Python Developer Interview Questions for IT Hiring

Introduction

Hiring the right Python Developer is critical for Information Technology teams building reliable, maintainable, and scalable software. A precise screening process helps identify candidates who combine language fluency with sound engineering practices.

This guide contains role-specific interview questions for hiring Python developers at basic, intermediate, and advanced levels. It also includes five pre-screening one-way video interview questions designed for efficient candidate assessment on ScreeningHive.

Python Developer Interview Questions

Basic Python Developer Interview Questions

• What are the key features of Python and why would you choose it for a project?
• How do you manage packages and dependencies in a Python project?
• Explain the difference between a list and a tuple and when to use each.
• What is a dictionary and how do you typically use it in code?
• How does Python garbage collection work at a high level?
• How do you handle exceptions in Python? Provide a brief example.
• What are list comprehensions and generator expressions and when would you use them?
• Explain the difference between mutable and immutable types in Python.

Intermediate Python Developer Interview Questions

• How would you diagnose and optimize a Python function that is slower than expected?
• Describe the tradeoffs between using threads, multiprocessing, and asyncio for concurrency.
• How would you design and implement a RESTful API using a Python web framework?
• How do you manage database schema changes and migrations in Python applications?
• What testing strategy do you follow and how do you use unit tests and mocks effectively?
• How do you profile a Python application to identify performance bottlenecks?
• Describe an approach to processing very large files or data streams with limited memory.
• How do you structure a Python project to support maintainability and clear separation of concerns?
• How would you implement authentication and authorization in a Python service?
• What practices do you use to securely handle user input and secret management?

Advanced Python Developer Interview Questions

• How would you design a scalable microservice architecture using Python-based services?
• Explain techniques to optimize both CPU-bound and I/O-bound workloads in Python.
• Describe the Global Interpreter Lock and strategies to mitigate its impact on concurrency.
• How would you design and operate distributed task processing to handle high throughput and reliability?
• What approaches do you use to implement observability, logging, and distributed tracing in Python systems?
• How do you design data access and caching strategies to improve read performance at scale?
• Describe how you manage backward compatibility and versioning for a Python library or API.
• How do you run effective code reviews and mentor junior developers to raise team quality?
• What plan would you propose to execute a major refactor or migration with minimal production risk?
• How do you evaluate new Python tools or libraries and make informed adoption decisions based on tradeoffs?

Pre-Screening Video Interview Questions for Python Developer

These questions are ideal for one-way video interviews on ScreeningHive. They help hiring teams quickly assess communication, technical thinking, and culture fit before scheduling live interviews.

1. Briefly introduce yourself and describe a recent Python project you worked on, your role, and the outcome.

   This evaluates communication skills, relevant experience, and the candidate's contribution to project results.

2. Describe a challenging bug you fixed in Python and the steps you took to resolve it.

   This assesses problem-solving, debugging methodology, and technical depth.

3. Explain how you ensure code quality and testing in your projects.

   This looks for testing practices, use of automation, and commitment to maintainable code.

4. How do you approach performance optimization for a Python application?
   

   This evaluates understanding of profiling, tradeoffs, and practical optimization techniques.

5. Describe a time you collaborated with other teams to deliver a Python-based feature.

   This assesses collaboration, cross-functional communication, and delivery skills.

Conclusion

This set of Python Developer interview questions gives hiring teams and candidates a practical framework to evaluate technical skills at multiple levels. Use basic, intermediate, and advanced prompts to structure interviews and identify the best matches for your roles.

ScreeningHive one-way video interviews enable faster screening and standardized evaluations, helping teams reduce time to hire while preserving consistent candidate assessment.