Are you looking to bring on a manufacturing engineer? As you interview candidates, it’s important to ask manufacturing engineering questions that assess their technical abilities and soft skills.

These 11 outstanding manufacturing engineer interview questions will help steer you in the right direction when hiring.

11 Manufacturing Engineer Interview Questions

There are various manufacturing engineer interview questions you can ask to get a sense of the technical skills and abilities of your manufacturing engineering candidates. Here are some of the best manufacturing engineering interview questions:

1. Talk about an experience where you implemented a change that effectively improved a certain product or reduced costs. How did you first pinpoint the opportunity for change?

Hire an engineer who can identify room for improvement and innovative approaches to their work. This manufacturing engineer interview question assesses a candidate’s ability to identify manufacturing issues and propose solutions.

2. What was the least successful project you have worked on? How did you react to the outcome?

A candidate should be open to discussing his or her failures and weaknesses. This question shows hiring managers how a candidate might respond to the best as well as the worst of times in a role. The candidate should discuss a specific failure that occurred earlier in his or her career, and talk about lessons learned and how he or she walked away from the situation with a better perspective.

3. You’re in charge of a production line and the safety guarding isn’t on the conveyor. The production supervisor wishes to start production. What would you do in this situation?

One of the most important manufacturing engineer interview questions involves safety — both personal and collective. A great candidate would halt production until all safety precautions are taken. This mishap could affect both the safety of team members and the quality of output. According to Glassdoor, Ford Motor Company has asked this question in manufacturing engineer interviews.

4. How do you define success for the organization in your role?

How does the manufacturing engineer candidate measure success? Is it cutting costs through ideas that impact the bottom line in production? Find out how the candidate feels successful in the role — and how he or she would apply that to this position. This manufacturing engineer interview question allows you to see if the candidate’s definition of success is in line with your organization’s values.

5. What do you know about our company?

One of the best manufacturing interview questions to ask is about the company. A top-notch candidate should have visited the company website, its LinkedIn page, and Googled any recent news stories about the business or shared by the company.

The candidate should know what kind of product or service the company sells, how long the business has been around, and the company’s mission statement. Then, that opens the floor for the candidate to express excitement about the role after researching the company.

6. Did the salary we offer draw you to this role?

The salary is a big factor in your interest in this job, but it should not be the primary reason for applying and interviewing. A solid answer to this is, “The salary was indeed very appealing, but the job itself is what attracted me the most.”

7. Discuss an example of an instance when you successfully organized a diverse group of people to accomplish a task.

Has the candidate led a team in order to accomplish a project? Furthermore, has he or she recognized diversity in the workplace and highlighted each team member’s unique contributions? This is one of the most intriguing manufacturing engineer interview questions. It allows the applicant to express how he or she values teamwork and diverse perspectives.

8. How have you handled a situation where you disagreed with your supervisor’s decision?

In manufacturing, it’s important to have employees who can respectfully disagree with managers or supervisors. After all, they may be able to provide a new perspective that leads to more efficient processes. The candidate should discuss how he or she would approach such a disagreement and the result of the situation.

9. What do you consider the most important manufacturing process? Why?

The manufacturing engineer candidate should be able to identify a few key processes and explain why they are crucial to the manufacturing process. For example, they may discuss processes such as assembly, packaging, machining, etc. Such an answer shows an understanding of manufacturing beyond the surface level.

10. How do you stay current with manufacturing processes and technologies?

This is one of the most important manufacturing engineer interview questions. It allows you to gauge the candidate’s willingness to learn and improve by keeping abreast of manufacturing trends and industry developments. The ideal answer should include a mix of online research, reading manufacturing trade publications, and attending conferences or seminars. Another key component is networking with other manufacturing professionals.

11. What do you believe is the biggest challenge in manufacturing today?

The manufacturing engineer candidate’s answer to this question will give you some insight into his or her manufacturing philosophy. For example, if the candidate believes that the biggest challenge is reducing costs, she or he may be more likely to focus on cutting corners rather than ensuring quality output. On the other hand, if the candidate believes that the biggest challenge is ensuring quality, he or she may be more likely to invest in expensive manufacturing processes and technologies.

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 candidates to fill manufacturing engineering roles. We take the time to understand what our partner companies are really looking for through in-depth conversations, skills testing, and relationship building. This allows us to identify and qualify manufacturing engineering candidates that may not be active in their job search but are the best match for the role.

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