Explain motivation and align expectations for L4 role
Overview
This question evaluates a candidate's ability to articulate motivation and career intent, design pragmatic onboarding and impact plans, and align expectations for an L4 individual-contributor data scientist role, testing competencies in career-growth reasoning, scope expansion, stakeholder alignment, and metric-driven performance measurement.
DoorDash
Oct 13, 2025, 9:49 PM
Data Scientist
Onsite
Behavioral & Leadership
0
0
Behavioral Prompt: L4 IC Data Scientist — Motivation, Plan, and Expectations
Context
You are interviewing onsite in a Behavioral & Leadership round for an L4 individual-contributor Data Scientist role. Provide a concise spoken response and a pragmatic execution plan.
Tasks
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90-second motivation answer
- Explain why you are seeking a new opportunity specifically for an L4 IC analyst/data scientist role.
- Clearly distinguish career growth (scope, ownership, impact) from title/level advancement.
- Give one concrete example where you expanded scope without a promotion.
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30/60/90-day plan and six-month metrics
- Outline a practical 30/60/90-day plan for onboarding and impact.
- Propose two measurable success metrics at 6 months.
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Expectations if promotion is unlikely within 18 months
- If the team states this is the most junior role and no promotion is likely within 18 months, explain how you would align expectations, avoid future mismatch, and decide whether to proceed.
Solution
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