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      General Atomics

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      Staff Engineer Interview

      Apr 22, 2014
      Anonymous Interview Candidate
      Poway, CA
      Declined offer
      Positive experience
      Average interview

      Application

      I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at General Atomics (Poway, CA) in Mar 2014

      Interview

      I applied through the company website for an engineering position and was contacted by a hiring manager a week later. I received a phone call at home in the evening and we chatted a bit on the skills listed in my resume. He said he would get with HR to coordinate a trip out there the following week for a job fair on their campus. HR moved quickly within a couple of days to schedule the trip. HR also set up an additional position interview with one of the other programs there so I was just expecting two interviews. I asked the HR rep on the phone about the interview format which they replied there would be two panels. They didn't know much about the positions advertised though. I studied up on the company, products, and customers that would help in what questions I would ask and answer. I expected to be there only a couple of hours but stayed over four hours. The first two screening interviews were panel interviews with four managers each. As it turned out they were competing programs and talked a lot about their programs and asked general questions. There were a couple of situational questions and a lot of questions on my experience. All the discussions were very friendly. These folks would have been my direct managers for either position offered. They answered my questions just fine but there wasn't enough time all my questions. They seemed to appreciate the challenging questions I presented to them. The responsibilities described by each sounded challenging and interesting as they were revealed during the discussions. They kept moving me around to additional interviews up the chain of command. Everyone there seems very nice and personable including HR escorting us around. Both programs seems quite interested in the capabilities I would bring to their organization so that was very positive. Both indicated they were short handed which was a concern. The buildings looked very new and the inside layout was typical of other engineering facilities. There was no opportunity to see the rest of the facilities or talk with potential co-workers as the event was on a Saturday. Based on the brief interaction we had a good rapport and I thought the company culture would be fine and typical of other engineering companies of that size. I had to fly home that afternoon so I didn't have any time to see the area. Another manager called me a few days later to further discuss which of the two programs I would prefer so I knew that both groups were interested in extending an offer. HR contacted me the next day with an offer with a small bump from my previous position and a generous relocation package. There was no negotiation on the starting salary.

      Interview questions [1]

      Question 1

      While discussing any past experiences and knowledge they would consistently dive deeper to see how much I really knew.
      1 Answer
      5