hello, i am going to interview with a embedded systems company with focus on DSP based applications. what kind of questions can i expect from field of dsp and embedded systems? i have completed my masters in electrical engineering. if anyoen knows some good questions asked, please let me know. the answers i can find for myself :) siddharth
need interview questions for a DSP based embedded systems position
Started by ●January 4, 2005
Reply by ●January 4, 20052005-01-04
"siddharth.vaghela@gmail.com" <siddharth.vaghela@gmail.com> wrote in news:1104850508.340213.163630@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:> hello, > i am going to interview with a embedded systems company with focus on > DSP based applications. what kind of questions can i expect from field > of dsp and embedded systems? i have completed my masters in electrical > engineering. > > if anyoen knows some good questions asked, please let me know. the > answers i can find for myself :) > > siddharth > >When I hire someone (not looking at the moment), I look for those things that make a person stand out from the crowd. If you have an emphasis in DSP, we all know that you know what convolution is. I am usually interested in seeing any projects that you did. Can you solder? How do you approach problems? Do you have initiative? Are you flexible? What is your work ethic? As a new graduate, we expect that you have some skills, but we know that you are not really an practicing engineer yet. The person hiring you will expect you to contribute, but will also recognize that you are sort of an apprentice at this stage in your career. This is one reason why young engineers with 5 years of experience are usually in demand. I believe a good organization will have a good mix of experience and youth. -- Al Clark Danville Signal Processing, Inc. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Purveyors of Fine DSP Hardware and other Cool Stuff Available at http://www.danvillesignal.com
Reply by ●January 4, 20052005-01-04
Reply by ●January 4, 20052005-01-04
<siddharth.vaghela@gmail.com> wrote in message news:1104850508.340213.163630@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...> hello, > i am going to interview with a embedded systems company with focus on > DSP based applications. what kind of questions can i expect from field > of dsp and embedded systems? i have completed my masters in electrical > engineering.If you are a recent graduate, you should expect to be questioned on the fundamentals (because that's really what you claim in your resume). For example, I remember being asked to write a simple FIR filter in C/pseudo-code/assembly. While I managed to put something reasonable on the whiteboard, it wasn't as straightforward as I'd imagined. Since you are interviewing with an embedded systems based company, I suspect you'll be asked several questions that translate theory into practice (esp. if you claim you've done some of this in some projects). You will probably be asked several questions related to any projects that you might have worked on. So make sure you understand what you state in your resume. Remember that an employer usually doesn't expect you to pop out the right answer - he might help you get to the answer but the real test is if you can make some progress with the help he provides.> if anyoen knows some good questions asked, please let me know. the > answers i can find for myself :) > > siddharth >
Reply by ●January 4, 20052005-01-04
thank u for the reply :) thts wht i am doing exactly.. preparing my basics well and trying to get my hands on simple programs on fir filters, bit reversals, etc etc. i do get confused sometimes bcoz of the sheer size of material to be remmbered. thankx again
Reply by ●January 4, 20052005-01-04
<siddharth.vaghela@gmail.com> wrote in message news:1104865657.367960.308120@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...> thank u for the reply :) > thts wht i am doing exactly.. preparing my basics well and trying to > get my hands on simple programs on fir filters, bit reversals, etc etc. > i do get confused sometimes bcoz of the sheer size of material to be > remmbered.That's the key - don't try to memorize anything...you'll never remember all of it. Make sure you understand the fundamentals - no one expects you to remember the DFT equation but they'll probably be interested in how you'd apply it to real world signals. I'd also recommend that you try and write the FIR filter yourself (even if it is pseudo-code) rather than spend time trying to search for the best one on the web. If you just spit an example program and you are asked to modify it to make it work different, then you'll be totally lost.> thankx again >
Reply by ●January 4, 20052005-01-04
"siddharth.vaghela@gmail.com" <siddharth.vaghela@gmail.com> writes:> thank u for the reply :) > thts wht i am doing exactly.. preparing my basics well and trying to > get my hands on simple programs on fir filters, bit reversals, etc etc. > i do get confused sometimes bcoz of the sheer size of material to be > remmbered. > thankx againHi Siddharth, Here are some example DSP questions that I might ask an interviewee. Note Fs is sample rate in these questions. 1. Under what conditions is the available bandwidth of a digital system Fs Hz instead of Fs/2 Hz? 2. What's the difference between an FFT and a DFT? 3. What two PSK modulation orders differ exactly by a factor of two in spectral efficiency? 4. How does polyphase filtering save computations in a decimation filter? 5. How does polyphase filtering save computations in an interpolation filter? 6. Suppose we have a system with transfer function H(z) = 1 / ((z - 1.1)*(z - 0.9)). Is the system stable or unstable? One could come up with dozens of others, but this should get the "DSP juices" going. -- Randy Yates Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Research Triangle Park, NC, USA randy.yates@sonyericsson.com, 919-472-1124
Reply by ●January 4, 20052005-01-04
