Just wrapped up a PIMCO investment analyst process in New York, sharing while it's fresh.
Total rounds: 6. Recruiter screen (30 min), two phone technicals, then a full virtual on-site with four back-to-back 45-min sessions.
The technicals were heavy on fixed income fundamentals. Duration, modified duration, convexity, how rising rates affect different parts of a bond portfolio. I got a question about what happens to a callable bond's duration as rates fall. I answered but then got a follow-up I wasn't expecting: "what would you do differently in the portfolio if you believed the vol surface was mispricing that optionality." That's when I knew this wasn't a check-the-box interview.
The behavioral questions were honestly harder than I expected. Specific situations where I disagreed with a team view. How I handled being wrong on a call. One PM literally asked me to walk through a thesis I'd had that didn't pan out and what my process was for reassessing it. No fluffy "tell me about a challenge" stuff.
What stood out: they want people who can defend a position AND update it. Intellectual humility but not wishy-washy. That tension is real.
Offer came 10 days after the final round. Headcount felt tight but they moved decisively once they decided.