Re: Aramco
 

Thank you very much for this information. Very helpful. I guess I have to start preparing for serious technical questions then. The role I applied for was Integrity Engineer. So will you say the interview lasted more than 1hr right?

Re: Aramco
 

I didn't prepare for anything. The questions I wasn't sure of, I told them I'm not sure what you mean. If I didn't know the answer, I was honest and told them I don't know but I can have a go at it. They were really nice and friendly people. They appreciate honesty and they like my passion for the subject.

I'm currently going through negotiations with them at the moment. If you need more info.

Re: Aramco
 

Thanks. My interview is tomorrow. I will keep you posted. Out of curiosity what department did you interview with? The department that is interviewing me is the Pipelines, Distribution & Terminals (PD&T) department. Also in terms of the structure of the questions, was the format like "tell us what you know about" or "how do you go about" or "give us an example of"

Re: Aramco
 

My department was 'Digital Platforms & Architecture Design Division (DP&ADD)' department.
They'll ask what you've mentioned and more such as 'If I have this, what would be the best way to approach this...'. An example of this is, I have some time series data: A) Is this data suitable for creating machine learning models? B) How would I create machine learning models on quantum computers? C) When would I choose to use quantum computers? D) What are some of the principles behind quantum computing, or around quantum physics and quantum mechanics? E) How does CC, SC, HPC, QC compare to one another? F) What is a Qubit? G) What are some of the topologies? H) etc...

I had several questions around robotics i.e. the principles, programming robots, hardware engineer, sensors, troubleshooting failures, obstacle avoidance, inverse kinematics, ensuring safety, etc... with the finale question on robotics being 'walk us through designing a robot from concept to deployment' They will interrupt and ask questions as you're answering to see how you handle it.

I can give you other examples but they were mostly interested in my knowledge around Quantum technologies/physics/mechanics, Robotics, and Artificial Intelligence. The question starts off simple but they will interrupt and ask you to answer specific areas. They were very nice about it better than most UK interviews I've had where some people interviewers act a bit sarcastic if you get something wrong or make a glib remark.

I believe the interview is only meant to be 45 mins max but mine went on much longer than that. I was told by the HR team representing me in Aramco that if you exceed the allocated time then that is a good sign that they are interested in you.

I hope that helps. I hope it goes well.

Re: Aramco
 

Thanks for your response. One last question, were all the questions you described above in line with the job description in the job advert or very different from what was in the job description?

Re: Aramco
 

Outside the scope of the job description. In my first interview they did ask if I would be comfortable doing things which aren't normally associated with my role, to which I replied yes.

Every company I've worked at (in the UK) has had me go beyond the specification/scope of the role so I'm expecting Aramco to do the same but probably more.

Re: Aramco
 

I had my interview today and the questions were way different from what the job description says. To be honest my performance wasn't as good as what I expected. Just trusting God that everything will work out fine. I checked my status on the Aramco website and it has changed to "Thank you for participating in our interview process" Do you have an idea of what that means?

Re: Aramco
 

I had that for my first interview which was online when I looked at the portal after a few days. For the second one, I was informed within a few hours that I had passed the interview. This was whilst I was trying travelling which I thought was very quick. I received a few emails from Aramco informing me that I had passed plus some other information in those emails about the position, my performance and role. It clearly stated that this is not an offer because I have to go through some paperwork and checks first before they can make the offer.

Re: Aramco
 

Ok. Thanks! Fingers crossed then. So where are you in the process now? Have you received your offer letter yet?

Re: Aramco
 

Trust in God, all should be fine. That's the intention I went in with my interview. So I was very surprised by how quick they were to respond but that's because I did have other job offers so maybe they responded quickly... I guess.

Yeah I received the offer last week (Monday 16th June) after going through the preliminary checks. I accepted it yesterday even though the deadline was Monday 23rd June. As soon as I accepted the role, they've slapped me with more paperwork so that's where I am filling it in. According to them, this whole process should be done by the end of July and I should have the necessary permits/visas/etc. to hand my notice in. Of course, there is a problem with that. The visa lasts for 90 days and my notice period is 4 months but the organisation can extend it to 6 months citing UK National Security requirement. I've informed them of this so they've asked if I can negotiate with them. I've told them that it is very unlikely given my position and the organisation.

So I'm still going through the headache. I know a few friends there from the UK who moved to Saudi a few years ago. They've given me their Saudi number so that we can meet up once I'm finally there.

Re: Aramco
 

What kind of technical questions did they ask in reference to you role "Integrity Engineer"?

Re: Aramco
 

Everything they asked was basically about SCC, which was really annoying. Integrity is broad, and they chose to only ask SCC related questions. My specialty is Risk Assessment and they were no questions about that not even questions about fitness for service. Not one question relating to what was in the job description

Re: Aramco
 

Seems like that is their major threat on the pipeline. Job postings typically seem to be a little generic so they can capture candidates and not just specific to one area of expertise.

Re: Aramco
 

Do you have an interview with them or you are just at the beginning of the process?

Re: Aramco
 

Have you heard anything back from them?