I applied online. I interviewed at insitro (South San Francisco, CA) in Mar 2026
Interview
A prolonged and painfully unprofessional experience. The process itself took over three months with frequent gaps in contact, feedback and massive changes in direction. Frequently the recruiter led me to believe decisions were imminent and being "fast tracked." This was further complicated by a new COO who seemed to not really have a grasp on his own process, leadership or simply wanted to please everyone to the point of analysis paralysis. As is often the case in small start ups, members of the leadership team spent much of its time expelling how truly unique they were (you are in biotech and use AI/ML, welcome to the Bay Area science and tech rule industry here). Run by committee and atrophied as a result. Multiple interviews with People team, COO, multiple lines of business and General Counsel and CLO. All for a People Business Partner role with an Associate Director fancy title. Mind numbingly over complicated with a litany of players and storytelling. Much with participants that were fatigued with the process and having to endure multiple engagements.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Nothing was ground breaking. "What does a typical day look like for you?" "Do you partner with leadership?" "How would you help people get along?" Much of the time was listening to people explain and make the case for how different they were (Scientist vs Technology/AI specialist) making the case for their importance which was an indicator of a failing organizational design and dynamics.