iDirect Software Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

I applied online for a embedded developer position and I was contacted by a recruiter and a phone interview was setup within a week. The person conducting the interview called me at the date and time agreed upon and we had an hour long phone screening. Although, the job was for an experienced senior level engineer, my feeling was that the interviewer himself did not have the domain expertise on embedded development to conduct the interview. He, instead veered off to other topics ranging from java/C++ questions, OS fundamentals, database etc. In the end, I did not have a chance to speak about any of my projects or talk about my knowledge of embedded development at all. It was a complete waste of my time.

So, the interview process started with a surprise phone screen, it was super brief and I wasn't expecting it at all before getting a confirmation email. Luckily, I must have done okay because they invited me for an onsite interview. The onsite part was actually really good. First, I had interviews with two of my potential peers, and they really focused on my algorithmic skills. After that, I met with the manager, who was really encouraging. I felt like I did alright. About a month later, they called me and offered me the job. The work culture seemed really professional. They emphasized taking initiative and learning new things. The team seemed very strong in their core skills. I was told that they encourage you to pick projects you like, which means you're basically responsible for everything from initial design to detailed design, coding, and testing. They also mentioned they pay close attention to programming standards, wanting employees to write code that's scalable, reusable, and object-oriented. It all sounds true.

The initial phone interview was conducted by both the department manager and director. It focused entirely on technical knowledge, and they were understanding of me being a recent graduate. I was then confirmed for a 1:1 interview immediately after the phone screen. The 1:1 interview involved eight people from the department, all in different roles. All questions directly related to the job and were based on my resume, covering everything listed there. There was also a one-hour lunch break with the Director. Ultimately, I wasn't selected, but I have no regrets and thought it was a good company overall.