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Quality Engineer Interview Questions: What To Ask

June 8, 2020
Posted in Interviews
June 8, 2020 TruPath

Quality Engineer Interview Questions: What To Ask

If you’re looking for quality engineer interview questions, you’ve arrived at the right resource.

Quality engineers monitor and audit the quality of manufactured goods in a range of industries, including the auto, textile, clothing, food, and electronics industries. They find defects, seek the cause, and ultimately develop a solution. Industry certifications can boost career options, in addition to associates or master’s degrees.

Quality engineers work to monitor, test, and inspect products to make sure they meet certain standards. They also test products to determine how long they will last, what part might break down first, and how to boost product durability. They inspect product materials, mechanics as well as electrical systems.

Quality Engineer Interview Questions

What does quality mean to you?

At the heart of any quality engineer role is quality. An excellent candidate would describe quality in the particular framework of his or her specialization. The term also encompasses safety, integrity, attention to detail, leadership, and so forth.

How do you manage resistance to quality implementations?

Employees may not always agree with an engineer’s ideas. That’s why this is one of the top quality engineer interview questions; it reveals leadership skills within the candidate. Can the interviewee share a specific example of when subordinates or other teams voiced disapproval? How did the situation turn out?

How do you handle a high-stress environment?

Quality engineers work under tight deadlines, face pressure for precision, and overall tend to handle stressful tasks. You might pose some situational questions at this point in the interview to discover how the candidate has reacted to past work environments. Producing quality products under pressure is a key skill — making this one of the most important quality engineer interview questions.

What made you want to apply to our company?

Has the candidate conducted thorough research about your organization and the work involved? The “attention to detail” trait of great quality engineers comes into play here. Whether it means discussing the products your company specializes in, or the mission/values you stand for, or recent press the company has had, find out if the candidate researched.

Have you ever stopped a line for a quality issue? Explain.

Before products hit the market, they must be screened for quality. If caught too late, a mistake can ruin both the product and the company’s reputation. Dig deep to find out any mistakes the candidate has caught early enough to avoid disaster.

Reverse a string.

More technical questions may arise, such as how to reverse a string using Java or another computer program. Here’s a sample answer:

string a=””; for(int i=a.length()-1; i>=0; i–){ str+=a.charAt(a); } return str; }

Have you had to deal with the changing of plans during a project?

Whether for quality reasons or even “power plays” by higher-ups, plans can change at any time. This is one of the top quality engineer interview questions, as it reveals how easily the candidate can compromise and work as a team to develop the best solution possible. Change can scare employees, or it can allow them to be adaptable and embrace other ideas.

If someone is unsafe in the workplace, what would you do to amend the situation?

Safety is a top priority in production and engineering in general. If a quality engineer sees an unsafe situation, it requires immediate action — whether by the termination of employment, running additional quality checks, or giving the team a serious safety discussion. Safety training already proves an integral part of engineering work. If an employee slips up, your candidate should know how to fix the situation.


As a trusted recruitment source for more than a decade, TruPath has the industry knowledge and a proven model to help our partners feel comfortable in their search for a candidate.

Through our TruProcess, we can consistently deliver exceptional candidates that help organizations continue down successful paths. Contact TruPath today to tell us about your staffing needs.