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Describe a scenario where you had to optimize a slow-running data pipeline.

System Design/Architecturemedium0.2 min readPremium
Frequency
Low
Asked at 1 company
Category
179
questions in System Design/Architecture
Difficulty Split
15E|6M|158H
in this category
Total Bank
1,863
across 7 categories
Asked at these companies
Swiggy
Interview Pro Tip

Pro-Move: 'Spark UI showed 1 partition at 4hr—salted the key, added pruning; 6hr to 90min; documented in runbook.' Red Flag: We added more resources—optimization, not scaling.

Key Concepts Tested
joinpartition
Expert AnswerPremium
35 wordsInterview-ready
**STAR**: **Situation**: Nightly job took 6 hr; SLA 2 hr. **Task**: Optimize. **Action**: Profiled—found full scan and skew. Partition pruning; broadcast join for dimension; salting for skew. **Result**: 1.5 hr; 4x improvement....
The complete answer continues with detailed implementation patterns, architectural trade-offs, and production-grade considerations. It covers performance optimization strategies, common pitfalls to avoid, and real-world examples from companies like Swiggy. The answer also includes follow-up discussion points that interviewers commonly explore.

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According to DataEngPrep.tech, this is one of the most frequently asked System Design/Architecture interview questions, reported at 1 company. DataEngPrep.tech maintains a curated database of 1,863+ real data engineering interview questions across 7 categories, verified by industry professionals.

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