Illumina Business Analyst Interview Questions
& Process

I had a few interviews for two Business Systems Analyst positions at Illumina. The first was with HR, mainly to check my salary expectations and visa status. Then, I had a 30-minute chat with the hiring manager about my experience. The third interview was a panel with several Illumina folks. Some on the panel didn't seem to know what to expect from a BSA or thought the role involved data engineering. Mostly, they didn't see my potential or how quickly I can learn. For the first job, HR tried to offer me less than I currently make. For the second, HR just went silent. I'm pretty sure Illumina doesn't want to sponsor visas. Plus, I've noticed the company culture has gotten more toxic over the last year, which explains why so many people are leaving.

It was a very professional and organized interview process, which was divided into 4 stages. There was also a networking event to meet the seniors in the organization. I had a personal interview with members of the team. Then we had a group task where we had to build a lego block based on instructions given by a team member. Following that, we had another group task where we were given clues to solve a problem by combining all our individual clues.

I applied online through LinkedIn and heard back from a recruiter within a week to set up an interview. The first step was a chat with the recruiter, who told me about the company and the role, and asked some basic behavioral questions about my experience and what I'm looking for salary-wise. They let me know about the next round at the end of the call. The second round, which lasted about half an hour, was with the hiring manager and a team member. It happened within three days and focused mainly on my experience and included some technical questions. Two days later, I got an invitation for a third, onsite round. They really planned out everything perfectly, including my travel, accommodation, and car. I received the schedule in advance. The interviews themselves were on schedule, with six different people for about half an hour each. I met with business stakeholders, the hiring manager, other team members, and my potential teammates. Most of the discussion was about my experience and behavioral aspects. Everyone was really nice.