I applied online. I interviewed at Leidos in Aug 2019
Interview
Interviewed directly with the Operations Director which I appreciated! I was able to freely use all my scientific language because she is a scientist herself. Proceeded with telling me about the company and the work they do, with focus on the team I would be working with. Then went on to discuss skills necessary for the job. e.g ''This job involves time management and meeting a lot of deadlines. Are you able to manage time efficiently? How do you do so?'' I answered with questions with situational examples and real life experiences and she seemed impressed. It was a back and forth conversation, and I really enjoyed it. If you prepare well, it may be easy.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
-Tell me about yourself
-Relevant experience (medical/clinical terminology, scientific writing, etc)
-Time management
-Translation of scientific language to lay language
I applied through a staffing agency. I interviewed at Leidos (College Park, GA) in Feb 2019
Interview
Fairly easy interview process. The management staff is knowledgeable and personable. The benefit package is great and the work environment is desirable for all career levels. Job security is a plus even though you are a contractor.
I applied through an employee referral. I interviewed at Leidos (Bethesda, MD) in May 2021
Interview
The interview process was not technical at all - pretty much all behavioral. Lot of questions about your resume, past data project experience, comfort with R and associated packages, and why you're interested. Coming from a Biostats background and knowing the basics of clinical trials + survival analysis is a plus.
Screener (around 4 Ph.D level statisticians) => final round (pretty much the whole department - 4 hours meeting close to 14 or so statisticians)
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Walk me through your resume.
Tell me a project you've worked on in the past.
What experience do you have with R?
Any experience with simulations (particularly in the context of using them to test the statistical power of a test in clinical trials)?
What topics in biostats are you interested in?
Able to explain hypothesis testing concepts in a way that a lay person can understand: p value, type I II error, power, CI, etc.