Top 250 Big Data Interview Questions and Answers
Updated 4 Jul 2025

Asked in Genpact

Q. Write a spark submit command.
Spark submit command to run a Scala application on a cluster
Include the path to the application jar file
Specify the main class of the application
Provide any necessary arguments or options
Specify the cluster manager and the number of executors
Example:...read more

Asked in GitLab

Q. How can the MR be improved? Discuss design improvements.
Improving merge requests through design enhancements
Implement a clearer review process with defined roles and responsibilities
Utilize templates for MRs to ensure consistency and completeness
Integrate automated testing and code quality checks to strea...read more

Asked in EPAM Systems

Q. How does Spark process data in parallel?
Spark processes data in parallel using its distributed computing framework.
Spark divides data into partitions and processes each partition independently.
Tasks are executed in parallel across multiple nodes in a cluster.
Spark uses in-memory processing...read more

Asked in Acmegrade

Q. What skills are required for a Business Development Associate?
Skills required for a Business Development Associate include strong communication, negotiation, analytical, and networking abilities.
Strong communication skills to effectively interact with clients and team members
Negotiation skills to secure deals a...read more

Asked in HCLTech

Q. How do you connect to Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 from Databricks?
To connect to ADLS Gen2 from Databricks, you can use the Azure Blob Storage API.
Use the Azure Blob Storage API to connect to ADLS Gen2 from Databricks
Provide the storage account name and key for authentication
Use the storage account name as the files...read more

Asked in MathCo

Q. Explain the Spark application lifecycle.
The Spark application lifecycle involves stages from submission to execution and completion of tasks in a distributed environment.
1. Application Submission: The user submits a Spark application using spark-submit command.
2. Driver Program: The driver...read more

Asked in Luxoft

Q. What is PySpark streaming?
Pyspark streaming is a scalable and fault-tolerant stream processing engine built on top of Apache Spark.
Pyspark streaming allows for real-time processing of streaming data.
It provides high-level APIs in Python for creating streaming applications.
Pys...read more
Asked in CA Monk and 4 others

Q. What is a Reducer?
Reducer is a function in Redux that specifies how the application's state changes in response to actions.
Reducer functions take the current state and an action as arguments, and return the new state.
Reducers are pure functions, meaning they do not mo...read more

Asked in HashedIn by Deloitte

Q. How do you approach Spark optimization?
Spark optimization involves tuning configurations, partitioning data, using appropriate transformations, and caching intermediate results.
Tune Spark configurations based on cluster resources and workload requirements
Partition data to distribute workl...read more
Asked in Grid Dynamics

Q. How do you optimize a Spark job?
Optimizing Spark job involves tuning configurations, partitioning data, caching, and using efficient transformations.
Tune Spark configurations like executor memory, cores, and parallelism for optimal performance.
Partition data correctly to distribute...read more
Big Data Jobs




Asked in Fractal Analytics

Q. Why does Spark use lazy execution?
Spark is lazy execution to optimize performance by delaying computation until necessary.
Spark delays execution until an action is called to optimize performance.
This allows Spark to optimize the execution plan and minimize unnecessary computations.
La...read more

Asked in Primus Techsystems

Q. Briefly describe Batch Data Communication (BDC).
BDC stands for Batch Data Communication. It is a method used in SAP to upload data from external systems into SAP.
BDC is used to automate data entry into SAP systems.
There are two methods of BDC - Call Transaction and Session Method.
BDC is commonly u...read more

Asked in Analyttica Datalab

Q. How do you decide on Spark cluster sizing?
Spark cluster sizing depends on workload, data size, memory requirements, and processing speed.
Consider the size of the data being processed
Take into account the memory requirements of the Spark jobs
Factor in the processing speed needed for the workl...read more

Asked in Wipro

Q. How do you handle large Spark datasets?
Large Spark datasets can be handled by partitioning, caching, optimizing transformations, and tuning resources.
Partitioning data to distribute workload evenly across nodes
Caching frequently accessed data to avoid recomputation
Optimizing transformatio...read more

Asked in TVS Motor

Q. How can shuffling be reduced?
Shuffling can be reduced by optimizing data partitioning and minimizing data movement.
Use partitioning techniques like bucketing and sorting to minimize shuffling
Avoid using wide transformations like groupBy and join
Use broadcast variables to reduce ...read more

