Sr Automation Engineer

Tell me about a panel you designed that had a problem during fabrication or startup. What happened and what did you change?

What they are checking: Whether they learn from field issues and feed lessons back into design standards.

How have you improved internal electrical design standards at a past company?

What they are checking: Whether they lead beyond their own projects, as a senior engineer should.

How do you mentor or support less experienced designers and panel builders?

What they are checking: Whether they collaborate across engineering and production and raise others' skills.

A UL inspector flags an issue on a panel that is due to ship tomorrow. What do you do?

What they are checking: Whether they protect compliance under schedule pressure instead of looking for a shortcut.

You are on a customer site for commissioning and the PLC isn't seeing several I/O points. How do you troubleshoot?

What they are checking: Whether they troubleshoot methodically in the field, from wiring to configuration.

Walk me through how you calculate the SCCR of a control panel and what you do if it comes out too low.

What they are checking: Whether they truly understand UL508A short circuit rules, a core compliance task in this role.

What are the main differences you watch for when designing to UL508A versus NFPA 79 for machine panels?

What they are checking: Whether they know which code applies where and how it changes the design.

How do you select a VFD and its protection for a given motor application?

What they are checking: Whether they size drives, protection and wiring correctly for real loads.

How do you build schematics and BOMs so that the production floor can build panels with few questions?

What they are checking: Whether they design for buildability and clear documentation.

What arc flash considerations do you include in panel design?

What they are checking: Whether they think about safety for the people who will work on the equipment later.