"Randy Yates" <randy.yates@sonyericsson.com> wrote in message news:xxp3bxhvswg.fsf@usrts005.corpusers.net...> "siddharth.vaghela@gmail.com" <siddharth.vaghela@gmail.com> writes: > >> thank u for the reply :) >> thts wht i am doing exactly.. preparing my basics well and trying to >> get my hands on simple programs on fir filters, bit reversals, etc etc. >> i do get confused sometimes bcoz of the sheer size of material to be >> remmbered. >> thankx again > > Hi Siddharth, > > Here are some example DSP questions that I might ask an interviewee. > Note Fs is sample rate in these questions. > > 1. Under what conditions is the available bandwidth of a digital system > Fs Hz instead of Fs/2 Hz? > > 2. What's the difference between an FFT and a DFT? > > 3. What two PSK modulation orders differ exactly by a factor of two > in spectral efficiency? > > 4. How does polyphase filtering save computations in a decimation filter? > > 5. How does polyphase filtering save computations in an interpolation > filter? > > 6. Suppose we have a system with transfer function > > H(z) = 1 / ((z - 1.1)*(z - 0.9)). > > Is the system stable or unstable? > > > One could come up with dozens of others, but this should get the "DSP > juices" going. > -- > Randy Yates > Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications > Research Triangle Park, NC, USA > randy.yates@sonyericsson.com, 919-472-1124Nice questions... first round/phone interview questions? :=)
Reply by ●January 4, 20052005-01-04
Hi,
I was in the exact same position as you about a year ago so hopefully my
experience might be helpful. When I was interviewing at first I was worried
because I was anticipating the interviewer/s asking me a lot of very
technical questions, in reality at this stage in your career it won't be the
case. Your degree already shows you're not a fool so the interviewer is
looking to see if you are able to communicate your ideas well, able to speak
with others easily and can think on your feet. In fact in the interviews I
had for positions of this type, I came across a few questions that seemed
almost always crop up! (I'm in the UK by the way)
1. Power Supplies. Unless you are going for a purely software position every
interview I went to I was asked about power supplies. Namely the difference
between linear regulation and switching supplies, and I was usually asked to
draw a power supply of some description. The key part of this question
seemed to be when the interviewer asked in what situation would you use one
supply over the other.
2. Programming. You may well be asked to write some simple form of algorithm
or function. I was asked to write a simple FIR filter in C on one occassion.
Another question I got a few times was to write a sorting algorithm (a
bubble sort for example).
3. Structure of a microprocessor system. I was asked this same question
several times. I was asked to draw a reasonably detailed block diagram of
how a typical microprocessor system may look (CPU, ROM, RAM, buffers,
latches etc). This is your time to shine!
I also found that most interviews have a section where you are expected to
talk about previous projects you have worked on. The sole reason I got my
current position after University was because of this. I went prepared with
a concise but well presented folder of all the projects I had worked on. So
if you've worked on some projects take some photographs, bring along the
schematics and show them some of your theory and code you are proud of (just
don't go over the top .. concise and to the point).
Hope this has been of some help, best of luck!
Rich.
<siddharth.vaghela@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1104850508.340213.163630@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> hello,
> i am going to interview with a embedded systems company with focus on
> DSP based applications. what kind of questions can i expect from field
> of dsp and embedded systems? i have completed my masters in electrical
> engineering.
>
> if anyoen knows some good questions asked, please let me know. the
> answers i can find for myself :)
>
> siddharth
>
Reply by ●January 4, 20052005-01-04
"kiki" <lunaliu3@yahoo.com> writes:> "Randy Yates" <randy.yates@sonyericsson.com> wrote in message > news:xxp3bxhvswg.fsf@usrts005.corpusers.net... >> "siddharth.vaghela@gmail.com" <siddharth.vaghela@gmail.com> writes: >> >>> thank u for the reply :) >>> thts wht i am doing exactly.. preparing my basics well and trying to >>> get my hands on simple programs on fir filters, bit reversals, etc etc. >>> i do get confused sometimes bcoz of the sheer size of material to be >>> remmbered. >>> thankx again >> >> Hi Siddharth, >> >> Here are some example DSP questions that I might ask an interviewee. >> Note Fs is sample rate in these questions. >> >> 1. Under what conditions is the available bandwidth of a digital system >> Fs Hz instead of Fs/2 Hz? >> >> 2. What's the difference between an FFT and a DFT? >> >> 3. What two PSK modulation orders differ exactly by a factor of two >> in spectral efficiency? >> >> 4. How does polyphase filtering save computations in a decimation filter? >> >> 5. How does polyphase filtering save computations in an interpolation >> filter? >> >> 6. Suppose we have a system with transfer function >> >> H(z) = 1 / ((z - 1.1)*(z - 0.9)). >> >> Is the system stable or unstable? >> >> >> One could come up with dozens of others, but this should get the "DSP >> juices" going. >> -- >> Randy Yates >> Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications >> Research Triangle Park, NC, USA >> randy.yates@sonyericsson.com, 919-472-1124 > > Nice questions... first round/phone interview questions? :=)I'm not sure what you mean. I take it from the little face that you think these may be elementary. Perhaps you should answer them before you make that judgement. If the question was serious, then the answer is no, these would be in-office questions. Like I said, this would be a starting point. To be honest, I'm beginning to think you're a bit of a smart-ass, kiki. The tell-tale is that after answering several of your questions, this is the first response I've heard from you. -- % Randy Yates % "The dreamer, the unwoken fool - %% Fuquay-Varina, NC % in dreams, no pain will kiss the brow..." %%% 919-577-9882 % %%%% <yates@ieee.org> % 'Eldorado Overture', *Eldorado*, ELO http://home.earthlink.net/~yatescr
