Garmin Embedded Test Software Engineer Interview Questions & Reviews

Interview Details – I applied for this position in January 2011 through the Garmin website, and initially did not receive a reply. I was however contacted by a Garmin HR recruiter who had noticed my profile on LinkedIn. After a phone interview with HR, I was invited for an on-site interview in February. I was met in the lobby at 8:00 a.m. and escorted a small conference room near the main entrance. From 8 am to noon, I was interviewed hourly by a representative, or pair of representatives, of various teams within the company. I was given two C/C++ tests, which were probably pretty simple for someone who codes daily. However, since coding has not been in my test engineering career path, and my CS degree is rusty, I did not do very well on these. I found it curious that so much emphasis was placed on C/C++ coding for a testing position, but apparently that is the Garmin development model. I was also asked general lifecycle, testing/QA, FAA regulatory and avionics questions, which I thought I answered well. The Garmin recruiter then took me to lunch in the cafeteria, where I had an opportunity to ask questions and recap my qualifications. I left with hopes of receiving an offer, but 2 days later I received a form rejection notice by email. Attempts to follow up with HR and with persons who interviewed me were unsuccessful. To their credit, everyone was professional and pleasant -- but don't expect any debriefing if you don't get an offer.

Interview Details – Met a recruiter at a career fair. This was followed by a behavioral phone interview. I was then flown out to their campus where I had two hiring managers scheduled to interview me, was given a tour of the site, had a face to face interview with the HR rep who I'd phone interviewed with earlier, and was scheduled last minute for a final interview with a manager who the other managers thought would be a better fit for me.