Controls Engineering Intern (Summer 2027)
Posted Aug 27, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Oct 6, 2026
Likely interview questions for this role
Written from this job description, not a generic list. Each one notes what the interviewer is really checking.
About your past
Tell me about a project where you programmed or wired something that actually had to work, in class, on a team or on your own.
What they are checking: Whether they have real hands-on controls experience they can explain in their own words.
Tell me about a time you worked with a team member whose skills were very different from yours.
What they are checking: How they collaborate with engineers, technicians and operators who will each see the work differently.
What does safety mean to you when you are working around electrical equipment and moving machinery?
What they are checking: Whether they take plant safety seriously before they ever set foot on the floor.
What kind of engineering work do you want to be doing in five years, and how does this summer fit into that?
What they are checking: Whether the internship fits a real interest in manufacturing controls, which helps the program pick future hires.
What would you do
You are testing a change on a line and something does not behave the way you expected. What do you do next?
What they are checking: Whether they stop, communicate and stay safe rather than keep experimenting on live equipment.
How would you go about learning a plant system you have never seen before in your first week?
What they are checking: Whether they know how to ask good questions and use drawings and people to learn quickly.
The internship could place you in Richland Center or another plant away from home. How do you feel about relocating for the summer?
What they are checking: Whether they are ready for a summer in a manufacturing community, which affects whether they will thrive there.
About the work
What do you know about how a PLC works, from inputs to the scan cycle to outputs?
What they are checking: Their grasp of the basics they will need to contribute to programming and testing this summer.
Can you explain ladder logic for a simple start and stop circuit with a seal-in, as if you were drawing it for me?
What they are checking: Whether they can reason through basic logic out loud, a common way to check real understanding.
What is the role of an HMI on a production line, and what makes one easy or hard for an operator to use?
What they are checking: Whether they think about the people running the equipment, not just the code behind it.
Have you worked with robotics or motion control at all? What did you learn?
What they are checking: Their exposure to robotics, which the posting names as part of the work.
Practice this interview out loud.
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Practice this out loudThe full job description
As published by Schreiber Foods.