Write a query to find conversion rate from sessions

Last updated: April 11, 2026

Quick Overview

Write a SQL query to calculate conversion rate from the sessions table, considering nulls and duplicates.

Waymo
Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
Data Scientist
Waymo
April 11, 2026
Data Scientist
Phone Screen
Data Manipulation (SQL/Python)
Medium

21

7

2,869 solved


Write a SQL query to calculate conversion rate from the sessions table, considering nulls and duplicates.

Waymo asks this during the Phone Screen because data engineering skills are critical for the role. You should be comfortable with complex joins, window functions, CTEs, and performance optimization.

What the Interviewer Expects
  • Use advanced SQL features: window functions, CTEs, subqueries
  • Write efficient queries that avoid common performance pitfalls
  • Handle complex data transformations with multiple joins and aggregations
  • Discuss indexing strategy and query optimization
  • Address data quality issues: duplicates, missing values, outliers
Key Topics to Cover
Date/time manipulation
Window functions (ROW_NUMBER, RANK, LAG, LEAD)
Index optimization and query performance
JOIN types and when to use each
Aggregate functions and GROUP BY
NULL handling and COALESCE
How to Approach This
  1. Clarify the schema and expected output format before writing queries.
  2. Use CTEs (WITH clauses) to break complex queries into readable steps.
  3. Consider window functions (ROW_NUMBER, RANK, LAG, LEAD) for ranking and sequential analysis.
  4. Watch for NULLs, duplicates, and edge cases in JOINs and GROUP BY.
  5. For pandas, prefer vectorized operations over row-by-row iteration.
Possible Follow-up Questions
  • What would you do if this query needs to run every 5 minutes?
  • Can you rewrite this without using subqueries?
  • What indexes would you create to support this query?
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