Sandisk

Device Engineer Interview Experience - Milpitas, California

January 1, 2014

Positive ExperienceGot Offer

Process

I applied for this position on the SanDisk website.

It took one week from a phone call interview to the on-site interview.

I met six people, including the HR manager, for five hours.

Each interview took 45 minutes, except for the lunch hour with an interviewer.

Questions

They asked me about my Ph.D. work, previous professional work experience, and knowledge.

Mostly easy, but sharp questions. The hiring manager told me he already knew about me through the phone call interview as well as my resume, so it was my turn to ask him about everything. One interviewer grilled me with tricky questions about weird transistor structures. The manager and a technical VP were very friendly and nice guys.

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Interview Statistics

The following metrics were computed from 3 interview experiences for the Sandisk Device Engineer role in Milpitas, California.

Success Rate

0%

Pass Rate

Sandisk's interview process for their Device Engineer roles in Milpitas, California is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.

Experience Rating

Positive67%

Neutral0%

Negative33%

Candidates reported having very good feelings for Sandisk's Device Engineer interview process in Milpitas, California.

Sandisk Work Experiences

The middle Ground

Device Engineer • Current Employee

Pros: You may work on interesting problems that depend on the group. You will come across people who are talented and skilled in the art, who will motivate you to learn and acquire new skills. My schedule is very flexible, but that depends on your group and where you are in the food chain.

Cons: The future of SanDisk and its rather unique position is in question after the pending but imminent acquisition by Western Digital, a rather stagnated, low-technology dinosaur that is trying to save itself by buying rather than innovating. With not much incentive on the horizon, key talented people will likely leave. WDC is not a company that can attract top-notch talent in Silicon Valley. Pay and benefits are average and don't compare to companies such as Apple or Google, but some of this has to do with the dynamics of the semiconductor industry. In a very good year when stocks are doing well and bonuses are paid 100%, you won't do that bad, but that doesn't happen too often. For a small company, there are surprisingly too many levels, something like 10 levels from a base engineer to a senior director. Worse, from an outsider, the company, especially technology groups, appear to suffer from an extreme lack of diversity to the point of almost appearing racially biased. There are way too many engineers hired from India. The executives of the company are uniformly Indian and unfortunately biased towards promoting from their own ranks only. As a result, many executives (not all) lack technical background, talent, and experience; in fact, most don't even have an advanced degree from a reputable school, which is really needed to lead a semiconductor company that thrives on the promise of Moore's law. They make key strategic errors that come to roost after some time. Overall, this is not a place where a PhD from a top 10 school will feel at home. Come here if you absolutely can't find a job elsewhere.

The middle Ground

Device Engineer • Current Employee

Pros: You may work on interesting problems that depend on the group. You will come across people who are talented and skilled in the art, who will motivate you to learn and acquire new skills. My schedule is very flexible, but that depends on your group and where you are in the food chain.

Cons: The future of SanDisk and its rather unique position is in question after the pending but imminent acquisition by Western Digital, a rather stagnated, low-technology dinosaur that is trying to save itself by buying rather than innovating. With not much incentive on the horizon, key talented people will likely leave. WDC is not a company that can attract top-notch talent in Silicon Valley. Pay and benefits are average and don't compare to companies such as Apple or Google, but some of this has to do with the dynamics of the semiconductor industry. In a very good year when stocks are doing well and bonuses are paid 100%, you won't do that bad, but that doesn't happen too often. For a small company, there are surprisingly too many levels, something like 10 levels from a base engineer to a senior director. Worse, from an outsider, the company, especially technology groups, appear to suffer from an extreme lack of diversity to the point of almost appearing racially biased. There are way too many engineers hired from India. The executives of the company are uniformly Indian and unfortunately biased towards promoting from their own ranks only. As a result, many executives (not all) lack technical background, talent, and experience; in fact, most don't even have an advanced degree from a reputable school, which is really needed to lead a semiconductor company that thrives on the promise of Moore's law. They make key strategic errors that come to roost after some time. Overall, this is not a place where a PhD from a top 10 school will feel at home. Come here if you absolutely can't find a job elsewhere.

