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A streaming pipeline consumes order events from Kafka, calls a tax API, and writes to Snowflake

A medium Pipeline Design mock interview question on DataDriven. Practice with AI-powered feedback, real code execution, and a hire/no-hire decision.

Domain
Pipeline Design
Difficulty
medium

Interview Prompt

A streaming pipeline consumes order events from Kafka, calls a tax API, and writes to Snowflake. Three failure classes coexist: transient (a 503 once, retry succeeds), sustained (503 for 15 minutes, breaker opens), and permanent (validation failure, routed aside). The section composes the patterns: a worker that classifies errors, a retry budget around the API call, a circuit breaker around the API call (retry sits inside the breaker), and a DLQ for permanent and budget-exhausted messages. Trace the failure path by composing all four pieces on the canvas.

How This Interview Works

  1. Read the vague prompt (just like a real interview)
  2. Ask clarifying questions to the AI interviewer
  3. Write your pipeline design solution with real code execution
  4. Get instant feedback and a hire/no-hire decision

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