# Instinctools Data Engineer Interview Experience (2026)

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Source: https://www.aced.io/experiences/instinctools-senior-data-engineer-interview-25ca60
Source observed: 2026-11-04T22:49:46.861Z
Last checked: 2026-11-04T22:49:46.861+00:00
Indexed: 2026-11-06T00:53:11.376+00:00

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# Data Engineer Interview Experience

We publish interview experiences to help candidates prepare for technical hiring processes. This experience concerns an **Instinctools Senior / L5 Data Engineer** interview, submitted by a candidate in **Serbia** for a **remote** role.

## Status and overview

- **Result:** In Progress
- **Interview date:** 18 days before the submission shown on the source page
- **Submission timing:** 17 days before the submission shown on the source page
- **Difficulty:** Moderate
- **Rounds:** 4
- **Questions:** 4 across 4 rounds

## Interview process

The process covered SQL and BigQuery performance, dbt pipelines, data modelling, Airflow, data quality, Python, debugging, cost, and cloud platforms. The scenarios focused on an attribution-pipeline migration and tested practical skills rather than theory.

Scenario topics included:

- Late-arriving attribution data
- Restated ad-network spend
- Backfills
- Duplicate investigation

The candidate found the questions realistic and relevant. The interviewer followed up on answers and rephrased or repeated questions when requested. The option to pause and take time to think was helpful. The candidate felt strongest in dbt pipeline design, data-quality testing and investigation, and data modelling for marketing data.

The candidate reported several difficulties:

- During the data-quality section, earlier questions remained visible while new questions were asked by voice.
- A check-in question was repeated several times.
- Being asked to turn away from the screen was confusing because the questions were displayed on that screen.
- The interview ran about 10 minutes beyond the scheduled time.
- BigQuery-specific topics, including partition-pruning behaviour and query-plan metrics, required sharper answers from the candidate.
- There was no opportunity to ask about the team or project, which the candidate would normally discuss with a technical lead.

## Interview stages

1. Recruiter screen
2. Online assessment
3. Phone interview
4. Technical interview

## Interview rounds

### Recruiter screen

**Specific question:** [Tell me about your experience.](https://www.aced.io/questions/2668)

Candidate response summary: experience in pharma, consulting, and a startup.

### Online assessment

The accessible interview content identifies this as a separate round. The full question content is member-only.

### Phone interview

The accessible interview content identifies this as a separate round. The full question content is member-only.

### Technical interview

The accessible interview content identifies this as a separate round. The full question content is member-only.

## Member access and contribution

Members can read the rest of this interview and new experiences added weekly through [Become a member](https://www.aced.io/upgrade?src=experience). Candidates can contribute through [Share your experience](https://www.aced.io/questions/contribute?src=experience). A **24-hour trial starts once a submission is approved**.

We also provide interview-preparation resources, including courses for [Data Engineering](https://www.aced.io/courses/data-engineering?src=nav), [SQL Questions](https://www.aced.io/questions?type=sql&filterBy=codeEditor&src=nav), [System Design](https://www.aced.io/questions?type=system-design&src=nav), and [Machine Learning](https://www.aced.io/questions?role=ml-engineer&type=machine-learning&type=concept&src=nav).

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