SMA Technologies Interview Questions
& Process

3 interviews. First with a recruiter (internal), next with hiring manager, last is a panel with 4 people. First two were an hour, Panel was 90 minutes. Unique experience and felt more like a conversation rather than an interview.

So the interview process was pretty straightforward. Started with a recruiter phone screen, then a take-home coding assignment. After that, there was a 1-hour phone interview where we went over my code and then some tech questions. Honestly, it felt pretty easy. They threw in random tech questions that you could easily Google, like joining tables in SQL or defining a bound context, and how to separate domains in one solution. Stuff a senior engineer should know, which I do. The take-home challenge was to build an elevator system based on given requirements. Funny thing is, the engineering team apparently didn't even read the requirements thoroughly because they asked me about a specific design choice, and I had to point out it was literally stated in the second line of the requirements. I got feedback that my solution was actually better than anything they had or could come up with. But after that interview, the company went completely silent, no email replies. So, a 30-minute phone screen, 6+ hours on the challenge, and then a 1-hour Zoom call with tech questions that just ended. I wouldn't want to work for a company that doesn't value a candidate's time.

I first had the call with the recruiter just to get a bit of background knowledge about me. The next step was a phone call with the SVP Sales EMEA Jose and Debbie who is part of the UK Team. The call was also quite straight to the point and made sure I had a good work life balance as they want someone who can enjoy life outside of work due to a balanced lifestyle. I then had a face to face interview with the COO David Gafford, Mark Scanlon and Debbie and right from the get go we did not even see it as an interview it was if we were old colleagues catching up. Everyone was friendly and kind and respected the interviewee's background. It was more around who I was as a person and whether I would be a good fit to sell SMA's product to people over the phone. Once I told them how I work and how people speak to me over the phone we just spoke about personal life and how that has helped me to become a good salesman as well. Final interview was with Jose who ultimatley will become my boss and who I will report to. I was reiterating myself from the previous interview I had but Jose wanted to get a feel for who I am. By then it was safe to say I was offered the role and was excited to start. A word of advice for interviewees: be patient with their response they like to take their and make sure everything is ticked off before coming back to you which is far far better than getting a rushed response. The process took me 2 months in total to get the role but not once did I feel I was not going to get it.

The interview process included an initial phone chat with the hiring manager, submitting a work sample or portfolio, and then a substantial 3-hour formal interview involving several departments I'd work with. The phone interview was chill and covered company basics and my background. The work sample checked my basic materials development skills. The formal interview was broken into four parts and felt manageable. They asked about my past work, technical skills, and knowledge. They also really focused on culture and fit, showing that teamwork is a big deal at SMA. All the departments I met were nice and professional, making it the best interview I've had.