Illumina Manufacturing Engineer Interview Questions
& Process
Real candidates share what happened, how many rounds they had,
and how the experience turned out.
Based on 72 interview experiences · FREE TO READ
Candidate interview experiences
First-hand accounts from people who interviewed at Illumina.
Illumina
Process Engineer
Mid Average Negative experience No offer 3 rounds
Interview process
Recruiter call Technical screen Onsite
Interview formats
Technical Behavioral
If they want to interview it'll move quick. Really clean cut interview, doesn't seem like your personality or character matters much. The interviewer was stern and made everything feel like a rush. Perhaps they already had a decision.
Confirmed questions2 questions
- Questions about statistics
- Questions about past team experiences
Illumina
Process Development Engineer
Entry Average Positive experience No offer 3 rounds
Interview process
Recruiter call Phone screen Panel
Interview formats
Technical Behavioral
HR gave me a 30 min phone call. Then the Hiring Manager called me for a 30 min interview that covered technical and behavioral questions. After that, I had a panel interview with 5 team members, which lasted for 2.5 hours. Everyone was nice and on time. I didn't get the job because they hired someone with 2 years of experience, and I just graduated.
Confirmed questions1 question
- Can you tell me about what Illumina does?
Illumina
Process Development Engineer
Entry Difficult Neutral experience No offer 3 rounds
Interview process
Recruiter call Phone screen Panel Onsite
Interview formats
Technical Behavioral Presentation
I first got an invite to do a 30 phone interview with the hiring manager. The interviewer told me a bit about themselves and the position. They let me talk about my background briefly as well. The majority of the interview focused on asking technical questions. I was selected to continue the process, and the next step was a 30 minute phone interview with HR. This interview was mainly straightforward generic HR questions (salary range, why do you want to work for Illumina, etc). The last portion of the process was a panel series of interviews. I interviewed with about 8 people over the course of 5 or 6 hours. Each person had a different technical specialty, but all asked me technical questions. Illumina's technical questions are very "Google-esque" in that they want insight into how you think. You have to get creative to answer some in a way that reflects your background knowledge.
Confirmed questions8 questions
- Considering next-generation chemistry, what tests would you implement for a robust process and formulation?
- Can you discuss potential degradation mechanisms for a formulation?
- If an experiment yields identical results twice, how would you determine if the data is unique and what would be your next steps?
Illumina Manufacturing Engineer Interview Questions
Quoted word for word from Illumina interview reports.
“What causes an image to be only half focused and half not focused when viewed through a microscope?”
Read reports →“Can you elaborate on the reasons for an image being only half in focus under a microscope, providing detailed explanations?”
Read reports →“Can you explain how you would break down the bonding of base pairs in DNA?”
Read reports →“Could you explain the central limit theorem to a 6th grader, avoiding any statistical jargon?”
Read reports →“Imagine you have a sequence of numbers from 1 to 100 and one is missing. How would you find it? What if the sequence was much larger, say 1 to 1,000,000?”
Read report →“Can you explain the concept of mean as if you were talking to a 5-year-old?”
Read report →“If an experiment yields identical results twice, how would you determine if the data is unique and what would be your next steps?”
Read report →“Can you explain the difference between for and while loops and provide scenarios where each would be more appropriate?”
Read report →“Hypothetically, if you owned an ice cream business and shop, how would you ascertain the quality of your ice cream?”
Read report →Formats, difficulty and experience
Across all 72 Illumina interview reports.