I was contacted by a recruiter and scheduled for a 45-minute technical interview a week later. The questions ranged from my experience and my personal input into my different experiences. They also tested my knowledge of specific equations used to solve certain problems, including the exact variables within them and the units required for each variable to arrive at the output's units.

They also asked what I would do in different engineering scenarios at Apple.

I had a bit of a negative taste in my mouth after answering the scenario questions in my few rounds of interviews, which ultimately turned me off to the company. I'm not sure if this is an Apple-specific approach, but they would present a scenario and two options for action (generally a "right" and a "wrong" answer). I would answer the question and provide my justifications. However, after I responded, they would often follow up with statements like, "Are you sure you would want to do that? Think about the problem in this way; I don't think your answer is correct," or similar critiques.

I would re-assess, but ultimately state that, given the information provided, I stood by my initial decision, while expressing interest in hearing their perspective.

Here's the kicker: they would then confirm my answer was correct, but explain that my reasoning was flawed. They would then proceed to explain their preferred approach by... recapping my own justification for why I selected my answer. They would laugh, and I couldn't tell if it was because they knew they were playing with me, misunderstood my explanation, or for some other reason. I must have performed adequately, because I received an offer in the end.

Either way, it's a bummer because Apple is a great resume builder and a reputable firm, but I can't see myself working under management that seems intent on testing or perhaps even messing with candidates from the outset.

Why select a ductile material over a brittle material?

What are the components to calculate deflection in a cantilever beam, and the units of these components?

When would you use the mod-Goodman theorem over the distortion energy theorem? Give equations for each use case and provide personal experience with these theorems, if possible.

When would you accept something statistically insignificant in a design?