Kite Pharma Research Associate Interview Questions
& Process

The process consisted of many 1-on-1 interviews. I didn't like that the company interviewed me for multiple positions while saying I was interviewing for just one. Felt like bait-and-switch tactics and got unethical and micromanaging vibes from the hiring managers. Their interview process was an interrogation, and while the questions weren't difficult, any time I said I didn't have experience with a specific technology (even with analogous ones), they implied my experience wasn't 'real' because I didn't use that preferred technology. Also, this was the only hiring manager that kept their zoom camera off.

The interview process was very smooth. The HR was responsive and helpful. It started with an HR call, followed by a call with the hiring manager, and then an onsite interview. The HR was helpful in arranging the onsite interviews and provided a schedule of who would be interviewing me.

The hiring manager reached out directly for an initial phone interview. After that, HR contacted me to set up the in-person interview, which was about three weeks away. I was told in advance to prepare a 30-minute presentation on any past research. The actual interview day was pretty long, around 7 hours, with back-to-back 30-minute meetings with groups of 2-3 people. Expect a long day with little breaks, even before your presentation. Kite is growing, moving into a new building and has a new CEO after an acquisition, so things seemed a bit unpolished, possibly due to growing pains. It seems to be a close-knit research team. One person mentioned they'd been interviewing candidates daily for months. Most people were nice, but the HR contact from Gilead was really frustrating and stressful to deal with. He rarely answered his phone or returned calls and seemed uninterested in or unaware of Kite/Southern California, given Gilead's headquarters are in Northern CA. There was a significant delay of another two weeks between the verbal and written offer. Basic questions about benefits were answered vaguely or not at all. It felt like the HR person was annoyed by my questions and just wanted me to accept the offer without much information, while claiming it was the 'best offer out there'. This poor communication with HR unfortunately left a bad impression, making me question if I wanted to work there, even though it wasn't directly about the job itself.