I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at Lam Research (Fremont, CA) in Sept 2023
Interview
It was a 3 stage interview process. Each stage is about an hour long. The first round was a technical round where the interviewer asked basic questions on GD&T, thermodynamics and fluid mechanics followed by a bunch of behavioral questions. The second round was again another technical round where the interviewer dove deeper into the subject of mechanical engineering to ask some tricky questions. The final round was a panel round where you are asked to present a technical project. The panel asks technical questions based on the presentation.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
GD&T basics : Flatness tolerance, cylindricity, circularity, etc. RSS method to calculate tolerance (basic tolerance analysis). Describe the heat distribution of a bar of length X attached to a heat source. Both the bar and the heat source are in space in a perfect vacuum condition. What affects the rate of heat transfer and what method would you use to bond the bar to the heat source for maximum heat transfer. Why? How would you go about choosing a bolt for an application. What factors do you look out for? Stress vs Strain curve for ductile and brittle materials Provided an image of a component and asked to describe the design process.
I applied online. The process took 3 months. I interviewed at Lam Research (Tualatin, OR) in Jun 2023
Interview
I applied online (mid-May) and the recruiter reaches out to me within 2 weeks via email. Recruiter is coordinating a virtual screening/interview with the hiring manager. After the interview with the hiring manager, recruiter reaches out again to schedule an on-site interview (mid-June). This interview consists of presenting a project or issue you worked on recently for about 20-30 min and 5 separate 30 minutes interview with an engineer/team member. I should have heard about a decision within a couple weeks, but the recruiter could not get a definite answer from the team and kept staying there should be an answer by the end of the week. After a month, the recruiter stopped responding to my emails (~3 follow-up emails). The hiring manager did not respond to my follow-up email. I was ghosted. Finally got an automatic email saying that "carefully reviewing your qualifications, we plan to pursue other candidates that more closely match the requirements for this position". That's when I learned that the role changed from a level 4 to 1 (req number was the same). It would have been nice if they updated me as soon as possible that I was passed, and if they had changed the requirements/level of the role. The interview process was fine. Communication not so much.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Questions regarding your presentation. What are you looking for in your next job?
