Embedded Hardware Intern (Summer 2027)
Posted Sep 25, 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 circuit board or hardware project you designed or built. What went wrong along the way?
What they are checking: Whether they have hands-on hardware experience and can talk honestly about mistakes and what they learned.
Tell me about working with someone who wrote software for hardware you built. How did you split the problem?
What they are checking: Whether they can work across the hardware and firmware line, where most embedded product problems actually show up.
How do you document your design so the next engineer can understand why you made each choice?
What they are checking: Whether their work will still be useful to the team after the summer ends.
What would you do
A prototype board is not powering up. Walk me through how you would debug it.
What they are checking: Whether they check power, shorts and parts step by step with the right instruments instead of guessing.
If you needed a part that was on long lead time, what would you do?
What they are checking: Whether they think about supply and alternates, a real constraint in product design beyond the textbook.
About the work
What schematic capture or PCB layout tools have you used, and how far did you take a design?
What they are checking: Whether they can contribute to real design work right away or will need to learn the basic tools first.
How would you pick a voltage regulator for a battery-powered sensor in a faucet or flush valve?
What they are checking: Whether they weigh efficiency, quiescent current and cost, which decide battery life in a low-power product.
Why do you put decoupling capacitors near a microcontroller's power pins?
What they are checking: Whether they understand basic power integrity, a common cause of flaky behavior in real boards.
These products live around water. What design choices change when electronics might get wet or humid?
What they are checking: Whether they think about sealing, conformal coating and corrosion, which matter a lot for plumbing products.
How comfortable are you with an oscilloscope and a multimeter? Tell me about something you measured with them.
What they are checking: Whether they can verify a design in the lab, which is most of the day-to-day work for a hardware intern.
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Practice this out loudThe full job description
As published by Zurn Elkay.