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Get a Job at Verily: Interview Process and Top Questions

Verily
Exponent TeamExponent TeamPublished

Learn how to prepare for Verily interviews and how to get a job at Verily with this in-depth guide.

We break down the Verily interview process and the top questions you should expect to answer.

Verified: This guide was created with insights from product manager interviewers and recent hires at Verily.

About Verily

What is Verily?

Verily is an Alphabet-owned precision health company that builds tools and platforms for life sciences researchers, care providers, and patients. Originally founded in 2015 as Google Life Sciences (a moonshot project within Google X), Verily has since spun out into its own entity focused on using technology and data science to improve health outcomes at scale. Its mission is to "bring precision health to everyone, every day."

Where is Verily located?

Verily is headquartered in South San Francisco, California. The company has approximately 1,500 employees, many of whom transitioned from Google when Verily became an independent Alphabet subsidiary. Verily also maintains offices in other U.S. locations and supports hybrid work arrangements.

Who does Verily hire?

Verily employees are called Veeps, and they come from medicine, science, technology, and data backgrounds. The company's hiring culture emphasizes simplicity, resourcefulness, and building over talking. Fellow Veeps say they value "people who look out of windows, and not into mirrors," meaning they want candidates focused on impact rather than self-promotion.

The Verily hiring process favors candidates who can balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution. If you've spent your career at large tech companies and rely heavily on established processes, you'll want to show you can also operate scrappily.

Conversely, if you come from a startup background, be ready to demonstrate comfort with structured frameworks (sprints, story points, SLAs) since Verily inherited much of its operating model from Google.

Verily hires across product management, software engineering, data science, technical program management, and UX design, among other functions.

Verily Interview Resources

Verily Interview Process

The Verily interview process consists of six conversations total, spread across three stages:

  • Recruiter phone screen (30 minutes)
  • Hiring manager screen (45 minutes)
  • Virtual onsite loop (4 rounds over 2 days)

How long does the Verily interview process take?

The full Verily interview process typically runs 4 to 6 weeks from your first recruiter call to an offer. In some cases, it can take up to 2 months, especially if scheduling the virtual onsite takes time.

Does Verily's interview process vary by role?

The overall structure is consistent across roles. Product managers, technical program managers, and UX designers all go through a similar loop with a recruiter screen, hiring manager screen, and multi-day virtual onsite.

The difference is in the content of each round. For example, UX designers present a portfolio instead of doing a case study, while the cross-functional rounds and values assessments remain similar across all roles.

How does Verily make hiring decisions?

Team matching happens before the onsite loop, not after. Your hiring manager decides whether to bring you into the loop based on the initial screens, and you'll interview with people from the specific team you'd be joining. This is different from companies like Google, where team placement happens after the interview committee reviews your packet.

Each interviewer in the onsite loop is assigned a specific Verily core value to assess you on, in addition to their functional area. After all rounds are complete, the interviewers submit independent feedback. There's no formal hiring committee in the Google sense, but the hiring manager and recruiting team review all feedback before making a decision.

Initial Screens

What are Verily's initial screens?

Verily's interview process starts with two phone screens before you reach the onsite loop.

The recruiter phone screen is a 30-minute introductory call. Unlike some companies where this is purely logistical, Verily recruiters probe your PM candidacy directly. Expect questions about your background, industry experience, and motivation for joining. They'll want to understand your interest in the specific role and whether your experience aligns with the job description.

Verily uses two separate recruiters, which is unusual. The first handles your initial outreach and screening. A second recruiter contacts you later (typically before the onsite) to discuss compensation expectations and manage the closing process. This mirrors the structure Google uses.

The hiring manager screen is about 45 minutes. The hiring manager walks you through the product, the role, and the challenges the team faces. They'll ask a mix of behavioral and problem-solving questions, and they're evaluating whether it's worth bringing you into the full loop. If you're applying for a domain-specific role (like an API platform PM), expect domain questions to surface in this round.

How should I prepare for the initial screens?

Research the specific Verily product vertical you're applying to. Verily has six core product offerings (Workbench, Lightpath, Viewpoint, Numetric, Sightline, and Study Watch), and each serves a different user base.

Knowing the product you'd own and its competitive context can differentiate you. As one successful candidate put it: bringing insights about the company's product direction, even as an outsider, signals strong product instincts.

Brush up on your PM fundamentals with our product management interview course before the screens.

Virtual Onsite Loop

What is Verily's virtual onsite?

The virtual onsite is the core of the Verily interview process. It consists of four rounds spread over two days. Day 1 has three interviews; Day 2 has one. All rounds are conducted virtually.

The four rounds are:

  • Cross-functional screen (Design): Led by a senior UX designer, this round assesses your design sense, cross-functional communication skills, and one of Verily's core values.
  • Product sense screen: Led by a senior PM, this is a traditional case study round covering product design, strategy, and analytical thinking.
  • Cross-functional screen (Engineering): Led by a principal engineer, this evaluates how you work with engineering teams and your technical decision-making.
  • Technical screen: Led by the tech lead of the team you'd join, this goes deeper into your domain expertise and product execution skills.

