Nest Embedded Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

I applied online and HR reached out to schedule a technical interview. It was 45 minutes. The interviewer talked about the company, products, and their job. Then they asked 'tell me about yourself?', followed by questions about my projects, C knowledge, and experience. There was also a coding round where I had to fix some code and write code from scratch, both involving pointers. I wasn't great at pointers then and didn't do well. I got rejected two days later, as expected.

I initially contacted a recruiter at Nest about roles in Embedded Systems. She connected me with Recruiter B, who presented a position that was a partial match. After interviewing for that role (via phone), it became clear it wasn't the right fit. I expressed my interest in more relevant opportunities, and we agreed to wait. Recruiter B then contacted me again the same day with a perfectly aligned role and directed me to Recruiter C. Recruiter C scheduled a phone interview that went exceptionally well, with positive feedback from the interviewer. However, I experienced a significant delay in hearing back from Recruiter C, despite sending follow-up emails and even calling to emphasize my urgency and other ongoing interviews. Her responses were slow and seemed passive, making me feel undervalued given my qualifications. This lack of proactivity from the recruiter, who cited waiting for interviewer feedback and then hiring manager approval, contrasted with my experiences at other top tech companies. Ultimately, I received and accepted offers from other companies before Nest provided an update, which eventually came weeks later with an explanation of a delayed feedback due to the interviewer's illness. I was disappointed by the recruiter's apparent inefficiency and lack of proactive communication, which I felt cost me a valuable opportunity.

I had a phone screen first, then an in-person technical interview with 5 people. After that, there was another in-person meeting with the hiring manager, a PM, and 3 other group representatives. The whole process was really well organized and the interviewers were nice and helpful, with no weird trick questions.