Well sure, smaller places might not even be able to muster enough people to do that many interviews. It ends up taking about as long as a Google interview, but it's not just debugging assembly on a whiteboard. We tour you around the site, talk about what you'd be able to work on, etc. The interviewers are selected from several different but related groups so you hear about a lot of different work going on.
One of the facts of research life is that you'll spend a good chunk of time talking to people and presenting your work--it's the price you pay for being able to choose what you work on. This interview process seems to help select for people who work well in that environment.
One of the facts of research life is that you'll spend a good chunk of time talking to people and presenting your work--it's the price you pay for being able to choose what you work on. This interview process seems to help select for people who work well in that environment.