Altair Engineering Interview Questions & Reviews

Interviewed Apr 2008 in Troy, MI (took 3 days)

I found the position on a Thursday on a job board (either The Ladders or Monster, I can't remember which) and applied online. I was contacted by a recruiter within 3-5 minutes of applying and had around a 30-45 minute phone call with her.

She forwarded me on to the hiring manager (a VP) who called me that afternoon. I spoke to him about my experience and expectations and his for around an hour or so. He then set up a panel interview with members of the local office for the next day.

This interview was a panel interview with 5 people, three in-person and 2 on the phone. The questions ranged from my technical background (generally since I would not be working as an engineer) and my sales experience. The interview was friendly and not at all set up to put me under undo stress.

The hiring VP indicated that he wanted me to fly out for interviews at their world headquarters in Troy (I live in a different region of the US). I was on a plane the next Wednesday and interviewed with 8 people including the CEO the next day. All were 1:1 interviews with the exception of one which was 2:1. The interviews ranged from friendly and casual to tense and penetrating. All were unscripted with few if any prepared questions.

The interview with the President and CEO Jim Scapa was the most unpleasant due primarily to his interview style of "trying to figure out what motivates you and where you come from personally". He is extremely perceptive and his questions made me squirm. That being said, he was very professional and his questions were very, very good and not at all out-of-line.