether a string of brackets is balanced.

The Brackets Problem

This question requires the implementation of the Fibonacci sequence using three different methods: recursively, iteratively, and using memoization.

Implementing the Fibonacci Sequence in Three Different Methods

Given a string, write a function to determine if it is palindrome or not.

String Palindromes

Compute the product of two matrices A and B when their dimensions are compatible

Matrix Multiplication

Behavioral

Prioritized debt reduction, process improvement, and a focus on maintainability for fintech efficiency

Decreasing Tech Debt

Describing a data project and its challenges

Hurdles In Data Projects

How would you negotiate and resolve disagreements when a client rejects your proposed solution?

Client Solution Pushback

How would you answer when an Interviewer asks why you applied to their company?

Why Do You Want to Work With Us

What do you tell an interviewer when they ask you what your strengths and weaknesses are?

Your Strengths and Weaknesses

Product Sense & Metrics

How would you verify the claim that Facebook is losing young users and what test metrics would you look at

Losing Users

Google Maps Improvement

How would you resolve slow, timing-out keyword searches across multiple database fields?

Search Timeout

Duplicate Rows

How would you design a data warehouse for a e-commerce company looking to expand internationally?

International e-Commerce Warehouse

Count total tickets, tickets with agent assignment, and tickets without agent assignment.

Ticket Agent Analysis

Say you are tasked with designing a data mart or data warehouse for a new online retailer.

How would you design the system?

Note: Sketch a star schema to explain your design.

Design a data warehouse for a new online retailer

Retailer Data Warehouse

Data Modeling

Let’s say we’re comparing two machine learning algorithms. In which case would you use a bagging algorithm versus a boosting algorithm? 

Give an example of the tradeoffs between the two.

In machine learning, when would you use a bagging algorithm over a boosting algorithm?

In machine learning, when would you use a bagging algorithm over a boosting algorithm?

Bagging vs. Boosting

You’re given a string that may contain the characters <code>{</code>, <code>}</code>, <code>[</code>, <code>]</code>, <code>(</code>, and <code>)</code>.

Task: Verify that the string is balanced. A balanced string is one where every opening character, <code>{</code>, <code>[</code>, or <code>(</code>, has a corresponding closing character, <code>}</code>, <code>]</code>, or <code>)</code>.

Write a function called <code>is_balanced(string: str) -&gt; bool</code> which verifies the balance of a string.

Example:

<pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code>is_balanced(&#39;(())[]{}&#39;) -&gt; True
</code></pre>

<pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code>is_balanced(&#39;{([(){}])()}&#39;) -&gt; True
</code></pre>

<pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code>is_balanced(&#39;{}[]())&#39;) -&gt; False
</code></pre>

<hr/>

Tell me about a data project that didn’t go the way you expected. What did you set out to do, what surprised you, and how did you handle it?

Let’s say that you’re the PM on Google Maps.

<ol>
<li>How would you improve Google Maps?</li>

<li>What metrics would you check to see if your feature improvements are successful?</li>
</ol>

Let’s say you are working at Facebook and are asked to investigate the claim that Facebook is losing young users.

<ol>
<li>How would you verify this claim?</li>
<li>What test metrics would you look at?</li>
</ol>

Let’s say you are working at Facebook and are asked to investigate the claim that Facebook is losing young users.

Pick the metric that is the least relevant for your analysis.

Let’s say you are working at Facebook and are asked to investigate the claim that Facebook is losing young users.

Pick the metric that is the least relevant for your analysis.

What do you think the distribution of time spent per day on Facebook looks like? What metrics would you use to describe that distribution?

What metrics would you use to describe the distribution of time spent per day on Facebook

Time on FB Distribution

Statistics

What are the key differences between classification models and regression models?

What is the MOST important difference between regression and classification models?

What is the MOST important difference between regression and classification models?