What types of rounds are included?

The cross-functional rounds (Design and Engineering) have a dual purpose that's easy to miss. Yes, they're assessing your ability to work with designers and engineers. But each interviewer is also assigned a specific Verily core value to evaluate you against.

Verily has 20 company values, and the three most prominent are: Innovate healthcare and technology, Gain velocity as One Verily, and Respect individuals.

For the values portion, interviewers draw from a structured question bank with roughly 20 questions per value. They can also add their own questions, but the core value assessment is mandatory. For the case study round, by contrast, interviewers have free rein to choose their own question.

The product sense case study isn't always healthcare-specific. For platform or API-focused roles, you might get a generic product design question (like improving a Google product).

For roles closer to Verily's clinical products, expect questions rooted in the healthcare domain.

The engineering cross-functional round won't ask you to write code. It stays at a high level: why are APIs built, what trade-offs did you make, how do you work with engineering teams. The tech lead round on Day 2 goes one or two levels deeper into your domain.

If you're interviewing for an API role, for instance, the tech lead might ask why you chose GraphQL over REST, or how you'd architect the frontend API layer for a streaming service.

How should I prepare for the virtual onsite?

Practice case studies with our mock interview tools, focusing on product design and strategy questions. For the cross-functional rounds, prepare stories that demonstrate how you've worked with designers, engineers, and other stakeholders. Map those stories to Verily's stated values when possible. If you're interviewing for a technical PM role, brush up on system design fundamentals for the tech lead round.

Research the specific product and service your team works on. The onsite is team-specific, so the product you'd be managing will come up in the hiring manager, engineering, and tech lead rounds. Look at the product if it's publicly available and bring informed perspectives.

Verily Interview Questions

These are examples of real interview questions asked at Verily.

Behavioral

  • Why Verily?
  • Can you tell me about yourself and your background?
  • What kind of PM are you? How do you categorize yourself? Are you process-driven or more scrappy?
  • Describe a project where you managed cross-functional teams and stakeholders to achieve a common goal.
  • How do you handle competing priorities?

Product Management

  • You're a PM at Google for X product. How would you improve the product?
  • How would you define success metrics for Y product?
  • What would be the GTM strategy for a particular feature or product launch?
  • How would you build a product to become a unicorn?
  • Select a product you built and explain why you're proud of it. Describe how you would improve it.

Technical

  • What kind of products have you worked on in the past?
  • How do you decide on technical trade-offs between two equally important products or features? Give an example.
  • How involved are you in technical discussions with the engineering team?
  • How would you build a Netflix-like product with APIs on the frontend?
  • Walk me through a product roadmap in a typical sprint.

Tips for Getting Hired at Verily

Prepare for the hidden values assessment. Every cross-functional interviewer at Verily is assigned a core value to evaluate you against. You won't know which value it is, but you can prepare by reviewing Verily's published values and having stories ready that demonstrate each one. The cross-functional rounds aren't just about collaboration skills; they're culture-fit screens in disguise. Practice articulating these stories with our mock interview tools.

Research your specific product vertical. Verily has six distinct product lines, each targeting different users (researchers, patients, public health organizations). Knowing the product you'd manage, its competitive position, and its user base can be the difference between a generic answer and one that resonates with the team. Even if you don't have healthcare experience, showing that you've studied the space signals strong product instincts. Start your research on Verily's platform page.

Balance strategy with execution. Verily explicitly looks for PMs who can do both. If you come from a big company, be ready to show you can get your hands dirty. If you come from a startup, demonstrate that you can work within structured processes. The ideal Verily PM candidate straddles both worlds. Prepare examples from your career that show both strategic vision and implementation rigor.

Don't over-index on healthcare expertise. For platform and infrastructure roles, Verily's case studies often use generic product scenarios (like improving a Google product) rather than healthcare-specific ones. Healthcare knowledge is a bonus, not a requirement, especially for roles outside the clinical product verticals. That said, reading up on Verily's products and their competitive position will help you connect your answers to the company's mission.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Verily hire new graduates?

Verily does hire for entry-level and early career roles, though most PM positions target candidates with several years of experience. Check Verily's careers page for current openings at all levels.

Does Verily offer remote positions?

Verily supports hybrid work arrangements, with its primary office in South San Francisco. Some roles may require regular in-office presence, particularly those involving hardware products like the Study Watch. Check individual job postings for specific location requirements.

Is Verily's interview process conducted virtually?

Yes. The onsite loop is conducted virtually over two days. The recruiter and hiring manager screens are also virtual calls. Practice your virtual interview skills with our mock interviews to get comfortable with the format.

Can I reapply to Verily if I'm rejected?

Verily follows standard Alphabet reapplication policies. If you're not selected, you can typically reapply after a waiting period (usually 6 to 12 months). Your recruiter should provide specific guidance on timing.

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