The process was straightforward. First initial phase is a phone screening interview with the team/supervisor. Second phase is an 'interview' with the recruiter. Final phase is the in-person interview at APL. The in-person interview was broken down into three separate panels: Section Supervisor, Assistant Lead, Financial Manager/Program Managers/Branch Chief. The interview with the Section Supervisor and Branch Chief were straightforward. The interview with the Program Managers was odd. The PMs are former researchers and are in charge of managing the research going on within their portfolios. Both PMs have a technical outlook and it certainly showed during the interview. They asked a very broad question of how to put out a fire during a bad situation and I suspect they wanted to see how you come up with the answer, similar to the type of questions that tech companies would ask. I could immediately tell the answer I provided the PMs did not sit well with them, and I believe this is a direct correlation as to why an offer was not extended. The issue with involving PMs, specifically former researchers, in the interview process is that they are usually looking for a specific answer and disregard others. That is simply the way things are with researchers who are thrusted into PM roles when they have previously spent a majority of their time in the labs.