The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Institute for Defense Analyses (Alexandria, VA) in May 2012
Interview
The style of this interview followed those for faculty job interviews at research universities. A week after I applied I got an invitation for a full-day interview at the HQs in Alexandria. Everybody there was nice. The interview consisted of about 8 half-hour interviews with other research staff members, a one-hour presentation on my research work, and a lunch. All the interviewees were friendly and just wanted to learn about my research work, no hard questions or anything like that. The presentation atmosphere was a lot like colloquium style at universities.
All-day series of one-on-one and small group interviews, and a one-hour presentation on the topic of my choice. Everyone was very engaging and interested in the interviews and presentation. The final interview was with the division director. The offer came after two weeks without contact.
I applied online. The process took 3 months. I interviewed at Institute for Defense Analyses in Feb 2023
Interview
3 interviews. 1) Standard HR screening. 2) Small panel interview: some light technical questions. You're basically given some scenarios and you talk your way through them with other researchers. They want to see what perspectives you bring in addition to some basic technical skill demonstrations. 3) Full day interview: Almost identical to full-day professorship interviews at universities. 9-5 with a one-hour seminar you give to a large group of researchers. They ask lots of questions during the talk--feels like an academic seminar. You meet with your primary contact, department manager, various researchers, and the division director. There is also a one-hour panel interview that involves more case studies and general Q&A for the prospect. The full-day interview is grueling due to its length, but the questions are not difficult, they are mainly about your research (which you'll obviously know well) and also seeing if you are interested in the work they do. I asked a lot more questions than they asked of me.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Provided some data summaries and asked how you would improve the visualizations to present to a DoD official with minimal math background.