I analyzed 1,800+ DE technical screens from companies like Netflix and Uber. Here are the 6 patterns that actually matter in 2026.
I’ve spent the last few months aggregating technical screening data from about 97 different companies. After looking at 1,800+ specific technical "evaluations," I noticed that despite the hype around new tools, the "failure points" for most candidates fall into 6 specific buckets.
I’ve compiled these into a deep-dive guide, but I wanted to share the high-level technical trends I'm seeing:
Spark Shuffles are the new LeetCode: Almost every top-tier firm is moving away from generic DSA and toward deep-dive internals. If you can't explain the cost of a wide transformation, it's an immediate red flag.
The "Hybrid" SQL/Python script: Many companies are now testing if you can move logic between engines efficiently rather than just writing a query.
System Design is getting "Cloud Native": It’s no longer just "design a URL shortener." It’s "how do you handle late-arriving data in a multi-region S3 setup?"
I put the full breakdown of these 74 core technical concepts (with code and theory) into a book on Kindle here: amazon.com/dp/B0G6ZCP986
I’m around all day - if anyone wants to know what specific technical patterns I saw for certain sectors (FinTech vs. Big Tech), ask away.