Failure Analysis Engineer Sr/Process Engineer Sr
Posted Aug 18, 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
Walk me through a failure analysis you led from the returned unit to the corrective action.
What they are checking: Whether they follow a disciplined path from evidence to root cause to a fix that prevents recurrence.
Tell me about a time your analysis pointed to a problem another team didn't want to hear.
What they are checking: Whether they present findings objectively and hold their ground with data while staying collaborative.
How have you mentored less experienced engineers or technicians in failure analysis?
What they are checking: Whether they share expertise and raise the skill of the team, expected at the senior level.
What would you do
A board fails in the field with intermittent behavior you can't reproduce in the lab. How do you approach it?
What they are checking: Whether they use environmental stress, history and data to chase intermittent faults rather than closing it as no fault found.
The customer wants a root cause report in two days, but you need a week to be sure. What do you tell them?
What they are checking: Whether they share honest interim findings and a plan rather than presenting a guess as a confirmed root cause.
About the work
Which FA tools and techniques do you rely on, like X-ray, cross-sectioning, SEM or dye and pry?
What they are checking: Whether they know when to use non-destructive methods first and when destructive analysis is worth it.
What common solder joint defects do you see in SMT processes, and what process conditions cause them?
What they are checking: Whether they connect defects like voids, head-in-pillow and bridging to paste, stencil, placement and reflow causes.
How would you set up or tune a reflow profile for a new board with mixed component sizes?
What they are checking: Whether they understand thermal mass, ramp rates and paste requirements, core process engineering knowledge.
How do you decide whether a failure is a component problem, a process problem or a design problem?
What they are checking: Whether they can separate supplier, manufacturing and design causes with evidence, since each leads to different owners.
Why does FA documentation matter so much for medical and aerospace customers?
What they are checking: Whether they understand that reports may be reviewed by regulators and customers and must stand on their own.
How do you use process data like SPC or AOI results to catch problems before they become failures?
What they are checking: Whether they work proactively on process control instead of only reacting to failures after they happen.
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Practice this out loudThe full job description
As published by Plexus.