Zayo Group is a global leader in communications infrastructure, providing extensive and critical bandwidth across North America and Europe. Known for its innovative solutions and robust network capabilities, Zayo has established itself as a powerhouse in the telecom industry.

Joining Zayo Group as a Data Scientist positions you at the heart of big data and advanced analytics. This role demands proficiency in data mining, machine learning, predictive modeling, and strong analytical capabilities. You will be tasked with deriving actionable insights from vast datasets, helping drive strategic decisions and optimize network performance.

This guide, hosted by Interview Query, will help you navigate through the interview process for the Data Scientist role at Zayo Group. From key technical skills to commonly asked questions, we aim to prepare you thoroughly for your interview journey. Let's dive in!

Submitting Your Application

The first step is to submit a compelling application that reflects your technical skills and interest in joining Zayo Group as a Data Scientist. Whether you were contacted by a Zayo recruiter or have taken the initiative yourself, carefully review the job description and tailor your CV according to the prerequisites.

Tailoring your CV may include identifying specific keywords that the hiring manager might use to filter resumes and crafting a targeted cover letter. Furthermore, don’t forget to highlight relevant skills and mention your work experiences.

Recruiter/Hiring Manager Call Screening

If your CV happens to be among the shortlisted few, a recruiter from the Zayo Talent Acquisition Team will make contact and verify key details like your experiences and skill level. Behavioral questions may also be a part of the screening process.

In some cases, the Zayo data scientist hiring manager stays present during the screening round to answer your queries about the role and the company itself. They may also indulge in surface-level technical and behavioral discussions.

The whole recruiter call should take about 30 minutes.

Technical Virtual Interview

Successfully navigating the recruiter round will present you with an invitation for the technical screening round. Technical screening for the Zayo data scientist role usually is conducted through virtual means, including video conference and screen sharing. Questions in this 1-hour long interview stage may revolve around Zayo’s data systems, ETL pipelines, and SQL queries.

In the case of data scientist roles, take-home assignments regarding product metrics, analytics, and data visualization are incorporated. Apart from these, your proficiency against hypothesis testing, probability distributions, and machine learning fundamentals may also be assessed during the round.

Depending on the seniority of the position, case studies and similar real-scenario problems may also be assigned.

Onsite Interview Rounds

Followed by a second recruiter call outlining the next stage, you’ll be invited to attend the onsite interview loop. Multiple interview rounds, varying with the role, will be conducted during your day at the Zayo office. Your technical prowess, including programming and ML modeling capabilities, will be evaluated against the finalized candidates throughout these interviews.

If you were assigned take-home exercises, a presentation round may also await you during the onsite interview for the data scientist role at Zayo.

Quick Tips For Zayo Group Data Scientist Interviews

• Understand Zayo’s Business Model: Be familiar with Zayo’s services, clientele, and market segmentations. This will help you tailor your answers about business-driven insights and the potential impact of your work.
• Brush Up on Technical Skills: Zayo’s data science interviews are known to dive deep into technical aspects. Make sure your skills in SQL, Python, and machine learning are up to par, and practice solving problems under timed conditions using platforms like Interview Query.
• Be Prepared for Behavioral Questions: Zayo values cultural fit. Prepare to discuss past experiences, teamwork, and how you align with the company’s values and work culture.

Typically, interviews at Zayo Group vary by role and team, but commonly Data Scientist interviews follow a fairly standardized process across these question topics.

• How would you use data to convince a fast-food franchise to purchase another custom Snapchat filter? Snapchat partnered with a fast-food franchise to create a custom filter available for a week. How would you use data from this campaign to persuade the franchise to buy another custom filter this year?

• Write a function missing_number to find the missing number in an array of integers. You have an array of integers, nums of length n spanning 0 to n with one missing. Write a function missing_number that returns the missing number in the array. The complexity should be \(O(n)\).

• Create a function first_uniq_char to find the first non-repeating character in a string. Given a string, find the first non-repeating character in it and return its index. If it doesn't exist, return -1. Consider a string where all characters are lowercase alphabets.

• Write a function inject_frequency to add the frequency of each character in a string. Given a string sentence, return the same string with an addendum after each character of the number of occurrences a character appeared in the sentence. Do not treat spaces as characters and exclude characters in the discard_list.

• Create a query to count rows resulting from different joins between ads and top_ads. Allstate is running N online ads. The table ads contains all those ads, ranked by popularity via the id column. Create a subquery or common table expression named top_ads containing the top 3 ads and return the number of rows resulting from INNER JOIN, LEFT JOIN, RIGHT JOIN, and CROSS JOIN operations. Include a join_type column in your output.

• How would you explain what a p-value is to someone who is not technical? Explain the concept of a p-value in simple terms to someone without a technical background. Use analogies or everyday examples to make it understandable.

• What is the difference between Logistic and Linear Regression? When would you use one instead of the other in practice? Describe the differences between Logistic and Linear Regression. Provide examples of scenarios where each type of regression would be appropriately used.

• How would you build a fraud detection model with a text messaging service for transaction approval? You work at a bank that wants to build a model to detect fraud on the platform. The bank also wants to implement a text messaging service that will text customers when the model detects a fraudulent transaction, allowing the customer to approve or deny the transaction with a text response. How would you build this model?

• What is the difference between Logistic and Linear Regression? Explain the difference between Logistic and Linear Regression. When would you use one instead of the other in practice?

• What does the backpropagation algorithm do in the context of neural networks? Describe the backpropagation algorithm in the context of neural networks. What is the informal intuition behind the algorithm? What are some drawbacks of the algorithm compared to other optimization methods? Bonus: Formally derive the backpropagation algorithm and prove that it does what it claims to do.

If you're eager to delve deeper into the opportunities at Zayo Group, be sure to explore our comprehensive Zayo Group Interview Guide, where we have meticulously curated a wealth of potential interview questions. Additionally, we offer detailed interview guides for various roles, such as software engineer and data analyst, providing insights into Zayo Group’s interview processes across different positions.

At Interview Query, we strive to elevate your interview preparation by equipping you with a robust array of tools, knowledge, and strategic advice to excel in every aspect of the Zayo Group Data Scientist interview.

Explore all our company interview guides to enhance your preparation, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

Good luck with your interview!