Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories Hardware Test / Validation Engineer Interview Questions
& Process

The interview included basic qualitative questions to check my theoretical knowledge and my approach to problem-solving. I was expected to show practical skills with measurement tools, specifically how to correctly use an Ammeter, Ohmmeter, and Voltmeter.

The interview process felt really long and dragged out. I first heard from a recruiter for a quick initial phone screen. Then, about a week and a half later, the recruiter reached out again to chat more about the job. Another week passed, and I had a 90-minute phone interview with the hiring manager, mostly covering high-level technical stuff. Before the phone screen, I was given a coding project with different parts, including development and testing, which was super time-consuming, especially for someone with a full-time job. After the phone interview, I had to do another project that took several more days. The final interview was a six-hour ordeal with several people, and it felt really repetitive. It was a long, repetitive process where I had to tell the same people the same things over again. There were even more calls after that, making me think they were intentionally making it take forever. I ended up declining the offer because the pay wasn't great and the whole experience left a bad impression. I wouldn't really recommend SEL for anything other than getting some initial experience.

Had a first phone call which was all technical. Then later on site all day. I guess it was ok that I didn't answer all the technical questions correctly. On site, there were many meetings including a factory tour and an overview of their benefits. Mostly, I was talking to the same people. There were nearly all technical questions. I presented on "a personal technical challenge". There were not very many questions about my presentation. I thought insights about what I did and why were pertinent. Apparently, my chances were not good after the initial presentation and following technical questions. They still continued with all the scheduled activities, however.