Hi all,

I’m currently interviewing for positions as either research scientist or SWE with a couple of big N companies. I am finishing a PhD in an ML related subject, and what I would really like is to find a job where I can do interesting applied research and maybe publish the occasional paper, but in industry rather than academia. However I have no previous experience with the tech industry and so I am flying a bit blind, applying to companies that have large ML teams and hoping to get lucky.

My question is how do you make it into those interesting teams, is it the same process as for generalist new grad roles? As far as the recruiter at Google and FB told me, if I pass the interview and accept the offer I will be matched with a team and can put down some preferences then, but how much leverage do I really have? Do the majority of PhDs just end up on product related teams? Does it depend on the office, what projects are going on at the moment, and if so how easy is it to transfer to research oriented teams later on?

Thanks!