Why does the LeetCode still hang after 500 LeetCode updates? Netflix? The student who found us this time is a Data Analyst with 3 years of experience. He has a good foundation in SQL and data analysis, but when trying to get a job as a Data Engineer at Big Tech, he was always stuck at the level of "insufficient engineering skills." Especially the Netflix Data Engineer interview made him even more stressed.
Interview Process Overview
The Netflix Data Engineer interview is divided into three rounds:
Round 1（30 min）Recruiter & Culture Fit
Review the Culture Deck’s core sayings in advance and be prepared to demonstrate your compatibility with Netflix’s culture.
Round 2 (60 min) Technical Screen (Data Modeling + Coding)
This is the most critical round of the entire interview. Candidates complete data modeling and code implementation through screen sharing, and ProgramHelp provides real-time voice prompts to help answer open business questions.
Round 3 Onsite (System Design & Behavioral)
Onsite focuses on system design and behavioral aspects. This article focuses on reviewing the technical aspects. System design and behavioral aspects will be analyzed separately.
In-depth review: How to deal with Netflix’s business problems
The technical aspect lasts 60 minutes and is key to getting ashore. Unlike Google or Meta, Netflix does not directly provide a LeetCode Hard, but provides a completely open business scenario:
Scene background:
The interviewer asked to design a plan to find the Top Popular Movies that the audience likes the most, and to count the next movies that users watch most after watching this movie. It seems simple on the surface, but there are many hidden traps. If you start writing code directly, it is easy to fail.
Step 1: Data Modeling & SQL construction (key assist point)
The interviewer started by asking: "What data do you need to collect? How to model it? How to write SQL?"
The first reaction of students is to use it directly User_id And Movie_id When building a table, the idea is a bit thin.
The ProgramHelp instructor’s real-time voice reminder: “Don’t just talk about the table structure, but start with Event Tracking (buried points) first, emphasizing Timestamp and Session, because ‘Next Watch’ needs to be calculated.”
Students immediately adjusted their thinking, built a data model based on Event Log, and used Window Function (LEAD or RANK) to complete SQL queries. The interviewer was very satisfied with this idea that reflected the level of Senior DE.
Step 2: Pipeline & Architecture Design
Then, the interviewer asked: "From an ETL perspective, how do you design the entire data link?"
Students are slightly hesitant between Spark and Flink. The ProgramHelp instructor quickly reminded in the hidden window: "In combination with the Netflix technology stack, it is recommended to use Kafka for Ingestion, Spark for Batch/Streaming, and finally implement Iceberg or BigQuery." The students answered according to the prompts and explained the reasons for choosing Spark (the ecosystem is mature and suitable for large-scale Batch), and successfully passed the architecture inspection.
Step 3: Coding implementation (the decisive moment)
The interviewer provided Sample Data and asked to implement it in Python:
- Top Popular Movies
- Next Most Watched Movie
After finishing writing, the interviewer asked Follow-up: "If it is not Top 1, but any Top K, how can the code be changed?" The student was planning to use an infinite loop to implement it, but the stuck point was obvious. The ProgramHelp instructor immediately prompted: “Use Heap or Collections.Counter.most_common(k), Pythonic and efficient. "The student typed the optimization logic into the IDE, and the interviewer commented: "The code is concise and takes into account K's scalability and it is quite good. "
Are you still preparing for the interview alone?
If you are also preparing for DE or SDE interviews at first-tier companies such as Netflix, ByteDance, and Uber, and are worried about getting stuck on complex business logic Coding or System Design, ProgramHelp provides:
- Full-process real-time voice/screen assistance: OA, VO, Onsite full escort
- Customized interview coaching：Accurate questions based on the company's question bank
- Absolute confidentiality and high quality delivery
Don’t let one lag ruin your Dream Offer.Contact ProgramHelp , giving you the last insurance on the way to the interview.
