I applied online. The process took two weeks.

After the recruiter screening, I was invited to a second-round interview at Spotify — a 75-minute session with two interviewers. Both were very supportive, polite, and helped create a comfortable and easy-going atmosphere. The first part of the conversation was introductory, followed by several theoretical questions, including:

• What is eventual consistency?
• Explain the CAP Theorem.
• Discuss the data formats you have worked with (e.g., Avro, Parquet) and the differences between them.
• What is the difference between Python and low-level programming languages?
• What are the benefits of using the Iceberg table format?
• How would you explain MapReduce?
• What is the time complexity of searching for an element in a linked list?
• Explain a type of tree structure.

There was one live algorithmic coding exercise: create a Fibonacci sequence. I eventually solved it, although it took me longer than expected due to limited experience with coding interview-style algorithm questions.

1. What is eventual consistency?