Write PySpark to read a directory of JSON files, flatten the nested schema, and write a Delta table partitioned by date.
The reported Databricks Solutions Architect live-coding staple. Working code is table stakes, the differentiators are explicit schemas, corrupt-record handling, idempotent re-runs, and knowing when explode_outer beats explode.
Updated Aug 2026 · Grounded in real Forward Deployed Engineer interview loops and written to a senior-engineer editorial bar.
The reported Databricks Solutions Architect live-coding staple. Working code is table stakes, the differentiators are explicit schemas, corrupt-record handling, idempotent re-runs, and knowing when explode_outer beats explode.
Lead with where the obvious approach breaks, because that is the judgment they are screening for — most candidates jump straight to the happy path and lose the room.
Then walk the failure back through the pipeline in order, naming the one metric the customer's exec sponsor actually cares about before you propose the fix.
