I curated 1,863 Data Engineering interview questions from 97+ companies --- here's what I learned

I spent months collecting and organizing real data engineering interview questions from 97+ companies including Amazon, Google, Databricks, Goldman Sachs, Walmart, and Meta. The result: **1,863 questions** across 7 categories, each with a Senior/Principal-level answer. Here's what I learned about what top companies actually ask. ## The 7 Categories (and their weight in real interviews) | Category | Questions | Interview Weight | | ---------------- | --------- | ------------------------- | | SQL | 487 | Every single interview | | Spark / Big Data | 452 | Critical for senior roles | | System Design | 179 | The make-or-break round | | Python / Coding | 179 | Usually 1–2 rounds | | Cloud / Tools | 179 | AWS, GCP, Airflow, dbt | | Behavioral | 144 | Often underestimated | | Fundamentals | 243 | Phone screen staples | ## The Surprising Patterns ### 1. SQL is 90% of phone screens Almost every company starts with SQL. But it's not just `SELECT * FROM`. The questions I collected most frequently