Qualcomm Staff Engineer: C/C++ multiple choice, OS and computer architecture deep dives
This interview process was unlike many I had done before. It was much focused on low level technical concepts which I guess makes sense given the nature of the business. First there was a HR screening which covered my background, motivations, and why I wanted to join the company.
The next round was a virtual interview where they had many multiple choice questions on C/C++, OOP, OS, and computer architecture concepts. I already knew a lot of them but it was a good excuse to brush up on my computer architecture beforehand because it had been years since I had actually studied it.
Once I passed that there was a hiring manager call where they dived deep on some of the projects I had led in the past and what I would have done differently. They also asked me OS concepts like virtual memory and random questions like give me the best use case of pointers to functions in C.
The final round was another behavioral interview where we went over the culture and compensation expectations. I received an offer a few days after and it was a good comp so I decided to take it.
4 comments
multiple choice for a staff role is wild lol. was it timed? and roughly how many questions
something like 40 q's in an hour. not hard individually but they jump between c++ trivia and cache/pipeline stuff so you can't really cram one area
"best use case of pointers to functions in C" is such a qualcomm question. callbacks/dispatch tables and you're fine
good to know the comp convo happens in the last round and not with the recruiter, thanks for writing this up