Exelixis Interview Questions
& Process

The entire hiring process spanned 3 months from application submission. The interviews with HR, the hiring manager, and the panel interviews all took place within a 2-3 week timeframe. It took about a week between the site visit and a verbal offer, followed by another week to receive the conditional offer letter. The background and reference checks were completed in the final week. While the overall process was somewhat lengthy, the recruiter maintained good communication, providing regular status updates.

The team was very pleasant and I had a great experience. Some questions below: Give an example of cloud architecture used How do you align with stakeholders What do you know about Exelixis Example where multi year roadmap was designed and executed Explain how scientific applications were managed Why are you in biopharma

So first you have a manager interview, it's not technical, just asking about your background. Then they call you for an onsite interview. The onsite is meant to prevent people from quitting like they can in a virtual interview. Once you're there, you'll see why all the bad reviews exist. It's a toxic culture, and you'll feel it. The interviewers don't know about infrastructure expansion or the company's direction, so they don't have questions ready. They show up, ask random resume-related questions, and then berate you if you don't get the answers perfect, down to the CLI command. If you mention it wasn't in the job description, instead of admitting it, they'll say they want someone well-rounded. For example, the job description might mention services from a major cloud provider, but then onsite they'll grill you on a competitor with 30% market share. If you're desperate, maybe. But after a decade in this industry, I wouldn't wish this place on anyone. Good luck, you deserve better.

I interviewed for two different teams, Team A and Team B. First, I spoke with the recruiter for Team A, which seemed to go okay, though they mentioned my oncology experience might not be deep enough. They then connected me with the hiring manager for Team A. I then had a Zoom interview with about five people from Team A where we discussed my past experience and some process-specific questions. The team seemed great. A couple of days later, I got a verbal offer for Team A and they asked for references. However, I found out the hiring manager for Team A had changed during this time. Meanwhile, they set up interviews for Team B really quickly for the next week, even though I suggested we focus on the time-sensitive ones. I also noticed that some junior members of Team B who were supposed to interact with Team A seemed to be moving roles. I was told I could meet Team A in person and have a quick follow-up video call with a senior member there. I admit I didn't perform my best on the content experience part with the senior Team A member, partly because I was coming off interviews for Team B and juggling my current workload. I figured I'd get feedback from Team A if my experience wasn't a fit. The next day, I had a full panel of in-person interviews for Team A. The team was friendly and professional, and they didn't grill me on my experience. Everything still seemed positive, and the new hiring manager for Team A stayed late to chat, saying they hoped things worked out, which I assumed was about my Team B evaluation. Two days later, I went back on-site for Team B interviews. One weird thing was that an interview I had scheduled for Team A got replaced with only Team B interviews on my way there. Team B also seemed positive, and their hiring manager mentioned that both teams work closely and I'd get good exposure either way, and the company really wanted me. Another oddity was that Team B's leadership didn't meet with me as planned; they said they were sick, which is possible, but I now wonder if the company knew what was coming. At this point, I still thought I could choose between the teams. After the weekend, I decided Team A was a better career move and called Team B's hiring manager to withdraw my application. I then gave Team A's recruiter the go-ahead for reference checks. Late Monday, Team A's recruiter wanted to talk. On Tuesday, the recruiter for Team A told me that my offer was rescinded because they needed someone with very deep content experience, aligning with executive leadership goals. I never heard from either of Team A's hiring managers. As a candidate, I now have to inform my references who previously had a great impression of me, and I've turned down other offers. I'm not upset about the decline itself, as it's understandable if they need deeper experience or are considering other candidates. However, the recruiter and hiring managers for Team A should be clearer about what they're looking for and whether they're evaluating multiple candidates. This is an established company, not a startup, so I expect them to know what they want and ask the right questions to find it. Also, don't take an offer as final unless it's in writing, and be prepared for organizational changes.