Redwood Materials Interview Questions
& Process

I had a chat with the recruiter first, then a chat with two team members who weren't the hiring manager, and finally a chat with an interview panel. The recruiter was nice and responsive, but the company seemed a bit disorganized because I was set to talk to the same people in both the second and third rounds. Some people on the panel were critical of my current company, which I found unprofessional. One interviewer was also blunt and a bit rude, which made me think the company culture might be toxic, allowing people to openly criticize designs. For example, in the 1:1 interview after my presentation, he didn't turn on his camera, asked me to keep my screen shared on the presentation without asking any questions about it, and didn't even introduce himself. He also asked about fluid dynamics even though I told him it wasn't my area of responsibility. His arrogance suggests that people like him can advance in the company, which says a lot about its culture.

The interview process involved a phone screen, followed by a somewhat superficial interview with a remote architect manager. Then, there was an uncomfortable technical presentation given to a group of somewhat distracted staff members. Overall, it was a pretty unwelcoming interview day, despite the recruiter being very friendly. The day felt like a constant stream of shallow meeting requests without any real personal connection. Except for two of the interviewers, the rest of the staff appeared disengaged, remote, and arrogant. While the organization itself seems interesting, the commute and the general work environment were quite off-putting.

I applied on the Redwood website and got a response within a week or two. The recruiter called me for an intro screening for about 30-45 minutes. We talked about what Redwood does, what they're looking for, and my experience. Then, I had a phone interview with an engineer, which was a mix of behavioral and technical questions. After that, the department head called me to discuss my experience, past projects, and what the role would entail. Then I went onsite and interviewed with several engineers. These were mostly behavioral, talking about my goals and how they fit with Redwood. One part of the onsite was a 20-30 minute technical presentation on a topic relevant to the job, in front of about 8-10 people. The recruiter contacted me about the offer the week after the onsite. The whole process took about 5-6 weeks from the first recruiter call to the offer.

I went through six interviews and about the same number of phone screens. Redwood claims to be different from Tesla, but they've wasted a lot of my time, just like Tesla. I applied for multiple positions and spoke with different recruiters, and each time I was ghosted. I tried emailing the recruiters for updates, but they either gave vague answers or no response at all. The jobs I applied for were directly related to my experience or I was overqualified. The least they could do is send an automated email saying I wasn't selected. My old colleague JB from Tesla would be embarrassed by how their recruiting team is turning away good candidates.