Biogen Scientist Interview Questions
& Process

I was interviewed for a Med Chem Scientist position, PhD entry level. The interview process is quick, smooth, and professional. I had a HR screen (30-min video call) followed by the HM interview (30-min video call). The second round is done virtually, consisted of a 45-min pre, followed by 5 or 6 one-on-ones (30 min each, 1 HR and the others scientists). Everyone is pretty nice and chill.

So I got contacted by the hiring manager after a connection from grad school passed my resume along. Even though I didn't have the 8+ years of experience they wanted, they thought my science qualifications were a good fit and decided to interview me. A few weeks later, I had a 25-min phone interview with the hiring manager, mostly her telling me about the role. After that, she wanted to set up an on-site. We handled scheduling dates via email, with HR being kinda slow, so the hiring manager also helped coordinate. The on-site in the morning had three meetings with about 6-8 people, followed by a lunch seminar where people asked questions throughout, making it more of a discussion. I had lunch with one person, then more interviews with senior folks in the afternoon. It was a really positive experience; they seemed genuinely interested in my research and were open about their time at Biogen. Most people seemed to really like working there.

I had an onsite interview at the Biogen West Coast hub in South SF. The interview itself was quite positive, but unfortunately, the coordinator didn't inform me to arrive early, making me 15 minutes late without realizing it. After the onsite, I didn't hear back for weeks. It's been over a month with no decision, and it feels like I'm being kept as a backup option while they pursue other candidates. My communication with talent acquisition has been vague and unhelpful, which was a very frustrating experience overall. I wouldn't recommend applying here because it seems they don't respect the time and effort candidates put in.