Can anyone describe what the research scientist interviews are like in a FAANG company? How are they similar or different than the SWE interviews?
The first few tech rounds tend to be the same.
Then there is a set of research interviews and usually a research job talk.
The main observation is that hiring researchers, after passing basic tech rounds, is much more about taste and how people subjectively rate someone's research. It's insanely competitive, but in a sense it is also easier than pure SWE because there are not as many whiteboard hurdles to pass. You just can't really leetcode your way into the role, without a good track record with really interesting research most teams will not be interested.
Been curious about this too: do FAANG companies hire, say, professors with strong research records, but poor coding skills? I always wondered if everyone on these sort of team were all solid coders, or if there were people there that are exceptions.
Based on your experience do FAANG companies tend to be invested in basic research, or more product focused research?
Yes, they do. The rule of thumb is: The higher the level you are hired, the more wiggle room is there. A random PhD grad will need to pass the normal coding screens which are carried out by SWEs who do not know anything about the candidate.
Last q depends on the FAANG org, everything exists. MS research is very pure, Amazon/Apple very applied, everything in between.