Is it difficult to get a job at Nvidia? How should I prepare for the interview if I want to become Jensen Huang’s colleague?
The AI boom has been going on for over a year, and Nvidia’s stock price remains high. It’s also a dream company for many contemporary engineers. Business Insider revealed how a software engineer from India secured a job at Nvidia and detailed his salary.
Business Insider specifically noted that the engineer chose to remain anonymous due to the inconvenience of speaking publicly, but they have verified that his position and income are accurate.
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As an engineer at Nvidia, besides stock options, there are other benefits…
About three years ago, this Nvidia engineer joined Nvidia as a fresh graduate, becoming a software engineer. At the time, he also received job offers from Amazon, LinkedIn, and a startup. He ultimately chose Nvidia because the base salary and stock options combined offered better overall compensation and benefits.
Initially, his base salary was approximately 1.6 million rupees per year (about $20,000), with stock options worth around 2.5 million rupees (about $30,000) distributed over four years. Based on individual and team performance, he could also receive an additional 25% of 2.5 million rupees each year as extra stock rewards.
The engineer later received a promotion, with his base salary exceeding 2 million rupees (about $24,000), which is considered a good income in India. He believes that working at Nvidia offers more growth opportunities compared to Amazon, and he finds the work at Nvidia more exciting and impactful than at Amazon or LinkedIn.
He pointed out that Nvidia has a great culture, being very forgiving of failures as long as employees are willing to strive, work hard, and learn from their mistakes. “If given the chance, I might choose to work at Nvidia again, especially considering Nvidia’s current stock price. My total compensation is much higher than I imagined.”
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Experience of an Nvidia Engineer: The Technical Interview is Quite Challenging!
This engineer applied through Nvidia’s online recruitment system and had an internal referral from a college alumnus working at Nvidia.
Nvidia’s software engineers hold the title of “Individual Contributor” (IC) and are divided into eight levels, with new junior engineers starting at IC1.
The first stage of the interview was coding, where he was asked questions about data structures and algorithms.
Next, he had a call with Nvidia’s recruiter, followed by two technical interviews. He admitted that the technical interviews were not easy.
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Suggestions for Preparing for Interviews Using the “STAR Framework”
Based on his experience, this engineer offers several tips for technical talents seeking jobs at large tech companies: focus on knowledge related to data structures and algorithms, and be prepared with your own “stories.”
This means practicing how to confidently discuss your experiences and their relevance to the position you are applying for. Show the interviewer that you have the appropriate experience by providing examples of your past work and accomplishments and how they align with the team’s goals.
For instance, instead of just saying you worked on a certain project, explain why working on that project was the right choice.
During his Nvidia interview, the engineer used the “STAR Framework” to explain his stories. The STAR Framework is a common interview technique representing four stages of a job task:
- Situation: Provide a context where you encountered a challenging situation. Why was it difficult?
- Task: In this challenging situation, what task needed to be accomplished?
- Action: What actions did you take to solve the problem?
- Result: What were the outcomes of this situation? What benefits did it bring to the organization or clients?
He also suggests reaching out to employees of the company you’re applying to via email to gain a deeper understanding of the team culture and environment. This is especially helpful when you have multiple job offers and need to make a final decision.
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