Sandisk Review

Engineer • Former Employee

Pros: Good company to work for your career.

Cons: Nothing as such I have to say.

Engineer • Former Employee

Pros: Good company to work for your career.

Cons: Nothing as such I have to say.

Good work life balance

Validation Engineer • Former Employee

Pros: It is a nice team to work with.

Cons: Nothing as such that is worth mentioning.

Good work life balance

Validation Engineer • Former Employee

Pros: It is a nice team to work with.

Cons: Nothing as such that is worth mentioning.

The middle Ground

Device Engineer • Current Employee

Pros: You may work on interesting problems that depend on the group. You will come across people who are talented and skilled in the art, who will motivate you to learn and acquire new skills. My schedule is very flexible, but that depends on your group and where you are in the food chain.

Cons: The future of SanDisk and its rather unique position is in question after the pending but imminent acquisition by Western Digital, a rather stagnated, low-technology dinosaur that is trying to save itself by buying rather than innovating. With not much incentive on the horizon, key talented people will likely leave. WDC is not a company that can attract top-notch talent in Silicon Valley. Pay and benefits are average and don't compare to companies such as Apple or Google, but some of this has to do with the dynamics of the semiconductor industry. In a very good year when stocks are doing well and bonuses are paid 100%, you won't do that bad, but that doesn't happen too often. For a small company, there are surprisingly too many levels, something like 10 levels from a base engineer to a senior director. Worse, from an outsider, the company, especially technology groups, appear to suffer from an extreme lack of diversity to the point of almost appearing racially biased. There are way too many engineers hired from India. The executives of the company are uniformly Indian and unfortunately biased towards promoting from their own ranks only. As a result, many executives (not all) lack technical background, talent, and experience; in fact, most don't even have an advanced degree from a reputable school, which is really needed to lead a semiconductor company that thrives on the promise of Moore's law. They make key strategic errors that come to roost after some time. Overall, this is not a place where a PhD from a top 10 school will feel at home. Come here if you absolutely can't find a job elsewhere.

3.0
The middle Ground
Device Engineer • Current Employee
Milpitas, CA
May 2, 2016
Pros: You may work on interesting problems that depend on the group. You will come across people who are talented and skilled in the art, who will motivate you to learn and acquire new skills. My schedule is very flexible, but that depends on your group and where you are in the food chain.
Cons: The future of SanDisk and its rather unique position is in question after the pending but imminent acquisition by Western Digital, a rather stagnated, low-technology dinosaur that is trying to save itself by buying rather than innovating. With not much incentive on the horizon, key talented people will likely leave. WDC is not a company that can attract top-notch talent in Silicon Valley. Pay and benefits are average and don't compare to companies such as Apple or Google, but some of this has to do with the dynamics of the semiconductor industry. In a very good year when stocks are doing well and bonuses are paid 100%, you won't do that bad, but that doesn't happen too often. For a small company, there are surprisingly too many levels, something like 10 levels from a base engineer to a senior director. Worse, from an outsider, the company, especially technology groups, appear to suffer from an extreme lack of diversity to the point of almost appearing racially biased. There are way too many engineers hired from India. The executives of the company are uniformly Indian and unfortunately biased towards promoting from their own ranks only. As a result, many executives (not all) lack technical background, talent, and experience; in fact, most don't even have an advanced degree from a reputable school, which is really needed to lead a semiconductor company that thrives on the promise of Moore's law. They make key strategic errors that come to roost after some time. Overall, this is not a place where a PhD from a top 10 school will feel at home. Come here if you absolutely can't find a job elsewhere.

Sandisk Review

Engineer • Former Employee

Pros: Good company to work for your career.

Cons: Nothing as such I have to say.

4.0
Sandisk Review
Engineer • Former Employee
Bengaluru
June 19, 2018
Pros: Good company to work for your career.
Cons: Nothing as such I have to say.

Good work life balance

Validation Engineer • Former Employee

Pros: It is a nice team to work with.

Cons: Nothing as such that is worth mentioning.

4.0
Good work life balance
Validation Engineer • Former Employee
Bengaluru
April 14, 2014
Pros: It is a nice team to work with.
Cons: Nothing as such that is worth mentioning.

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