Classification vs Regression

Explain the key differences between classification models and regression models

Classification and Regression

The support team at your company is trying to analyze ticketing data to improve response times. They have noticed that a significant number of tickets have no assigned agent, making it difficult to track the progress of these tickets.

Write a SQL query to count the total number of tickets, the number of tickets assigned to agents, and the number of tickets that are not assigned to any agent.

Note: Tickets that are not assigned to any agent have <code>NULL</code> in their <code>agent_id</code> field.

Example:

Input:

<code>tickets</code> table

<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Column</th>
<th>Type</th>
</tr>
</thead>

<tbody>
<tr>
<td>id</td>
<td>INTEGER</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>issue</td>
<td>VARCHAR</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>agent_id</td>
<td>INTEGER</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>created_at</td>
<td>TIMESTAMP</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>updated_at</td>
<td>TIMESTAMP</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Output:

<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Column</th>
<th>Type</th>
</tr>
</thead>

<tbody>
<tr>
<td>total_tickets</td>
<td>INTEGER</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>tickets_with_agent</td>
<td>INTEGER</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td>tickets_without_agent</td>
<td>INTEGER</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

Given an array and a target integer, write a function <code>sum_pair_indices</code> that returns the indices of two integers in the array that add up to the target integer. If not found, just return an empty list.

Note: Can you do it on $O(n)$ time?

Note: Even though there could be many solutions, only one needs to be returned.

Example 1:

Input:

<pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code>array = [1 2 3 4] 
target = 5 
</code></pre>

Output:

<pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code>def sum_pair_indices(array, target) -&gt; [0 3] or [1 2]
</code></pre>

Example 2:

Input:

<pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code>array = [3]
target = 6 
</code></pre>

Output:

<pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code>Do NOT return [0 0] as you can&#39;t use an index twice.
</code></pre>

What’s the difference between Lasso and Ridge Regression?

Under what circumstances is it recommended to use Lasso regression over Ridge regression?

Under what circumstances is it recommended to use Lasso regression over Ridge regression?

Given a <code>users</code> table, write a query to return only its duplicate rows.

Example:

Input:

<code>users</code> table

<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Column</th>
<th>Type</th>
</tr>
</thead>

<tbody>
<tr>
<td><code>id</code></td>
<td>INTEGER</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td><code>name</code></td>
<td>VARCHAR</td>
</tr>

<tr>
<td><code>created_at</code></td>
<td>DATETIME</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>

How would you interpret coefficients of logistic regression for categorical and boolean variables?

Why is one-hot encoding recommended for categorical variables in logistic regression models?

Why is one-hot encoding recommended for categorical variables in logistic regression models?

Let’s say that we want to build a chatbot system for frequently asked questions. Whenever a user writes a question, we want to return the closest answer from a list of FAQs.

What are some machine learning methods for building this system?

Let’s say we’re designing a deep learning pipeline to process millions of customer support chat logs, and we want to use a Transformer encoder layer built in PyTorch to extract useful representations for downstream tasks like sentiment classification.

How would you approach building this Transformer encoder layer from scratch—what are the essential components, how would you implement them in PyTorch, and why are elements like residual connections and layer normalization critical for stable and effective training?

How would you build and justify the components of a Transformer encoder layer in PyTorch for large-scale text data?

Transformer Encoder Layer

AI & Agentic Systems

You are given an array of numerical values, bootstrap samples, and size for a confidence interval.

Write a function that performs bootstrap sampling on the given array and calculates the confidence interval based on the given size.

Note: The function should return a tuple containing the minimum and maximum values of the confidence interval rounded to the tenths place.

Example

Input:

<pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code>values = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
</code></pre>

Output

<pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code>bootstrap_conf_interval(values, 1000, 0.95) -&gt; (1.2, 4.8)
</code></pre>

In this case, the function returns a tuple indicating that we are 95% confident that the population parameter lies between 1.2 and 4.8 based on our bootstrap samples.

