I applied online. The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Merck (West Point, PA) in May 2011
Interview
Multiple interviewers in a day, technical questions for R&D positions related to industry knowledge, process engineering, and some school related questions. A big part is personality and fit in the culture. People were friendly but lots of observations going happening. Maybe some arrogance but that's part of r & d in general.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Most difficult question was called a situational analysis around scale up of an engineering unit operation. Multi part question where the keep probing you for additional information. It was out of my wheelhouse.
The process took 1 day. I interviewed at Merck in July 2010
Interview
Interviewed with the department's Director
The group's manager, senior scientist, potential peers (2 scientists at the same level), and the department's HR representative. This is a whole day interview with lunch in the company cafeteria with 2 to 3 of your potential co-workers.
The interviews are one on one and the interviewers ask both their own and HR mandated questions. Overall, interviews at Merck are very professional and pleasant.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Asked to describe a difficult situation or time in which you may not have achieved your desired goal.