BioFire Diagnostics Interview Questions
& Process

I went through two interviews. The first one was mostly to talk about the company and the role, and also included some general questions. The second interview happened a few weeks later with the hiring manager and two supervisors. I expected a technical interview, but it was mostly a 'get to know you' type of thing, focusing on my background and future goals. There were hardly any technical questions or questions about my experience with their specific technology. Interestingly, when I asked about their database, they didn't know what it was. The interview lasted about an hour, and I felt it went well. They mentioned the start date was a bit uncertain but hoped it would be in about 4 weeks. I was told to reach out if I didn't hear back within two weeks. Two weeks passed with no word, so I emailed HR, but got no reply. A few days later, I tried contacting the hiring manager on LinkedIn, but the message didn't go through. A few more days passed, and I called the company and got sent to voicemail. I emailed HR again the next day and finally got a response saying they'd be in touch soon. A few days after that, I received a standard rejection email with no explanation. I tried one last time to get feedback from HR, and they said they'd check with the hiring manager and let me know. I never heard back.

I sent in my application online and got a call back pretty quickly for a phone chat. Scheduling it was super easy with their online app. The recruiter, though, wasn't great. She just went through a bunch of standard questions without really engaging with my answers or asking follow-ups. It felt like she was just checking boxes. She ended with a question that basically asked for a summary of what I'd already covered, and she couldn't even answer basic things about the job. I guess she was just trying to filter out people, but the whole experience was a bit of a letdown. I was told to call back in two weeks if I didn't hear anything, which felt a bit backward, and it ended up taking almost three months to get the rejection email.

I had an initial phone interview, mostly behavioral questions, a little bit about the job and the company. They said there were 3 testing positions. Manual, mixed manual and automation, and automation, but did not specify which one this application was for. After the phone interview, I was scheduled for an in person interview with several groups including the PM's, devs, QA, and the QA manager. I originally though this was a mixed manual/automation job. The description lead with, "Automation and/or manual testing". The preferred skills also included c# knowledge. I was super excited about this position, it seemed like a great opportunity. When I got there, at the end of the second group interview, they asked me if I knew what the position was for. I quoted the job description, then I asked if they knew. They didn't tell me until the 3rd group interiew started. It was a manual job. Which is great and all, but I just wish they told me that during the initial phone screening. Towards the end of the interview, the interviewer seemed a little angry because I talked about my interests in testing hardware, software, and automation. He basically said it wasn't a software company and I shouldn't classify it as such. I guess I just assumed it had to do with software since the job title is "Software Test Engineer". My only advice is to be very, very, very careful with job descriptions and titles.

I got a message from a recruiter I knew from a year ago, and the next step was a chat with the hiring/HR manager. Then, I had two in-person interviews to chat more with the team. I was actually about to take another job offer from my previous company when this opportunity at BioFire came up, and it was just too good to ignore. I really liked the team I met with; they took the time to get to know me, and I got to know them too. They seemed really focused on finding the right fit, and I guess that was me! The whole process was fast, felt right, and I was super excited to get an offer!