I applied through an employee referral. The process took 2 months. I interviewed at Merck (Newark, NJ) in Apr 2018
Interview
It was pretty intense all day interview starting with a 1 hour presentation about your work + Q and A. Technical questions were asked esp if there was no time during the Q and A. It is a combination of skill, personality and if they can see that you can work well in a group. All in all it was more like a conservation but you are being evaluated with your answers.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
What is your career plan? How do you motivate people? What are your greatest challenges?
They were very nice. I liked the process and meeting the people in the team. They flew me to Rahway to give a 45 minute seminar followed by some panel-like interviews. However, I did not get the position and they never provided any feedback.
Recruiting process started with a resume screening by the recruiter, followed by an HR interview to discuss background and motivation. The next stage was a hiring manager interview focusing on research experience and project fit. The final stage was a full-day onsite interview that included a one-hour research seminar, technical discussions with team members, and several behavioral interviews with cross-functional stakeholders.