The hiring manager visited campus for recruitment. He asked me to stay longer after the presentation and inquired about my research experience, primarily focusing on instrument troubleshooting. He asked my GPA and offered me an onsite interview right then. A friend of mine had recently been selected by the same hiring manager and had forwarded my resume to him as well.

My interview was scheduled almost three weeks later. The company paid for my flight, hotel, and car rental. I flew on Tuesday and interviewed on Wednesday morning.

The hiring manager picked me up and we had a half-hour talk about the position. It was mostly about how technology has changed over the past fifty years and some future challenges. Then, another person came to take me to the presentation room. I presented my research in front of three people: two engineers and one group leader of the "etch" team. I gave a forty-minute talk and answered questions simultaneously. Most questions were straightforward, requiring little thought. There were a few yawns midway through my talk, so I wrapped up a bit quickly. I tried to emphasize the instrumental aspects of my project.

The initial interview lasted an hour and was followed by one-on-one interviews with other group leaders.

I was again asked about my research experience and the impact of my work. This felt less like an interview and more like a conversation. The questions were quite interesting, such as, "If you had all the resources, what research project would you like to pursue?" This interview lasted about thirty minutes, and at the end, I was told the job can be very demanding (long hours) and monotonous.

The next interview was more of a behavioral one and lasted about forty-five minutes. The questions were similar to those found on Glassdoor interviews and were derived from my research experience. At the end, the interviewer told me more about the job's instrument ownership and how it can be very hard at times.

I was then taken to lunch by a junior engineer, where I mostly asked questions about work-life balance and locations. I was given a very brief tour of the "fab" facility. I later learned that this lunch session was also part of the interview, and I was glad I hadn't asked any inappropriate questions.

The final interview was with an area manager and lasted approximately forty-five minutes. He asked me to show him my resume and what I did during my PhD research, with a few follow-up questions. The rest of the interview was a conversation about this particular job. He stated that if I was looking for a 9-to-5 job, Intel would be the wrong place. I was informed about the 24/7 on-call nature of the job. Finally, he asked if I had any questions, and I asked a few follow-up questions. I appreciated his honesty, but at the same time, I didn't feel very welcome.

I heard back from Intel about two and a half weeks later, and an offer was extended. I was given two weeks to make a decision.

Tell me about a time when you had to convince your boss of something that you were right about.