Senior Firmware Engineer Interview Experience - Palo Alto, California
January 1, 2018
Positive ExperienceGot Offer
Process
Started with phone interview with HR. After that, you are given a 1-hour non-proctored test to complete online. If you pass the test, then you move to 2 technical phone interviews. These have coding questions as well as system-level questions. I was asked about RTOS constantly. The last step is an on-site interview where you present a topic or project in front of a bunch of your future co-workers and management. You also talk individually to ~6 engineers, which ask technical questions. Process took 2 months.
Questions
Explain RTOS and CAN and fundamentals.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 2 interview experiences for the Tesla Senior Firmware Engineer role in Palo Alto, California.
Success Rate
100%
Pass Rate
Tesla's interview process for their Senior Firmware Engineer roles in Palo Alto, California is incredibly easy as the vast majority of engineers get an offer after going through it.
Experience Rating
Positive100%
Neutral0%
Negative0%
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Tesla's Senior Firmware Engineer interview process in Palo Alto, California.
Tesla Work Experiences
4.0
Great mission, fantastic coworkers
Senior Firmware Engineer • Current Employee
Palo Alto, California, United States
September 14, 2016
Pros: Smartest people I've ever worked with; almost everyone is expert level.
Elon is inspirational, if a little insane.
Great feeling of actually doing something useful for humanity.
Management actually makes good decisions most of the time.
Benefits are better than the salary.
Cons: Identity crisis of not being a startup but also not a mature company.
Mediocre pay, worst-case scenario for finding a decent commute or an affordable home.
Depending on what area you work in, work-life balance can be off. I personally never felt pressured to work when I didn't want to; friends of mine at the company experienced this.
5.0
Fun projects and a pretty good work environment
Senior Firmware Engineer • Current Employee
Palo Alto, California, United States
April 25, 2019
Pros: The projects at Tesla are fun to work on. Project timelines are very fast-paced, which means limited work-life balance. However, the kind of person hired at Tesla won't see this as a con. Due to long working hours and a stressful environment, your coworkers are more like family. It's run more like a startup than a huge corporation. This means projects go from prototype to production quickly, which can be stressful.
Cons: Long-term company stability is a real issue.
There have been two rounds of layoffs in the past year, and these have affected mostly full-time employees and a lot of engineers.
Due to this, morale is in decline.
On most teams, engineer employee turnover is relatively low as compared to most of the Bay Area. Management turnover, on the other hand, is really high.
Pay is also low for the Bay Area, especially due to the low stock price.
5.0
Best place to work ever
Senior Firmware Engineer • Current Employee
Palo Alto, California, United States
August 8, 2017
Pros: Interesting tasks. Flexible schedule. Amazing product.
Cons: Tasks' priorities are being switched too often.
- 4.0Great mission, fantastic coworkersSenior Firmware Engineer • Current EmployeePalo Alto, California, United StatesSeptember 14, 2016Pros: Smartest people I've ever worked with; almost everyone is expert level. Elon is inspirational, if a little insane. Great feeling of actually doing something useful for humanity. Management actually makes good decisions most of the time. Benefits are better than the salary.Cons: Identity crisis of not being a startup but also not a mature company. Mediocre pay, worst-case scenario for finding a decent commute or an affordable home. Depending on what area you work in, work-life balance can be off. I personally never felt pressured to work when I didn't want to; friends of mine at the company experienced this.
- 5.0Fun projects and a pretty good work environmentSenior Firmware Engineer • Current EmployeePalo Alto, California, United StatesApril 25, 2019Pros: The projects at Tesla are fun to work on. Project timelines are very fast-paced, which means limited work-life balance. However, the kind of person hired at Tesla won't see this as a con. Due to long working hours and a stressful environment, your coworkers are more like family. It's run more like a startup than a huge corporation. This means projects go from prototype to production quickly, which can be stressful.Cons: Long-term company stability is a real issue. There have been two rounds of layoffs in the past year, and these have affected mostly full-time employees and a lot of engineers. Due to this, morale is in decline. On most teams, engineer employee turnover is relatively low as compared to most of the Bay Area. Management turnover, on the other hand, is really high. Pay is also low for the Bay Area, especially due to the low stock price.
- 5.0Best place to work everSenior Firmware Engineer • Current EmployeePalo Alto, California, United StatesAugust 8, 2017Pros: Interesting tasks. Flexible schedule. Amazing product.Cons: Tasks' priorities are being switched too often.
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