Nikon Precision Field / Application Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

So I had an interview with HR first to talk about my current job and when I could start. Then I took a mechanical aptitude test. After I passed that, I had a technical interview with a site supervisor where they asked if I knew what a torque wrench or an oscillometer was. Next, there was a panel interview with a Site Supervisor, Site Technical Lead, and the Associate Director of Field Services. They asked more technical questions, like how light bends in lenses or mirrors. After that, I interviewed with the Senior VP of Engineering from Japan and the Associate Director of Engineering, conducted in Japanese. This also involved technical questions and was basically a Japanese language test. HR then told me I'd get an offer next week. Finally, I was supposed to interview with the CEO of Nikon Precision for a final role explanation, but HR called to say they were going in a different direction because my Japanese wasn't good enough, which felt unprofessional after they said I'd get an offer.

Got contacted right after my resume was found on my school's career website, and an interview was setup within a few days. During the interview I met with a panel of 5 employees in the field I was applying for. The interview was only around 30 minutes or so but I've heard from other people it exceeded an hour. After about a week I got feedback that I got the job and went to train in Belmont 2 weeks following. For any who may be concerned, all NPI training is in Belmont, Ca, and is approximately 12 weeks in length for new hires.

You'll be interviewed by the Site Manager, Site Coordinator, and a couple of Lead Technicians. The goal is to gauge your experience with different types of issues, like working on Interferometer lasers, Auto Focus systems, and robots. They also want to see your computer skills and how well you collaborate with a team. Finally, they'll ask if you can document your repair or recovery efforts over a 12-hour shift.