I spoke briefly with the recruiter about my basic skillset and background. He then spoke with the manager. Based on my responses, the manager emailed me a technical background check form to fill out, which contained eight questions. The general theme was to provide examples of complex problems I had solved, how I dealt with dissenting opinions on a problem, and how to reduce costs or increase the reliability of a process within manufacturing, process, or field application.

The hiring manager approved the technical check. They then called me for a 30-minute phone interview. Following that, they called me in for an in-person interview. This involved providing a more detailed executive summary of four to six bullet points, with each point containing about 3-4 sentences, detailing very specific examples of improving reliability and cost reduction. They also asked me to present a 6-8 slide presentation on a complex problem I had solved.

Once I was called into the facility in Hawthorne, my recruiter gave me a tour and provided some final tips on what to look out for in the process. It started with my 20-minute presentation in front of about eight people. These were the same individuals who would later conduct one-on-one interviews with me in the afternoon.

Be prepared to answer difficult questions about why you chose a particular method or how to clarify what you are presenting. Be honest and tell the truth while justifying your position, and you will do fine. There was about 10 minutes for follow-up questions after the presentation.

I was then moved to another conference room where each person who was in the group presentation came in to interview me. Most of the questions involved further inquiries about the presentation or additional examples along the same complexity as the issue shown in the presentation. Focus was placed on problems that may have had an initial apparent root cause, but were later found to stem from something completely different. An easy example is a leaking water faucet; the valve was initially blamed for being faulty, but the root cause was that it wasn't tightened onto the pipe all the way. Be prepared to look at problems from multiple angles.

Some of the interviews were conducted in groups (two people at once), which I assume was due to their busy schedules. The last person to interview me was the hiring manager. He picked me up from the room and gave me a tour of the area where I would be working.

About a week later, they called me in for another interview to meet with the President. I arrived prepared with copies of my resume, technical check, presentation, and executive summary. It was a 30-minute interview. She went over how I would tackle a problem and what my greatest achievement was in that problem.

I was called a few days later saying I had earned the offer, and I accepted. They also asked for my GPA in college and SAT scores.

I had researched other responses on Glassdoor, and it proved to be very useful. It helped me prepare for the interview.

Describe a complex problem you had solved.

What troubleshooting methods do you use?

Are you comfortable with a more hands-on role?