Applied and about two weeks later, a recruiter contacted me for a preliminary call. Technical questions were asked by the recruiter:

• What type of beam would you choose to carry a load, and why?
• What material would you make this beam from?
• For a flagpost with a vertical load, what failure mode would you expect?
• What is the minimum information you need to determine the failure point?

After the interview with the recruiter, I was scheduled with a manager for a technical interview.

Interview with the Manager

1. For a beam that is attached to the wall on both ends, where would you expect the failure mode to occur?

2. What if you had rollers instead of being fixed to the wall; would the failure mode change?

3. What are the three modes of heat transfer?

4. Which of the three heat transfer modes is the most effective?

5. Can you describe an application where radiation would be the most effective?

6. How are beams manufactured?

7. If you had a bolt for which you had to set the torque spec, what information would you need?

8. What is the relation between stress and strain?

9. Can you describe the behavior of stress versus strain?