Behavioral & Leadership: ML Engineering Onsite

Context

You are interviewing for a Machine Learning Engineer role with significant leadership responsibilities. Provide concise, concrete, example-driven answers that demonstrate how you think, lead, and deliver.

Prompts

1. Management Style and Conflict Resolution
   • Describe your management style with specific examples.
   • How do you diagnose and resolve conflicts within a team and across teams?
2. Handling Low Performers
   • How do you handle low performance? Include: coaching plan, timelines, milestones, and when/how you escalate.
3. Fair Calibrations
   • How do you fairly rank team members during calibrations? What rubrics and safeguards do you use to reduce bias?
4. Strategy and Execution for Ambiguous, ML-Heavy Products
   • How do you set strategy for ambiguous, ML-heavy products?
   • What operating cadence, metrics, and review mechanisms do you use?
   • How do you respond when a critical project is at risk of missing a deadline?
5. Retrospective on a Large-Scale ML Infrastructure Project
   • Run a retrospective on a recent large-scale ML infrastructure project you led: goals, key decisions, what went well/poorly, measurable outcomes, and what you would change.
6. Culture Fit
   • Answer a culture-fit prompt: why would you prefer Company A over a well-regarded peer without disparaging the other? What values and trade-offs drive your choice?