Note: Results may vary due to the randomness of bootstrap sampling.

Write a function to bootstrap the confidence interface for a list of integers

Bootstrapping Confidence Intervals

The Fibonacci sequence is a series of numbers in which each number is the sum of the two preceding ones, usually starting with 0 and 1. It is often used in algorithm examples, and is defined by the following formula: F(n) = F(n-1) + F(n-2), with F(0) = 0 and F(1) = 1.

Your task is to implement the Fibonacci algorithm in three different methods:
1. Recursively
2. Iteratively
3. Using Memoization

Example 1:

Input:

<pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code>n = 5
</code></pre>

Output:

<pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code>fibonacci(n) -&gt; 5
</code></pre>

Example 2:

Input:

<pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code>n = 10
</code></pre>

Output:

<pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code>fibonacci(n) -&gt; 55
</code></pre>

The Fibonacci sequence starts as follows: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55…

Let’s say we’ve proposed a new analytics dashboard to a client, but after reviewing our design and data sources, the client says the solution doesn’t meet their needs and pushes back on several key features.

How would you approach the conversation to negotiate alternative solutions, and what steps would you take to ensure disagreements are handled constructively so we can still reach a successful outcome?

Given a string, write a function to determine if it is palindrome or not.

Note: A palindrome is a word/string that is read the same way forward as it is backward, e.g. <code>&#39;reviver&#39;</code>, <code>&#39;madam&#39;</code>, <code>&#39;deified&#39;</code> and <code>&#39;civic&#39;</code> are all palindromes, while <code>&#39;tree&#39;</code>, <code>&#39;music&#39;</code> and <code>&#39;person&#39;</code> are not palindromes.

Example:

Input:

<pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code>word1 = &#34;tree&#34;
word2 = &#34;radar&#34;
</code></pre>

Output:

<pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code>def is_palindrome(word1) -&gt; False
def is_palindrome(word2) -&gt; True
</code></pre>

Let’s say we have a search form in our web app where users can enter a keyword like “star”, and the system searches for matches across several different fields in a large database table. Lately, these searches have been timing out when users search for common words.

How would you approach diagnosing and resolving these search timeouts?

Given two matrices <code>A</code> and <code>B</code>, return their product matrix.

Matrix multiplication is defined only if the number of columns in matrix <code>A</code> is equal to the number of rows in matrix <code>B</code>.

You must compute the result without using any built-in matrix multiplication libraries.

<h3>Example 1</h3>

Input

<pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code>A = [[1,2],
 [3,4]]
B = [[5,6],
 [7,8]]
</code></pre>

Output

<pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code>def multiply(A, B) -&gt;
[[19,22],
 [43,50]]
</code></pre>

<h3>Example 2</h3>

Input

<pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code>A = [[1,0,2],
 [-1,3,1]]
B = [[3,1],
 [2,1],
 [1,0]]
</code></pre>

Output

<pre tabindex="0" class="chroma"><code>def multiply(A, B) -&gt;
[[5,1],
 [4,2]]
</code></pre>

<h3>Constraints</h3>

<ul>
<li><code>A</code> - <code>m x n</code> integer matrix</li>
<li><code>B</code> - <code>n x p</code> integer matrix</li>
<li><code>1 &lt;= m, n, p &lt;= 100</code></li>
<li><code>-100 &lt;= A[i][j], B[i][j] &lt;= 100</code></li>
<li><code>The input matrices are always valid for multiplication</code></li>
</ul>

Let’s say you work for an e-commerce company. Vendors can send products to the company’s warehouse to be listed on the website. Users are able to order any in-stock products and submit returns for refunds if they’re not satisfied.

The front end of the website includes a vendor portal that provides sales data in daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly intervals.

The company wants to expand worldwide. They put you in charge of designing its end-to-end architecture, so you need to know what significant factors you’ll need to consider. What clarifying questions would you ask?

