Applied Signals called me up on Tuesday and wanted to setup a real interview up at their office in Salt Lake City. They had time on Wednesday, which was convenient because I already had to drive up to SLC on Wednesday to pick up Mom from the airport. So we arranged it so that we could do the interview process and be done right when I'd need to leave for the airport.

Wednesday morning I got up at 7:00 and was ready to leave by 8. I was scheduled to be at the office at 9:30 and I wanted to make sure there was plenty of time for traveling. Google predicted the trip would take 50 minutes, and I wanted to allow buffer time for crappy I-15 traffic. And there was crappy I-15 traffic. There were several instances of being dead stopped on the highway. However, in the end I still made it to the office by ~9:00. So I was plenty early, which is decidedly better than plenty late.

The first person I met with gave me a packet of material about the company and went over their benefits and insurance plans. Overall they have a really nice benefits package and really good insurance plans including dental and vision. So that's a plus. You also earn 12 vacation days in your first 12 months, and every year of employment you get an extra day up to 25 max per year. Also quite good compared to many places. There will be a Trax stop about a block away which is under construction right now (slated for completion in 2011). So living anywhere near a Trax station would allow for an easy train commute.

I then spoke with the office manager for a few minutes who gave me a rundown of what the interview process would be like. I was then brought to a conference room with 4 of their engineers who asked me questions about various C/C++ details and algorithm designs. This went on for about an hour or so. After that interview another engineer took me out to lunch at Red Robin which was ever so tasty. Then it was back to the office for another interview with 4 different engineers, their questions were less language specific and more algorithm design type questions and general problem solving. The last thing they asked me was a logic puzzle type question which was really easy if you know a little set theory and how to create a Venn diagram properly. They gave me the question, I drew up the Venn diagram and answered it in about 10 seconds. I was pleased that the responses from 2 of the interviewers were along the lines of "I think that's a record."

Overall, I think the interviews went really well. Afterwards, I filled out an official application form and signed documents consenting to a background check for a security clearance and other such things. I also met with the office manager again briefly to talk about how the interviews went and my feelings about the company overall. He said I could hear back from them as early as next week, possibly with a job offer (the do security clearance checks after an offer is accepted).

So we'll see what happens at this point. I think the company would provide a challenging and interesting working environment. I wasn't given many details about actual projects since the work is generally classified, but the engineers I spoke to all really enjoy the work and really enjoy the people they work with and the company as a whole.

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