Principal Software Engineer Interview Experience - Santa Clara, California
Process
To start, a recruiter scheduled a telephonic interview with a hiring manager who was himself a Sr. Principal Engineer. The interview lasted for an hour.
The interview was difficult, and it appeared the interviewer asked questions primarily based on his specific work domain experience. The questions mostly covered embedded OS concepts, C language, the difference between C and C++, how C++ destructors are called, and internal virtual pointer tables. There were also some deep questions on TCP/IP, windowing, and the difference between TCP and UDP. The interview was very technical.
Questions
What is windowing in TCP/IP?
In C++ inheritance, how are destructors laid out in memory? Some further digging on virtual pointer tables.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 2 interview experiences for the Broadcom Principal Software Engineer role in Santa Clara, California.
Success Rate
Broadcom's interview process for their Principal Software Engineer roles in Santa Clara, California is fairly selective, failing a large portion of engineers who go through it.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Broadcom's Principal Software Engineer interview process in Santa Clara, California.
Broadcom Work Experiences
- 3.0Learned Tech, Bad ManagementPrincipal Software Engineer • Former EmployeeSanta Clara, California, United StatesOctober 22, 2019Pros: Offered opportunities to learn new technologies. Good benefits and work environment.Cons: On many occasions, long hours with tough schedules exist due to bad management.
- 2.0Senior Principal Software DevelopmentPrincipal Software Engineer • Current EmployeeSanta Clara, California, United StatesNovember 28, 2016Pros: Talented engineers. Challenging engineering work. Compensation is ok to good.Cons: Since the Avago acquisition, there have been many layoffs and many good engineers leaving. Business support, like HR and IT, is very poor. The work environment is awkward due to ambiguity of future direction, layoffs, and work-life balance issues stemming from increased workloads due to layoffs and resignations.
- 2.0Principle Software EngineerPrincipal Software Engineer • Current EmployeeSanta Clara, California, United StatesSeptember 9, 2016Pros: Work on products that are widely used in the latest electronics. Work with other talented engineers.Cons: No money is spent on anything other than salary. Don't expect training. Don't expect any perks. Cost cutting is cutting to the bone. Long-term employees are leaving, taking institutional knowledge with them. People are getting laid off regularly to hit the goal of a 60% profit margin. The company is being run for short-term profit and to impress Wall Street rather than as a long-term business that needs good employees and happy customers.
