Center for Open Science Interview Questions
& Process

It was a multi-stage interview process designed to help you get to know the team and for them to get to know you. The vibe was pretty informal, just a way to see if you'd all get along. Questions mainly focused on your past experience and how you'd apply it moving forward. It felt like a worthwhile process.

A recruiter from the company visited my school, and I was really inspired by their mission. I applied through an online submission link. Soon after, I was contacted about moving forward to a phone interview. I spoke with a current software engineer, discussing my projects and technical background. There were no technical questions, but many 'soft' questions required detailed answers. At the end of the call, I was told I'd be interviewed by someone else in a few weeks, after which a decision would be made. Around this time, I received an internship offer from another company with a deadline, which I accepted. A few days later, I was informed I'd be offered an internship here if I submitted references. I was very interested in working for COS, but the timing didn't work out. I hope to work with them in the future!

I applied online via a link from the COS website, sending in my resume and cover letter. I was contacted pretty quickly to set up a Google Hangouts interview, which was a video call. Two people interviewed me: one from HR and a full-time developer. They asked about my past programming experience and if I'd used any of their tech like MongoDB, Flask, Knockout with Javascript, or Git/Github. I also had to suggest a project idea. About a week later, they sent me a technical exercise where I had to propose a project and explain its implementation. Another week passed, and I was asked for three references, who were then contacted. A week after that, I got an offer letter.

Got contacted about a phone interview within a few days of applying through my University jobs board. Phone interview was brief, 15 minutes long, mostly based on my resume and asking how my experiences fit the role. Didn't get another interview. When I asked for feedback, was told that my career goals and experiences fit the needs of the role, but that I didn't express enough "enthusiasm for the role, mission and company"...so do your best to sound enthusiastic and do a lot of research. Even if it's 6:30 AM PST.