Data Scientist applicants have rated the interview process at TikTok with 3.2 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) and assessed their interview experience as 29% positive. To compare, the company-average is 37.3% positive. This is according to Glassdoor user ratings.
Candidates applying for Data Scientist roles take an average of 20 days to get hired, when considering 117 user submitted interviews for this role. To compare, the hiring process at TikTok overall takes an average of 30 days.
Common stages of the interview process at TikTok as a Data Scientist according to 117 Glassdoor interviews include:
One on one interview: 34%
Skills test: 26%
Phone interview: 19%
Background check: 7%
Presentation: 5%
Other: 3%
Personality test: 2%
Group panel interview: 1%
IQ intelligence test: 1%
Drug test: 1%
Here are the most commonly searched roles for interview reports -
The interview process was well-structured and professional. After submitting my application online, I received an email from HR within a week to schedule an initial screening call. The recruiter spent about 20 minutes reviewing my background, discussing my interest in the role, and confirming my availability and salary expectations.
A few days later, I was invited to a technical/skills interview via Zoom. This round focused on my analytical and problem-solving abilities. I was asked to walk through a recent project, explain my approach to data cleaning and modeling, and interpret outputs from a regression model. The interviewer also included one short case question about how I would improve model accuracy using feature selection and cross-validation.
The next stage was a behavioral interview with the hiring manager and a team member. They focused on cultural fit and teamwork—questions like “Tell me about a time you handled conflicting priorities” and “How do you communicate technical results to non-technical stakeholders?”
Finally, I had a final round panel interview, where I met with two senior leaders. They wanted to understand my long-term goals and how I could contribute to the company’s data-driven strategy.
The whole process took about three weeks. Everyone I met was friendly, responsive, and transparent about next steps. They made sure to give feedback quickly, and I appreciated the balance between technical depth and personality fit.
A former colleague referred me to the Data Scientist position at TikTok, which kicked off the interview process. The technical screen included a question about designing an A/B test for a ranking model, followed by an SQL challenge related to user sessions. The funny part was that the SQL problem was a twist on one I had been grinding through on PracHub just a few days prior. After some behavioral interviews, I received an offer, but ultimately decided to decline as it didn't align with my goals.
Interview questions [2]
Question 1
Walk me through how you'd design an A/B test for a new ranking model on the For You feed, and how you'd pick guardrail metrics.
Given a sessions table (user_id, session_start, session_end, country), write SQL to find the users whose average session length grew the most week-over-week.
I applied online. I interviewed at TikTok (London, England)
Interview
one medium level sql test and an open question
Since i'm not familiar with business context(though i actually spent time preparing AB test and causal inference), i didn't get what i should answer.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
if tiktok shop is going to launch in Netherland, how to evaluate it before AB test