What kind of end-to-end architecture would you design for this company (both for ETL and reporting)?

Let’s say we’re launching a new version of the PayPal app, but due to a tight deadline, we don’t have time to run the entire suite of 300 automated test cases before release.

How would you handle this situation?

How would you approach limited testing time before a major app release?

Testing Constraints

A/B Testing

You work as a DevOps engineer for a global SaaS company with services deployed across multiple cloud providers. The team wants to implement a cloud-agnostic CI/CD pipeline that supports safe, zero-downtime deployments for critical microservices. The deployment process should allow for rapid rollback, controlled traffic shifting, and minimal service disruption.

How would you design this CI/CD and deployment system?

Design a cloud-agnostic CI/CD pipeline supporting safe deployments and rollbacks across multiple providers.

Cloud-Agnostic Deployments

DevOps

When an interviewer asks you a question along the lines of:

<ul>
<li>Why did you apply to our company?</li>
<li>What are you looking for in your next job?</li>
<li>What makes you a good fit for our company?</li>
</ul>

How should you respond?

When asked 'What are you looking for in your next job?' in an interview, how can you tie the company's employee benefits into your response?

When asked 'What are you looking for in your next job?' in an interview, how can you tie the company's employee benefits into your response?

Why Do You Want to Work With Us I

How can company values be used effectively in an interview when asked 'What makes you a good fit for our company?'

How can company values be used effectively in an interview when asked 'What makes you a good fit for our company?'

Why Do You Want to Work With Us II

When responding to the question 'Why did you apply to our company?' during an interview, what aspect should you highlight?

When responding to the question 'Why did you apply to our company?' during an interview, what aspect should you highlight?

Why Do You Want to Work With Us III

Suppose that you work at a fintech startup. Recently, management has raised the issue of the increased amount of developer hours needed to implement relatively simple features, citing tech debt as the primary cause. How would you go around decreasing tech debt and decreasing developer turnaround time?

Let’s say that you’re in charge of getting payment data into your internal data warehouse.

How would you build an ETL pipeline to get Stripe payment data into the database so analysts can build revenue dashboards and run analytics?

How would you build an ETL pipeline to ingest Stripe payment data into a warehouse for revenue dashboards and analytics

Payment Data Pipeline

Data Pipelines

How would you explain the concept of linear regression to three different audiences: a child, a first-year college student, and a seasoned mathematician? Ensure your explanations are tailored to the understanding level of each audience.

Describe linear regression to various audiences with different levels of knowledge.

Explaining Linear Regression to Different Audiences

When an interviewer asks a question along the lines of:

<ul>
<li>What would your current manager say about you? What constructive criticisms might he give?</li>
<li>What are your three biggest strengths and weaknesses you have identified in yourself?</li>
</ul>

How would you respond?

When asked about your strengths in an interview, what is an effective way to respond?

When asked about your strengths in an interview, what is an effective way to respond?

Your Strengths and Weaknesses I

Which of the following is an acceptable strategy when discussing weaknesses in an interview?

Which of the following is an acceptable strategy when discussing weaknesses in an interview?

Your Strengths and Weaknesses II

Let’s say that you work for a company like Netflix. Netflix has two pricing plans: $15/month or $100/year.

Let’s say an executive at the company wants you to analyze the churn behavior of users that subscribe to either plan.

What kinds of metrics / graphs / models would you build to help give the executive an over-arching view of how the subscriptions are performing?

Calculate Moving Average	SQL	Easy
Predict Customer Churn	Machine Learning	Medium
A/B Test Significance	Statistics	Medium
Optimize Query Performance	SQL	Hard
Feature Importance Analysis	Machine Learning	Medium
Clean Missing Data	Python	Easy
Neural Network Architecture	Deep Learning	Hard
Calculate Cohort Retention	SQL	Medium
Bayesian Probability	Statistics	Easy
Recommend Similar Products	Machine Learning	Hard

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