I applied online. I interviewed at Commonwealth Fusion Systems
Interview
The interview process was fairly simple and straight forward. They asked me a few questions about myself and why I was interested in the position. After the initial screening, they jumped into a technical interview focused on mechanical design fundamentals.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
One key question involved choosing the appropriate weld for a T-joint—options included single fillet, double fillet, and double bevel groove weld. I now understand they were looking for awareness of penetration depth and when full penetration is required for structural integrity.
Lengthy interview process. A few quick questions with recruitment/HR, then scheduled with the hiring manager, then rest of the team. I did not make it past this round, but was told there were even more steps to take were I to proceed. Not too bad, lots of preparation is required.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
All questions were technical and related to the job description.
I applied through a recruiter. The process took 2 weeks. I interviewed at Commonwealth Fusion Systems
Interview
When I talked to a recruiter, I told him about my background and actually explicitly said "I'm not an [X] expert, I'm much more of a generalist" and went on to describe my other fortes. I mentioned it because [X] was listed as a qualification. I didn't mind "underselling" myself as the recruiter had reached out to me. I went on to an interview with two engineers, including the hiring manager, and they basically only wanted to know about my experience with [X]. I mentioned I'd told the recruiter that wasn't my focus area, but they seemed annoyed by me.
This is clearly a startup that doesn't have its hiring process dialed in, but it has me questioning how they plan to tackle actual, hard engineering challenges if they can't get something as simple as hiring down.
