Leica Geosystems Interview Questions
& Process

This role's hiring process was a bit of a mess and really inconsistent. There were four interviews and a test, but I kept getting different stories about what the job actually involved. Everyone seemed to have a different idea of the responsibilities, and honestly, some of them admitted the job description would probably need a rewrite. It was hard to tell if the role was mainly about controllership, FP&A, or being a business partner. The last interview was a real letdown – it felt rushed, like they were just talking at me and I barely got a chance to explain my background or ask anything. They came off as dismissive and unprofessional, which definitely soured me on the whole thing. In the end, the whole recruitment felt unaligned and unclear, and I spent a lot of time without really knowing what I was interviewing for. I'd tell the company to get on the same page internally about what they expect from this role and make sure everyone gives the same message during hiring. Honestly, I can't recommend this specific job unless they sort out the responsibilities from the start.

It was pretty straightforward. I had a chat with two engineers who would be on my team. We discussed my past projects, and they asked me some general ML questions. After that, I asked them about the team dynamics, the possibility of publishing research, and the salary expectations for the role.

The interview process was horrible. It began with a Zoom call that ran way over the scheduled time. Then there was an in-person meeting at the office after work hours, which felt unsafe given the circumstances. During this meeting, the interviewer asked inappropriate personal questions like age, marital status, and family plans. The meeting also went significantly over the scheduled time. After this, there were a couple more Zoom calls with management and some phone calls. I was told an offer would be coming, and my salary expectations were discussed. However, the offer amount was much lower than expected with no room for negotiation. I decided to continue the process to get the formal offer to use as leverage. The offer was still not acceptable, and the interviewer tried to convince me that a pay cut and hybrid role were beneficial. He called again late on a Friday when I was at a bachelorette party, continuing to try and sell me on the role for 45 minutes. He also mentioned the company culture was 'bro'-like, with few women who didn't stay long. He implied that 'above and beyond' work past 9-5 in sales wasn't considered overtime. I declined the offer via email.

I was contacted by a Leica recruiter on Linkedin, and the whole process took about 8 weeks. Initially, there were two interviews, one with the recruiter and another with an HR rep and two hiring managers. Salary expectations were never brought up in these initial stages, which I found unusual. Following that, I was invited for final onsite technical interviews. A significant part of this involved preparing a 30-minute presentation on a technical topic relevant to the job, which took me a few days. The onsite interview itself was quite extensive, lasting almost 7 HOURS. During the onsite, I met potential colleagues, was shown my potential workspace, and we discussed living in the city and its surroundings. The interactions felt positive, with shared experiences and ideas. The HR rep seemed enthusiastic about the company's benefits. Towards the very end, I was asked about my salary expectations. My ballpark figures were slightly above the local average, and upon hearing them, the mood in the room shifted noticeably, with unprofessional jokes from the hiring managers and the HR rep mentioning she'd need to calculate things. I was told feedback would be given the following week. Two weeks passed with no word, so I followed up via email and was then informed they were hiring someone else whose profile was a better fit, despite the job ad being reposted. The travel for the onsite was entirely at my expense, involving a long journey and flight, with only a 10CHF lunch covered. It felt like they were seeking information easily obtainable from a resume. Strangely, the HR rep asked me to email my continued interest before an offer was even discussed, which felt demeaning. Red flags included the hiring managers complaining about the company's structure and slow pace. The HR rep also seemed new and unprepared, reading from her laptop for questions. On the positive side, the products looked great, there were expansion plans, and the city and people seemed nice. While I understand not everyone is hired, the lack of travel expense coverage and the perceived waste of time for information easily found on a resume were significant downsides and felt like a bad omen.