Skip to contentSkip to footer
  • Community
  • Jobs
  • Companies
  • Salaries
  • For employers
      Notifications

      Loading...

      Elevate your career

      Discover your earning potential, land dream jobs, and share work-life insights anonymously.

      employer cover photo
      employer logo
      employer logo

      Apple

      Engaged employer

      About
      Reviews
      Pay and benefits
      Jobs
      Interviews
      Interviews
      Related searches: Apple reviews | Apple jobs | Apple salaries | Apple benefits | Apple conversations
      Apple interviewsApple Product Design Engineer interviewsApple interview


      Glassdoor

      • About / Press
      • Awards
      • Blog
      • Research
      • Contact Us
      • Guides

      Employers

      • Free Employer Account
      • Employer Centre
      • Employers Blog

      Information

      • Help
      • Guidelines
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy and Ad Choices
      • Do Not Sell Or Share My Information
      • Cookie Consent Tool
      • Security

      Work With Us

      • Advertisers
      • Careers
      Download the App

      • Browse by:
      • Companies
      • Jobs
      • Locations
      • Communities
      • Recent posts

      Copyright © 2008-2026. Glassdoor LLC. "Glassdoor," "Worklife Pro," "Bowls" and logo are proprietary trademarks of Glassdoor LLC.

      Company Bowl sample

      Want the inside scoop on your own company?

      Check out your Company Bowl for anonymous work chats.

      Bowls

      Get actionable career advice tailored to you by joining more bowls.

      Followed companies

      Stay ahead in opportunities and insider tips by following your dream companies.

      Job searches

      Get personalised job recommendations and updates by starting your searches.

      Product Design Engineer Interview

      27 Jul 2015
      Anonymous interview candidate
      No offer
      Negative experience

      Other Product Design Engineer interview reviews for Apple

      Product Design Engineer Interview

      7 Jun 2026
      Anonymous interview candidate
      Shenzhen, Guangdong
      No offer
      Difficult interview

      Application

      I applied through a recruiter. The process took 1+ week. I interviewed at Apple in Mar 2014

      Interview

      I was recruited, presumably from having my resume out on Monster, LinkedIn, or Coroflot. After an initial phone screening with a very nice gentleman, I was scheduled for a phone interview with members of the engineering team. I point out that the recruiter was nice, and provided me as much information as he could but it was clear he was not based in Cupertino and instead was charged with getting a list of candidates for the engineers. I don't think Apple gave him more information than they thought he needed. BUt hey, its a call with Apple so of course I was interested! I suppose this should be a good time to emphasize I am NOT entry level, and am in fact a manager at a large Fortune 500 company. Trust me, you know the brand. The engineers, on the other hand, were among some of the most condescending and pompous individuals I have ever had the misfortune of interviewing with. Not only did they ask me minimal questions about my experience, when I pressed them for details about what they were hiring me for, I got cagey, half answers. The company is so obsessed with clandestine secrecy that they won't even tell prospective hires what the job entails... I guess enough bright-eyed bushy-tailed college grads leap sight unseen at a chance to work in a meat grinder. I on the other hand, wanted to know about roles and responsibilities, and compensation giving it would require relocation to the most expensive metro area in the country. As I said, they balked at my questions and only casually asked me about my technical experience. They were pretty set on making me answer the Khan Academy brain teasers you see other reviews describe. I won't go into detail, but suffice to say in the event you make an incorrect assumption or give a wrong answer, they are quick to tutor/correct you on the appropriate mathematical equations. It's been a few years since I needed buoyancy and civil engineering questions, sorry if my brain is a little rusty from ya know, actually working in the real world and dealing with overseas manufacturers and margin targets. I entertained them for one brain teaser, and assumed at some point they would ask about my experience. They didn't and started brain teaser number 2. I cut them off and said if they didn't have any substantive questions for me, and if they were unwilling or unprepared to answer relevant questions I had for them, then there was no point in continuing. I think this caught them off guard, but they insisted they did not have the ability to deviate from the questions they needed to cover per HR. What a boatload of crap. Again, I'm not entry level. This isn't my first rodeo, and I think I was older than the interviewer. tl;dr: Apple needs to be a little more humble and realize that eventually the pool of people begging to work for you will dry up. You might be today's hottest company but you have crashed and burned before. Look to history, as it is riddled with once-giants who allowed ego to take over and are now gone or in bankruptcy (automakers, Sears, RIM, most airlines).

      Interview questions [1]

      Question 1

      The one about the friend in a boat in your pool... another reviewer listed it more accurately than I can recall at the moment.
      Answer question
      5
      Neutral experience
      Difficult interview

      Application

      I interviewed at Apple (Shenzhen, Guangdong)

      Interview

      i had my interview today and was asked the same question. also similarly, the interviewer had no sense of humor. it was not a enjoyable experience because i think i gave like 3-4 different ways of making a cantilever, but i was asked "what else?" like 10 times for the cantilever problem alone. i also have 7 years of work experience, but there was 0 question asked about it.

      Interview questions [1]

      Question 1

      What causes corrosion, and how do you design to mitigate it?
      1 Answer

      Product Design Engineer Interview

      10 May 2026
      Anonymous employee
      Accepted offer
      Positive experience
      Difficult interview

      Application

      I interviewed at Apple

      Interview

      The interview went well overall. The interviewer opened with a discussion about a project I'm proud of, then a beam scenario question that covered structural and load analysis, stress and deflection, and material selection — testing my ability to connect first-principles thinking across the full problem space.

      Product Design Engineer Interview

      19 May 2026
      Anonymous interview candidate
      Cupertino, CA
      No offer
      Positive experience
      Difficult interview

      Application

      I applied through university. I interviewed at Apple (Cupertino, CA) in Apr 2026

      Interview

      Interview with hiring manager then virtual onsite. They ask you general mechanical engineering questions as well as questions dependent on type of team and skills they are looking for. Not bad overall just brush up on basic beam deflection, GD&T, Design analysis etc.

      Interview questions [1]

      Question 1

      Ways to reduce beam deflection
      Answer question