QinetiQ Data Scientist Interview Questions
& Process

The process was pretty smooth, with a quick turn-around. It was about average, but the interview panel was composed of PhDs and very experienced people. We had 2 rounds. The first was a screening call (30mins) and the second stage (1hr 30mins) was in person.

It was a full assessment centre day, not just an interview. It began with some ice-breakers. Then we did a problem solving group exercise, where we had to build a bridge out of newspaper. After that was a "Critical thinking exercise" where you inferred patterns/rules from a given dataset. Finally, I did a Technical Presentation on a topic of my choosing, which was followed immediately by a technical interview. During the technical interview, they asked questions about the presentation itself, and also more general problem solving questions related to the defence sector.

So, I applied in October, and it all started off okay, but then it just went downhill. First, I got an email just before Christmas saying online assessments would be sent in January, and it mentioned an online interview. I got ready, suited up, but it turned out to be game-based tests like quick maths and spacial awareness, no actual interview. They sent automated feedback fast, saying the next step, a video interview, would be sent in a few weeks. Nothing came. Then, later, I was told I was successful and would get more info. In late February, on a Thursday, I got an email for an assessment day in Farnborough the following Monday. It said it would have 3 group exercises and a technical one-on-one. About 100 people were there for different roles, roughly 6 per role. The assessment day itself was quite nice, but surprisingly, there was no technical interview at the end. The group exercises were typical team scenarios with people for the same role. The assessors were the hiring managers. The key was to get involved, work well with others, and not dominate. I found being open to others' suggestions was seen positively. My group of 6 got along and worked together instead of competing. We were told we'd hear back within a week. About a week later, I got an email for a video interview the next morning. The main recruitment guy called, apologizing for the short notice, saying they were struggling to pick the last candidate and wanted another interview. He told me to research Qinetiq's case studies and what the company does. He promised to push for an answer by the weekend. The next morning, I did the interview with 3 line managers, two I'd met before. Right after the first question, I realized the recruiter's info was misleading. The questions were about weapons system design. Since that info needs security clearance, it wasn't easily researchable in a day. The interview was about 20 minutes. After that, zero contact. I tried emailing and calling, but got no response, not even an email saying I was unsuccessful, which is really bad manners. The whole process was full of misinformation, short notices, and mistakes.