National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) Interview Questions
& Process

Applied online. Was asked to write a sample press release for a research paper. Had a phone/online interview. They gave the position to the person filling it temporarily but said my application was strong and invited me to apply for other similar jobs. The position opened up again a year later, and they reached out to me to re-apply.

The hiring process took about 3 months. They had some trouble with a new HR software. They mentioned they'd offered the job to someone else who took a while to decline, possibly due to their software and scientific background. My background is purely software, without astronomy or RF receiver tech experience. The interview process included a brief phone call, then an onsite interview, followed by a lunch with interviewers. The in-person interview was relaxed with easy technical questions. They covered travel costs. NRAO made an offer which I accepted.

I spent a lot of time getting ready for interview questions that focused on data from their website, public info, published papers, and the job description. It turned out they'd changed things quite a bit and asked about very different topics. I got the impression their public request for someone to manage and grow state-of-the-art radio astronomy had shifted to wanting someone to steer them away from radio astronomy and into a commercial business. The interview stages included a recruiter call, a technical screen, and a presentation.

The interview process was incredibly slow. When things did happen, it was pretty standard and conversational. HR messed up scheduling the in-person interview and still hasn't sorted out travel reimbursement. I'd suggest avoiding this employer because of the bureaucratic operational process. Even though it's on a university campus, you don't get university privileges, and despite federal funding, there are no federal employee benefits. I would have declined an offer anyway due to the slow process and likely low salary.