SanDisk Interview Questions
& Process

SanDisk, a maker of flash memory stuff, has a software dev process that's usually 3-4 rounds. It starts with a written test that has some quant/puzzle questions (like 10), maybe 10 programming questions mostly in C focusing on data structures and algorithms, and a couple of coding questions. Then there are 2-3 technical interviews where they ask about your resume stuff - projects, internships, etc. They're really into Data Structures, Algorithms, OS, Networking, and Databases, so expect deep dives into CS topics and your interests. Lastly, there's an HR round for general background, past experiences, and how you handle life/problems, like asking why SanDisk or what you'd do if another company offered more money.

It’s an open interview, I was interviewed by 3 different people. First, a woman, probably from HR, who was interested in my skills and invited me to another interview with a manager from manufacturing engineering. Second, the manager gave me some tough questions about machines I mentioned on my resume, like DSC and SEM, and some quality questions since I said I learned quality control. Then he asked about my biggest challenge when I was Vice President at a club in my university. Third, I think he was an engineer under the manager. He offered me the job and explained briefly. I accepted the offer.

The company came to our campus for this profile. First, there was a written test with three sections: Aptitude, Programming, and Systems & hardware. The Aptitude section had 10 questions on topics like time and work, probability, and averages. The Programming section included 10 C questions and two subjective ones (swapping and quadratic equation roots). The third section had 10 basic questions on cache, virtual memory, ring oscillators, op amps, interrupts, etc., plus two descriptive questions on FSMs and memory system performance. Following that, there were two interview rounds. The first involved questions about my family, my interests (I mentioned microcontrollers), and then lots of basic questions on that topic (I had 8051 on my CV). The interviewer also asked some C programming questions. The second interview was more in-depth, covering basic digital concepts, logic puzzles, and a discussion about my college learning experiences.

This was one of my worst interview experiences. The panel seemed indifferent and had already decided against hiring me. I interviewed with another semiconductor company before this. I had already completed 3 rounds with consultants, then I went to SanDisk for the client interview. The panel had 2 people who showed little interest in conducting the interview. First, they couldn't even arrange a room, and after a 30-minute struggle, they provided a room for only 5 minutes. The interviewer asked irrelevant questions that didn't relate to my experience or have any practical application. No questions were asked about Python or any of the technologies I've worked with previously. He asked about applying binary search to a tree structure, despite not understanding that binary search requires a sorted structure, not an unordered one. The panel's ignorance and lack of knowledge were significant, and they had a poor attitude.