Role-ordered prep · free
DSA prep for a data engineering role
Data engineering loops are heavy on arrays, sorting and math — the ETL-shaped problems: 7 core topics, 117 of our 370 problems. Graphs and DP appear far less often than in a general SDE loop, though graph work does show up for pipeline/DAG questions.
Learn these first
Core topics for a data engineering loop — everything else waits until these hold.
- 1ArraysWalk through it →
- 2SortingWalk through it →
- 3MathWalk through it →
- 4MatrixWalk through it →
- 5IntervalsWalk through it →
- 6Two PointersWalk through it →
- 7GraphWalk through it →
Then these
Problems to start with
Named problems from this role's core topics, easiest first. Each page shows which roles treat it as core, which sheets carry it, and the companies that have asked it.
- Two Sum · Easy
- Maximum and Minimum Element in an Array · Easy
- Reverse the Array · Easy
- Contains Duplicate · Easy
- Chocolate Distribution Problem · Easy
- Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock · Easy
- Merge Sorted Arrays · Easy
- Pascal's Triangle · Easy
- Majority Element · Easy
- Sort an Array of 0s 1s and 2s · Easy
- Leaders in an Array · Easy
- Check if Array is Sorted and Rotated · Easy
What this ordering pushes down
Linked lists, binary trees, BSTs, dynamic programming, backtracking, bit manipulation, tries, recursion and greedy sit below the core tier for data engineering. Pointer-chasing structures rarely survive contact with a role whose day job is set-shaped: joins, aggregations, partitioning, ordering. It stays a ranking, not a guarantee, and recursion in particular comes back the moment a pipeline question involves a nested schema.
Why an order beats a list
Every popular sheet hands all 370 problems to everyone in the same fixed sequence. A data engineering interview does not weight them the same way a backend interview does — so a fixed list spends your first weeks on topics your loop barely tests. Pick this role in the app and the same problems re-sequence: core topics first, the rest after.
Questions
How much DSA does a data engineer need?
7 core topics covering 117 of our 370 problems, weighted toward arrays, sorting, math, matrices and intervals — the shapes ETL and pipeline questions take.
Do data engineering interviews ask graph problems?
Yes, but for a specific reason: pipelines are DAGs. Graphs sit in the core tier here while DP does not — the reverse of a generalist SDE loop.
Is SQL enough for a data engineering interview?
No. SQL rounds are usually separate from the DSA round, and the DSA round still runs the standard format — which is why this ordering exists.
Preparing for a different role?
19 more roles are available inside the app — pick yours on the Problems page.