Zalando Data Scientist Interview Questions
& Process

So, first there was a 30-min HR screening, then the hiring manager chat, and then the final four rounds: Science Depth, Science Breadth (coding), Scope (product-focused), and Collaboration. It was super draining, especially those four 'final' rounds, just to get an automated rejection. The interviewers were nice and HR was quick, but it took almost three months, which feels like a lot for what they offered.

The interview process included a 1-hour screening/technical call with the research lead, followed by a 1-hour deep learning interview, a 1-hour live coding interview (which wasn't complicated), a 1-hour management/leadership interview, and a 1-hour 'bar raiser' interview that was essentially another technical interview. It also involved a scientific presentation of my previous research. The deep learning interviews focused on exploring my experience and asking questions about my work, like which generative models I was familiar with and for which I could estimate the likelihood of a generated sample.

There were 4 stages, and I completed all of them before getting ghosted. Nobody seemed to know what the steps would actually be. The HR was totally silent even after I tried contacting them 3 times via email. For all the time, energy, and effort put into participating in all these stages, the least that can be expected is respect, not ghosting! After going through all the confusion firsthand from Zalando's side during the interview process, I feel fortunate because I don't think I could work in such an environment. Plus, no one would be happy over time. They really need to get their stuff together.