Merge overlapping intervals per group in pandas
Company: Waymo
Role: Data Scientist
Category: Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
Difficulty: easy
Interview Round: Onsite
Overview: This question evaluates proficiency in time-series data manipulation and interval reasoning using pandas, including grouping, datetime handling, and interval unioning across partitions; it is commonly asked because merging temporal intervals tests practical data-cleaning abilities and handling of edge cases like overlaps, adjacency, sorting, and timezone-aware timestamps. It belongs to the Data Manipulation (SQL/Python) domain and represents a practical application that requires applied conceptual understanding of interval algebra and grouping operations rather than purely theoretical reasoning, assessing implementation-level skills in producing non-overlapping, sorted intervals per group.
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