Hardware

Hi folks, I’m a hardware engineer focused on board-level circuit design with \~3 years of experience. After about 3 months of an intense and sometimes exhausting job search, I recently received an offer from NVIDIA. I interviewed with several large companies, including Apple, Nvidia, and Tesla, and wanted to share some observations that might be helpful to others going through a similar process. ⸻ # Tesla I had hiring manager rounds for two different positions, but both processes eventually went quiet. Observation: Tesla interviews felt very fast-paced and intense. Interviewers often rapid-fire questions and emphasize speed and pressure in the work environment. Based on my experience, ghosting seems fairly common, so I wouldn’t expect a formal rejection email. ⸻ # Apple I had hiring manager rounds for six different roles. One was in Texas (which I decided not to pursue), three ended in rejection (they do send rejection emails!), and two moved forward to panel interviews. Of those, one panel resulted in rejection, and one is still in progress. Observation: Apple’s interview flow is usually something like: * Hiring Manager → Engineer → Panel or * Hiring Manager → Panel → Upper Manager Panels are typically around six people, 45 minutes each. They’re usually conducted online and can sometimes be split across two days. Apple tends to interview candidates with people from multiple teams. Even if you’re applying to Team A, panel interviewers may come from Teams B, C, D, etc. You don’t need deep expertise in every domain, but having high-level familiarity helps. Apple usually tells you who you’ll interview with and the general topics ahead of time, which makes preparation more structured. ⸻ # NVIDIA My process was: Hiring Manager → Onsite Panel → Upper Manager → Hire Observation: I only interviewed with one team, so this reflects that experience. Everyone I spoke with was extremely competent and clearly knew their domain very well. Before the panel, NVIDIA shared the interviewers’ names but not the specific topics each person would cover, so doing some LinkedIn research helped. The panel was onsite with five interviewers. The campus and building were great, and an NVIDIA ambassador walked me from the front desk to the interview room. Several people mentioned that the workload is intense and expectations are high, so people who enjoy learning quickly and taking ownership would thrive there. ⸻ # Some general tips * Interviewing is a skill and takes practice. If needed, apply to roles that align with your interests (even if they’re not your top choice) to get practices. * After an interview, assume you didn’t get the job and keep moving. If you do get it, it’s a pleasant surprise. If not, you're already mentally prepared. This mindset helps protect your mental health during long interview cycles. * Learn and take notes. The amount you can learn in a short time is surprising. A few months of interviewing can significantly level up your technical knowledge and confidence compared to when you first started. Hope this helps someone out there, and good luck to anyone currently in the process.