Asked in EXL Service

Q. What is the Hadoop architecture?
Hadoop architecture is a framework for distributed storage and processing of large data sets across clusters of computers.
Hadoop consists of HDFS for storage and MapReduce for processing.
It follows a master-slave architecture with a single NameNode a...read more

Asked in Wells Fargo

Q. How would a big data system be distributed for storage and compute?
Big data system distribution for storage and compute involves partitioning data across multiple nodes for efficient processing.
Data is partitioned across multiple nodes to distribute storage and processing load.
Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) i...read more
Asked in Softtech Cloud Technologies

Q. How do you create an RDD?
RDD can be created in Apache Spark by parallelizing an existing collection or by loading data from an external dataset.
Create RDD by parallelizing an existing collection using sc.parallelize() method
Create RDD by loading data from an external dataset...read more

Asked in BT Group

Q. How do you load data into BigQuery using Dataflow?
Data can be loaded into BigQuery using Dataflow by creating a pipeline in Dataflow that reads data from a source and writes it to BigQuery.
Create a Dataflow pipeline using Apache Beam SDK
Read data from a source such as Cloud Storage or Pub/Sub
Transfo...read more

Asked in Fractal Analytics

Q. What is Spark context?
Spark context is the main entry point for Spark functionality and represents the connection to a Spark cluster.
Main entry point for Spark functionality
Represents connection to a Spark cluster
Used to create RDDs, broadcast variables, and accumulators

Asked in LTIMindtree

Q. How do you combine two columns in a PySpark DataFrame?
Use the withColumn method in PySpark to combine two columns in a DataFrame.
Use the withColumn method to create a new column by combining two existing columns
Specify the new column name and the expression to combine the two columns
Example: df = df.wit...read more

Asked in Accenture

Q. Why is RDD resilient?
RDD is resilient due to its ability to recover from failures and maintain data integrity.
RDDs are fault-tolerant and can recover from node failures by recomputing lost data from the original source.
RDDs store data lineage information, allowing them t...read more

Asked in Wipro

Q. What is executor memory?
Executor memory is the amount of memory allocated to each executor in a Spark application.
Executor memory is specified using the 'spark.executor.memory' configuration property.
It determines how much memory each executor can use to process tasks.
It is...read more

Asked in Macquarie Group

Q. How does Apache Airflow work?
Apache Airflow is a platform to programmatically author, schedule, and monitor workflows.
Apache Airflow allows users to define workflows as Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs) in Python scripts.
It provides a web-based UI for users to visualize and monitor...read more

Asked in Photon Interactive

Q. Explain how you handle large data processing in PySpark.
Large data processing in Pyspark involves partitioning, caching, and optimizing transformations for efficient processing.
Partitioning data to distribute workload evenly across nodes
Caching intermediate results to avoid recomputation
Optimizing transfo...read more

Asked in Fractal Analytics

Q. What is SparkConf?
SparkConfig is a configuration object used in Apache Spark to set various parameters for Spark applications.
SparkConfig is used to set properties like application name, master URL, and other Spark settings.
It is typically created using SparkConf clas...read more

Asked in Tiger Analytics

Q. What is the difference between Delta Lake and Delta Warehouse?
Delta Lake is an open-source storage layer that brings ACID transactions to Apache Spark and big data workloads, while Delta Warehouse is a cloud-based data warehouse service.
Delta Lake is an open-source storage layer that brings ACID transactions to...read more

Asked in LTIMindtree

Q. What is a Spark cluster?
Spark cluster is a group of interconnected computers that work together to process large datasets using Apache Spark.
Consists of a master node and multiple worker nodes
Master node manages the distribution of tasks and resources
Worker nodes execute th...read more

Asked in IBM

Q. When have you used HUDI and Iceberg?
I have used HUDI and Iceberg in my previous project for managing large-scale data lakes efficiently.
Implemented HUDI for incremental data ingestion and managing large datasets in real-time
Utilized Iceberg for efficient table management and data versi...read more

Asked in GoDaddy

Q. Explain the spark-submit command in detail.
Spark submit command is used to submit Spark applications to a cluster
Used to launch Spark applications on a cluster
Requires specifying the application JAR file, main class, and any arguments
Can set various configurations like memory allocation, numb...read more
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