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MasterCard Data Engineering

The document outlines a series of interview questions and answers for a Data Engineering position at MasterCard, focusing on SQL queries, database design, data pipeline architecture, and data quality management. It also discusses various technologies like Hadoop, Spark, and Flink, as well as compliance with PCI-DSS standards. Additionally, it includes practical scenarios such as handling stakeholder communication and ensuring security in contactless payments.

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Deepak
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26 views17 pages

MasterCard Data Engineering

The document outlines a series of interview questions and answers for a Data Engineering position at MasterCard, focusing on SQL queries, database design, data pipeline architecture, and data quality management. It also discusses various technologies like Hadoop, Spark, and Flink, as well as compliance with PCI-DSS standards. Additionally, it includes practical scenarios such as handling stakeholder communication and ensuring security in contactless payments.

Uploaded by

Deepak
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Pratham Chandratre

AI/ML Engineer

MasterCard
Data Engineering
Interview
Questions
Asked in 2025
Swipe for more
Pratham Chandratre
AI/ML Engineer

1. Write an SQL query to find the top 3


accounts with the highest total transaction
volume for each month.
Pratham Chandratre
AI/ML Engineer

2. Design a database schema to securely


store and manage API keys, user details,
and transaction data for a payment
processing system.

A secure schema would


include a Users table storing
user details (hashed
passwords, roles), an API_Keys
table with API keys encrypted
and mapped to users, and a
Transactions table with
sensitive fields encrypted.
Access control policies and
audit logs should be enforced
to track API key usage and
prevent unauthorized access.
Pratham Chandratre
AI/ML Engineer

3. Describe a data project you


worked on. What were some of
the challenges you faced?
I worked on a real-time customer
churn prediction project, integrating
structured and unstructured data
from multiple sources. Challenges
included handling inconsistent data
schemas, ensuring low-latency
model inference, and managing data
drift. I resolved them using Apache
Kafka for real-time ingestion, feature
engineering for better model
performance, and continuous
monitoring to detect drift.
Pratham Chandratre
AI/ML Engineer

4. What are the advantages and


disadvantages of using a star schema
versus a snowflake schema in a data
warehouse?
Star schema is denormalized,
leading to faster queries but
increased redundancy, while
snowflake schema is normalized,
reducing storage but increasing
join complexity. Star schema suits
OLAP workloads with fast
aggregations, while snowflake
schema is preferred in large-scale
data warehouses needing storage
optimization.
Pratham Chandratre
AI/ML Engineer

5. Explain the differences between


Hadoop, Spark, and Flink. In what
scenarios would you choose one over
the others?

Hadoop is batch-oriented,
Spark is fast for batch &
micro-batch processing,
and Flink is true real-time
streaming. For ETL
workloads, use Hadoop; for
fast data analytics, use
Spark; and for low-latency
real-time analytics, use
Flink.
Pratham Chandratre
AI/ML Engineer

6. How would you design a


scalable data pipeline to process
and analyze streaming transaction
data in real-time?

A robust pipeline can use


Kafka for ingestion, Apache
Flink for real-time
processing, Apache
Cassandra for low-latency
storage, and Dashboards
(Grafana/Looker) for
visualization, ensuring fault
tolerance, scalability, and
real-time insights.
Pratham Chandratre
AI/ML Engineer

7. How do you handle data


quality issues in a data
pipeline?
Use data validation checks,
schema enforcement,
deduplication, anomaly
detection, and data
observability tools (e.g.,
Great Expectations, Monte
Carlo) to proactively
monitor and correct data
quality issues.
Pratham Chandratre
AI/ML Engineer

8. Given two sorted lists,


write a function to merge
them into one sorted list.
Pratham Chandratre
AI/ML Engineer

9. Design a system that can


detect fraudulent
transactions in real-time for
a global payment network.
Leverage Kafka for streaming
transactions, Flink for real-time
pattern analysis, and machine
learning models trained on
transaction history to detect
anomalies. Implement rule-
based systems for immediate
blocking and model retraining
pipelines for continuous
improvement.
Pratham Chandratre
AI/ML Engineer

10. What factors would you


consider when choosing between
Amazon S3, Google Cloud
Storage, and Azure Blob Storage
for storing transaction data?

Consider cost (S3 is cheapest


for storage, GCS offers better
performance for analytics, Azure
Blob integrates well with
Microsoft services), latency
(GCS is fast for reads, S3 is
good for archival storage, Azure
provides fine-grained access
controls), and compliance needs.
Pratham Chandratre
AI/ML Engineer

11. How would you ensure PCI-


DSS compliance while storing and
processing transaction data?

Implement encryption
(AES-256), tokenization,
role-based access control,
audit logging, intrusion
detection, and regular
compliance audits. Use
VPCs, IAM policies, and
secure API gateways for
controlled access.
Pratham Chandratre
AI/ML Engineer

12. What are some best practices


for optimizing the performance of
data processing jobs?

Best practices include


partitioning data, using
optimized storage formats
(Parquet, ORC), indexing
frequently queried fields,
caching results, and tuning
Spark configurations
(executor cores, memory
allocation).
Pratham Chandratre
AI/ML Engineer

13. How would you handle data


ingestion from multiple sources
with different schemas?

Use schema evolution


strategies (Avro, Protobuf,
JSON schema validation),
data lake architecture with
partitioning, and streaming
platforms like Kafka to
standardize and ingest
diverse datasets efficiently.
Pratham Chandratre
AI/ML Engineer

14. Talk about a time when you


had trouble communicating with
stakeholders. How were you able
to overcome it?

While working on a BI
dashboard, stakeholders
requested unclear KPIs. I
resolved it by organizing
workshops, translating
business needs into
measurable metrics, and
iterating based on
feedback, improving
alignment between teams.
Pratham Chandratre
AI/ML Engineer

15. Given the rise of contactless


payments, how can Mastercard
ensure security without
compromising user experience?

Use biometric
authentication, AI-driven
fraud detection, secure
NFC chips, device
fingerprinting, and
behavioral analytics to
enhance security while
ensuring a seamless user
experience.
Pratham Chandratre
AI/ML Engineer

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