Technical practice
How would you turn a stakeholder's business problem into an AI/ML solution?
What to coverSuggested preparation: Explain how you would clarify the desired outcome, available data and operational constraints before choosing an approach. Describe how you would agree on measures of success that reflect the business need.
How would you prepare data collected from multiple sources for model training?
What to coverSuggested preparation: Discuss checks for inconsistent formats, missing values, duplicates and data quality. Explain how preprocessing choices and train/test separation affect the trustworthiness of results.
How would you choose a deep learning approach for a computer vision or NLP problem?
What to coverSuggested preparation: Compare the problem's input, output, data volume and evaluation needs before selecting an approach. Explain a trade-off between model capability and the computing resources needed to train or run it.
How would you train and test a deep learning model using a framework you know?
What to coverSuggested preparation: Walk through the training loop, validation strategy and checks for overfitting, referring to a framework such as TensorFlow or PyTorch only if you know it. Explain how you would distinguish a genuine improvement from a result caused by data leakage or an unsuitable test set.
How would you integrate a trained model into a software application?
What to coverSuggested preparation: Describe the inputs and outputs you would agree with software engineers, plus how you would test the integration before deployment. Discuss trade-offs involving response time, failures and changes to model versions.
What would you consider when maintaining data storage and computing resources for AI/ML work?
What to coverSuggested preparation: Explain how data access, storage needs and compute capacity affect training and deployment. Describe how you would identify a resource bottleneck and weigh reliability against resource use.
How would you monitor a deployed model and decide when to optimize it?
What to coverSuggested preparation: Discuss measures of accuracy, reliability and scalability relevant to the application. Explain how you would investigate a decline in performance before changing the model or its deployment.
How would you design prompts and test an LLM-based solution?
What to coverSuggested preparation: Explain how prompts would specify the task and how you would assemble representative test cases. Discuss checks for response quality, consistency and failure cases rather than relying on a few convincing examples.
When would you use retrieval-augmented generation for a business solution?
What to coverSuggested preparation: Explain what retrieval adds to an LLM response and how you would assess both retrieved material and generated answers. Discuss the trade-off between access to relevant information and the added complexity of retrieval.
How would you evaluate whether an agentic architecture is appropriate?
What to coverSuggested preparation: Describe a task that might require multiple steps and explain why a simpler LLM interaction might or might not suffice. Discuss how you would test task completion, handle failures and limit unnecessary complexity.
Behavioural practice
Tell me about a time you clarified an ambiguous requirement with a stakeholder.
What to coverSuggested preparation: Use a real situation to explain the questions you asked, how you translated the need into a workable objective and what resulted. Distinguish what the stakeholder requested from what you ultimately agreed to deliver.
Describe a time you collaborated with software engineers to put a model into an application.
What to coverSuggested preparation: Give the situation, your specific actions to coordinate interfaces or resolve integration issues, and the result. If your example covers only part of deployment, state your role precisely.
Tell me about a model or data issue you found through careful checking.
What to coverSuggested preparation: Describe the warning sign, the investigation you performed and the outcome. Explain how your checks changed a decision or improved the reliability of the work.
Give an example of explaining a model-building or deployment practice to others.
What to coverSuggested preparation: Set out who needed the information, what you documented or communicated, and the result. Explain how you adjusted the level of detail so others could use it.
Describe a time you had to learn or assess an unfamiliar AI/ML approach for a practical task.
What to coverSuggested preparation: Use a real situation to show how you evaluated the approach, sought input where needed and applied what you learned. Report the result without implying that novelty alone made it the right solution.