Samsung Austin Semiconductor Manufacturing Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

I got a call from the recruiter to set up an interview. The whole process was really quick. It was a short interview – first, I had a 30-minute chat with the recruiter. Then, there were two panel interviews, each lasting 45 minutes with three interviewers. Most of the interviewers (5 out of 6) were managers, and only one was an engineer, who wasn't even in the role I was applying for. They mostly asked behavioral questions, nothing too technically challenging. It seemed like they were more interested in whether I was the kind of person who would stay late, come in on weekends, and be available by phone at night. From the questions, I got the impression that the negative reviews on Glassdoor are pretty accurate – they don't seem to want people to come up with their own ideas. Instead, they prefer to give instructions and expect them to be followed. They're looking for people who are willing to work all the time and use systems that are hard to learn and navigate. I have to say, the recruiting department was impressively professional compared to others I've encountered in my job search.

I had a short meeting with an HR rep then a panel interview. Technical questions were easy but the personal ones were rough. It was like nothing I've experienced before, given my background in a male-dominated field where I'm often the only woman. The interviewers asked inappropriate and borderline discriminatory questions, like if my husband agreed to move to Austin, and how many kids I have, which made me question the role. They also require a recent pay stub, which I submitted as my pay is at the top of the grade, but they couldn't match it. They needed to hire ASAP but could only schedule the on-site interview in 2 weeks due to company policy on booking tickets.

The interview process was very relaxed. We discussed personal accomplishments and projects, company knowledge, and behavioral prompts. For example, questions like 'Tell us what you know about the company,' 'Tell us about a time you were faced with a problem and overcame it,' and 'How would you handle a teammate/colleague not pulling their weight on a project' were asked.