**Position:** Senior Machine Learning Engineer at Qualcomm Amsterdam
**Timeline:** December 2024 - February 2025
**Process Overview:**
I was shortlisted for a Senior ML Engineer role at Qualcomm Amsterdam in December 2024. A recruiter from Qualcomm's UK (Bristol) office contacted me to inform me of my selection and scheduled a phone interview for the Amsterdam position.
**Phone Interview (Dec 18):**
The phone interview went well. We discussed my experience, CI/CD practices, and general ML topics. Everything seemed positive at this stage.
**Follow-Up and Delays:**
On January 2, 2025, I emailed the recruiter for updates. I was told the team was on holiday and to be patient. Over the next few weeks, I followed up every 7-10 days but received no response. On my third follow-up, I CC'd the interviewer from the December 18 call, which finally prompted the recruiter to reply. They mentioned they would seek feedback from the team.
**Virtual Onsite Invitation:**
Two days later, I was invited to a Virtual Onsite interview. The recruiter asked to schedule it within two business days and requested I prepare a technical presentation. The agenda included:
1. Candidate presentation
2. Python knowledge
3. Software architecture & CI/CD
4. Behavioral interview
5. Neural Networks & Deep Learning (practical)
**Last-Minute Cancellation:**
The day before the interview, it was canceled. The reason given was that the position had been filled.
**Feedback on the Process:**
This was by far the most unprofessional hiring experience I’ve had with a tech company of this size. The HR department was disorganized and showed little regard for candidates' time. Scheduling an onsite, asking for extensive preparation, and then canceling last minute reflects poorly on their recruitment process.
**TLDR:**
If you’re paired with a recruiter that has a Google name format like: First Name, Last Name (Temp), proceed with caution. Qualcomm’s hiring process attempts to mimic Amazon’s (phone screening followed by onsite interviews), but their HR team lacks the organization and support Amazon provides.
