Manufacturing Automation Engineer
Posted Sep 10, 2026 · We last checked this listing on Sep 20, 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.
Behavioral
Walk me through a time you had to troubleshoot a production line that suddenly went down. What was your process for figuring out where the fault was?
whether the candidate has a structured troubleshooting method versus guessing, and how they perform under production pressure
Describe a situation where you had to work with quality, purchasing, and planning teams at the same time to solve one problem. How did you keep everyone aligned?
cross-functional coordination skills in a manufacturing environment with competing priorities
Tell me about a machine or piece of equipment you maintained. How did you plan preventive maintenance for it, and how did you know it was working?
discipline around maintenance planning and understanding of machine availability metrics
Tell me about a time you had to coordinate with an outside vendor to fix a piece of equipment. What made that go well or poorly?
vendor management skills and ability to translate technical problems for outside parties
Why does manufacturing automation interest you, and what drew you to a role that is mostly hands-on production support rather than pure design work?
whether the candidate genuinely wants floor-level troubleshooting work versus using it as a stepping stone
Technical
Tell me about your experience with PLC programming. What platforms have you worked with and what kind of logic changes have you made to support a product change?
actual hands-on PLC skill level versus classroom exposure
How would you approach a vision camera that keeps misreading a barcode or part orientation on the line?
practical understanding of machine vision setup, lighting, and calibration issues
Have you used DOE or other statistical methods to solve a process problem? Walk me through one example, even a class project if that is what you have.
whether the candidate can actually apply structured experimentation rather than just naming the tool
What is your experience with Lean or Six Sigma, and can you give an example of a cycle time or waste reduction you contributed to?
real exposure to continuous improvement methodology versus resume keyword
How comfortable are you with pneumatics, servo axis control, and networking or database issues on the plant floor? Give me a specific example if you have one.
breadth of hands-on exposure across the full range of automation subsystems named in the job
Situational
Say a robotic work cell starts producing intermittent quality failures but passes every diagnostic check. How would you go about isolating the root cause?
depth of hands-on knowledge across PLC logic, sensors, vision systems, and mechanical wear, and comfort with ambiguous intermittent faults
If you were asked to support a stop-ship meeting because a defect was found in the field, what would you want to know first, and what would your role be in that room?
understanding of quality escalation processes and ability to act decisively when production is halted
Suppose a machine's performance metrics show declining throughput over several weeks but no single failure event. How would you dig into that?
ability to use data trends for continuous improvement rather than only reacting to breakdowns
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As published by Motorola Solutions.
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