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IntermediateLEADERSHIP
Describe a situation where you had to lead a cross-team effort to change a core query behavior or API (for example, adding a new query operator or changing semantics that affect drivers or client libraries). How did you align stakeholders, handle disagreement, and ensure a smooth rollout and migration path?
Software Engineer 3, Query Execution
General

Sample Answer

On my last team, I led an effort to introduce a new windowing operator that slightly changed how ordering guarantees worked. It touched the query engine, planner, drivers for four languages, and docs—about 5–6 teams total. I started by writing a one-pager that spelled out the problem, proposed semantics, and concrete examples, including a compatibility matrix. In the first review, the Java driver team pushed back hard on breaking behavior for ~15% of their top customers. Instead of arguing semantics, I proposed a dual-mode approach: a new operator plus a cluster-level compatibility flag with per-query overrides. We agreed on a three-phase rollout: internal dogfood, opt-in public preview, then default-on after adoption crossed 80%. We built a static analyzer to scan ~3,000 internal queries and surfaced risky patterns in dashboards. As a result, we shipped on time, had zero Sev-1 incidents, and customer support tickets about the change stayed under 10 globally.

Keywords

Use clear design docs with examples and compatibility analysis to align stakeholdersListen to pushback from downstream teams and negotiate compatibility strategies (flags, dual-mode behavior)Plan phased rollout (internal, preview, default) with concrete adoption and safety metricsInvest in tooling (analyzers, dashboards) to detect risky usage and support migration
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