Data Architect interview questions and answers

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Data Architect Interview Questions

Data Architects design, deploy and maintain systems to ensure company information is gathered effectively and stored securely. They analyze both user and database system requirements, create data models and provide functional solutions.

Your ideal candidates should have solid technical backgrounds, acquired by Data Science or relevant IT degrees. Use the following interview questions to test candidates on their knowledge of key database structure principles and statistical analysis tools. Include a written assignment in your hiring process to better assess candidates’ skills in SQL and programming languages that you use.

Interviews are a good way to evaluate soft skills, as well. Data architects are problem solvers who can proactively address malfunctions. They usually work with Data Analysts, so it’s best to focus on candidates with collaboration skills who perform well in team environments.

Operational and Situational questions

• How would you create a model to describe our sales process? What different elements would you add for a distributed sales team?
• What model would you use to forecast quarterly and annual sales trends? Why?
• If you had to review an existing database to identify potential improvements, where would you start?
• How would you gather user requirements for a new project?

Role-specific questions

• What database software have you previously used?
• Describe your experience using statistical analysis tools like SPSS and SAS.
• What’s the difference between a dimensional model and a third normal form data model?
• What are software design patterns? Which patterns are you familiar with?
• What is the difference between OLTP and OLAP and where do you use each of them?
• What is snowflake schema?
• What visualization tools (e.g. Tableau, D3.js and R) have you used?

Behavioral questions

• What’s the most difficult database problem you faced, and how did you handle it?
• Do you have experience presenting models directly to senior managers in your previous positions? How do you ensure your audience understands technical details?
• Do you join in meetups or seminars? If so, name a few of your favorites.
• What’s the most successful project you have worked on so far? What was your specific contribution and how did you collaborate with your team?