Describe influencing without authority
Overview
This question evaluates a candidate's ability to influence without formal authority, covering stakeholder management, cross-functional communication, conflict resolution, and technical trade-off quantification within a Behavioral & Leadership interview for a Data Scientist role.
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Oct 13, 2025, 9:49 PM
Data Scientist
Onsite
Behavioral & Leadership
0
0
Behavioral (STAR) Prompt: Disagreeing With a Senior Engineer's Design Without Authority
Context
You are interviewing for a Data Scientist role in an onsite Behavioral & Leadership round. Answer using the STAR framework. Your story should be concrete, quantified, and demonstrate cross-functional influence without formal authority.
Prompt
Describe a time you disagreed with a senior engineer’s proposed design but had no direct authority to change it. Include:
- Concrete stakes, timeline, and measurable risks.
- How you built alignment (stakeholder map, 1:1s, data/experiments used, decision docs).
- The specific trade-offs you proposed and how you quantified impact (latency, reliability, cost).
- How you handled conflict professionally when challenged in a live design review.
- The final decision and measurable outcomes.
- What you would do differently if, months later, you found your alternative caused a regression under unexpected load.
Solution
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