I applied online. I interviewed at The Jackson Laboratory (Sacramento, CA) in Mar 2026
Interview
The interview process consisted of 4 rounds: a recruiter screen, a hiring quality director interview, a session with the quality team, & a final meeting with an external quality consultant. While the early rounds went smoothly & the team appeared pleasant, the post-interview process & company culture revealed significant RED FLAGS!
After completing the rounds, the recruiter demanded 4 professional references (specifically 2 former managers and 2 peers) within an exceptionally rigid 24-hour window. This deadline was enforced despite knowing I was traveling for a planned vacation. Due to "common corporate NON-DISCLOSURE POLICIES" regarding references, tracking down past supervisors across different organizations on such short notice is inherently difficult. The recruiter offered ZERO FLEXIBILITY or administrative SUPPORT, essentially REQUIRING ME to manage the logistical BURDEN ENTIRELY WHILE TRAVELING! Ultimately, a former TEMPORARY SUPERVISOR from a brief 3-month tenure (for a site that is closing & relocating out of state) left a critical comment regarding communication & analytical skills improvement. This feedback DIRECTLY CONTRADICTED the fact that this EXACT TEMPORARY SHORT-TERM SUPERVISOR had previously AWARDED ME for " EXCEEDING PERFORMANCE EXPECATIONS & A ROLE MODEL IN A HIGH IMPACT CULTURE!" Instead of exercising basic due diligence or showing candidate empathy, Jackson Laboratory summarily REJECTED my application WITHOUT ASKING for CONTEXT or ALLOWING ME to CLARIFY the CONTRIDICTION.
Furthermore, the interviews revealed that the CURRENT quality team COMPLETELY LACKS FOUNDATIONAL Quality Management System (QMS) KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE! The hiring quality director & team ADMITTED they were RELYING ENTIRELY on this NEW HIRE to TRAIN them & CERTIFY/BUILD their ISO 9001:2015 FRAMEWORK from the GROUND UP!
The combination of UNREALISITC administrative DEMANDS, a LACK of professional EMPATHY DURING a CANDIDATE's PERSONAL TIME, and a SEVERE DEFICIT INTERNAL department EXERTISE suggests a highly PROBLEMATIC management culture. I feel I dodged a bullet.
Advice to Management: Re-evaluate your recruitment TIMELINES to accommodate standard professional COURTESY, especially for candidates on PLANNED VACATIONS. TRAIN your HR team to investigate conflicting reference data rather than making reactive decisions. Lastly, ensure your internal leadership (QUALITY DIRECTOR) possesses foundational quality COMPLIANCE KNOWLEDGE before hiring individual contributors to build your systems from scratch, & make sure you give quality personnel proper title, if you don't know foundations you should not be considered a QUALITY MANAGMENT SYSTEM SPECIALIST! It's pretty sad that your own quality director needs a quality consultant to interview candidates because they are not confident nor knowledgeable enough in QMS, ISO 9001: 2015, Lean Six Sigma how to developed a quality system from the ground up.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
QMS, lean six sigma methodologies, ISO 9001: 2015, deviations, teamwork, communications, and all experience in developing, improving QMS.
I applied online. I interviewed at The Jackson Laboratory (Sacramento, CA) in Jun 2026
Interview
Easy interview process, very accommodating and straightforward. Everyone I spoke to was kind and responsive. It consisted of a phone call with HR, a zoom call with the scientists, and another call with scientists then technologists.
I applied online. The process took 2+ months. I interviewed at The Jackson Laboratory (Hartford, CT) in Aug 2024
Interview
The process, which spanned approximately nine weeks, involved multiple rounds of interviews. I met with six individuals before participating in a final on-site round. The onsite interview process proved to be a waste of time. After several rounds, I was not selected and subsequently ghosted, receiving no feedback. The hiring manager had promised to follow up and even agreed to meet with me again, yet I only received a generic email, even after I followed up. This entire experience was highly unprofessional.