Hardware Engineer Interview Experience - San Jose, California
Process
Three rounds of phone screens:
- HR - Basic HR questions.
- Team Member - Discussed resume and some technical questions.
- Hiring Manager - Discussed resume and some technical questions.
On-site interview:
This interview lasted almost all day with six people interviewing me one after the other (different members of the team).
- Hiring Manager (in person) - Technical questions. They taught me new things and asked me to apply them.
- Verification Guy - I don't have a background in verification, being right out of school, so he did most of the talking.
- Design Guy - K-MAPs and digital basics.
- Design Guy - FSM design.
- DV Guy - Verilog basics and some coding.
- Resume and small talk.
I was later told that the position is on hold and Cisco isn't hiring right now.
Questions
FSM design - traffic light controller
Coding of an interchangeable sequence detector.
CMOS circuit design questions were asked:
- Basic NAND and NOR gates.
- Then, some 3-input XOR gates.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 18 interview experiences for the Cisco Hardware Engineer role in San Jose, California.
Success Rate
Cisco's interview process for their Hardware Engineer roles in San Jose, California is incredibly easy as the vast majority of engineers get an offer after going through it.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Cisco's Hardware Engineer interview process in San Jose, California.
Cisco Work Experiences
- 5.0Great Team, Limited Intern WorkHardware Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Jose, California, United StatesJune 15, 2020Pros: Good team culture. The manager is nice.Cons: It is common that as an intern, what you can learn or do is limited.
- 4.0Big Company, Shifting ManagersHardware Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Jose, California, United StatesJuly 25, 2014Pros: Big company experience, benefits and perks, large campus, and working from home. Mergers and acquisition experience is great!Cons: Constant change of managers, inability to set a path and stick with it.
- 3.0Good place to work, but focused on contractorsHardware Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Jose, California, United StatesOctober 28, 2014Pros: Flexible schedule, challenging, fast-paced. You can learn a lot quickly if you apply yourself.Cons: Being a contractor, I feel like a second-class citizen.
Cisco Interview Questions
