The interview process consisted of six stages:
Initial HR Call:
An introductory call with HR, which went very smoothly. We mostly discussed the company, the role, and why I believed I would be a good fit.
Technical Interview 1:
A technical interview with two senior engineers, focused on my resume. It was a great experience where we primarily talked about my past research. The interviewers were knowledgeable and engaging.
Online "Personality" Assessment:
This was an hour-long online assessment with personality-related questions, reasoning exercises, and basic math problems. I found it extremely unnecessary. Imagine interviewing for a senior engineering role while holding a PhD in engineering and being asked to solve elementary math problems (e.g., What is 2 - 4/3?). The personality assessment was vague and, in my opinion, not particularly insightful.
Whole-Day Interview:
This included a 60-minute presentation on my previous work, followed by multiple one-on-one interviews with senior engineers and managers from the team and across the company. The questions were primarily about my research and challenges in the industry. It was an enjoyable experience with highly knowledgeable individuals. The company offered to fly me in for the day, but due to personal constraints, the interviews were conducted online.
VP Interview:
A couple of days after the whole-day interview, I had a 30-minute conversation with the VP of Advanced Development. The discussion was smooth and focused on high-level topics like the role of AI in the industry and how I could contribute to the team.
Immigration Discussion:
Finally, I spoke with the company’s immigration specialist to explore scenarios for obtaining the necessary work permits or visas. The conclusion was that the company would need to hire me outside the U.S. (in my current country of residence) for a year before relocating me to their headquarters.
After two weeks of silence, they informed me that they wanted someone based at the headquarters and would not move forward with my application. This was very disappointing for two reasons:
They had initially stated that remote work was an option, with the possibility of starting remotely and later relocating.
If being physically present at the headquarters was critical, this should have been clarified with their immigration specialist early on, instead of putting me through hours of interviews and discussions only to reject my application due to immigration constraints.
Overall:
The technical team was highly skilled and professional, but the overall experience was marred by significant miscommunication about remote versus in-person work requirements.