I am finishing my 8-month co-op at Intel (Folsom, CA) and I feel like giving an insight on my experience at Intel, especially the interview process. I remember wanting to find a blog comment about someone’s experience at Intel but I could never find one! Seriously?! At times when everything is on the web? Anyway here it goes.

First of all, this may sound obvious but your best shot at getting an Intel Internship is to go to their job search website. Do not waste time going to Intel career fairs as they rarely help at all. Once you are on the search job website, apply to all jobs that you think you qualify for and do not worry if there are a few skills you do not feel comfortable with. Just apply. Intel recruits all year long but especially in the spring semester.

Intel pulls out resumes with the right keywords from their database so I would advice you to have a resume with keywords such as “Computer Architecture,” “Microprocessor,” “Intel,” “Perl,” “Scripting,” etc. Another thing you have to know is that Intel is known to hire juniors, seniors, and graduate students more than freshmen and sophomores so do not get discouraged if you are barely starting your undergraduate studies. Also, it really helps if you have some experience in the field you are applying to, such as previous internships, TA, or school projects. It also helps if you are willing to do an extended internship for a full semester (co-op). In any case, the more jobs you apply for the better chance you have to get contacted by a manager. I probably applied to 30+ jobs and got contacted by about 5 managers.

If interested, the manager will first setup an appointment to have a 1-hour long phone interview. The interview is pretty standard and follow a similar procedure. During the first 10 to 15 minutes the manager will simply asks questions about your preferences or school background. The rest of the interview will focused on technical questions with some time at the end for Q&A about the job itself.

Technical Questions

Surprisingly enough, Intel is no way near as hard as Microsoft or Google when it comes to interview questions. They understand that hardware design interview questions are hard to answer through the phone, and therefore, they prefer to keep it as simple as possible. Questions will obviously vary depending on the job specifics but generally target your understanding in computer engineering, solid-state devices, electronics and some basic programming algorithms. Here are common things I was constantly ask and topics you definitely need to know.

  • MOSFET modes of operation.- Know the 3 operation modes of a MOSFET transistor and thee respective formulas. You also have to know the basic operations such as channel formation and so on. Do you want your MOSFET saturated? What about a BJT?
  • Diode.- How is a diode formed? Explain how it works and the steps to manufacture one.
  • Digital circuits.- Learn how to design a AND, OR, NAND, NOR, etc in CMOS technology. Twice I was asked to design a simple inverter using a) two transistors (common one) and b) using one resistor and one transistor.
  • Why is a nmos transistor better than a pmos? (hint: speed) how can you make a pmos transistor as fast as a nmos? (hint: look at current formula for a transistor, one way is to increase W or reduce L)
  • Capacitors.- Questions about capacitors always come up, not just in Intel interviews. Learn and get familiar with capacitor’s dependence on voltage and charge, and a few calculating problems.
  • Perl.- Perl is used everywhere. And by everywhere, I mean e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-re (Python is getting there too). At IBM and Intel is common to see a Perl book in everyone’s desk. Learn about regular expressions, hash tables, arrays, and file handling.
  • Sort and Binary search.- Always have a efficient sort algorithm in hand preferably merge or quicksort (it is fine if you explain it in C or Java). Also, if they ask about search make sure to mention binary search and how it works. Please do not bother with bubble sort (A manager once joked that using bubble sort would be an automatic “X” next to my name lol)
  • Moore and Mealy State machines. – Know the differences between the two and the advantages of each. Also work a few examples as they probably will ask you to draw one. Eg. Draw me an state machine that will give me 1 if and only if the input is = 0110
  • Adder, Subtractor, Multiplexer, etc – Learn how to make these from a truth table and karnaugh map.
  • Cache Memory.- This is a must. Learn about its advantages and general function. You have to say the word “Latency” somewhere in your explanation. If not, you will probably be asked about its meaning.
  • Pipeline.- Since this is a phone interview they don’t expect you to design something or anything but definitely know the basics.
  • Programming languages.- I get asked the following question a lot: “what other programming languages should I learn?” Again, learn Perl!. Its a must. My team was transitioning from Perl to Python so I would suggest learn it too. C is always good to know as well not just for Intel interviews.

After your interview, the manager will explain what are the next steps. Usually, they will interview a few other candidates and get back to you in a few weeks. It is possible to have a second personal interview especially if you live in a city close to the site the manager is from but don’t worry the questions are very similar in difficulty.

Remember: Keep trying! It took several tries to get the job but it is certainly doable.

Work Environment

As far as working at Intel, I have to say it is one of the best experiences in my life! Throughout my 8-months at the Folsom site, I was viewed as an engineer and not just an intern which is great. Moreover, managers know that you are just a student and don’t expect you to come up with a patent or anything. Unlike many comments I heard about Intel before working there, Intel is a friendly environment and everybody in my department seemed to enjoy working for the company. From my experience, Intel is a very team oriented company and everybody is pretty open and willing to help you. Obviously this will vary somewhat from group to group.

Plus you get free soda and Starbucks coffee at all their sites!!!! (and medical insurance, competitive pay, awesome relocation assistance, and possibly a graduate school fellowship–I got one :)