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If you are part of an organization that produces highly complex products, you’re likely already doing systems engineering, whether you mean to or not. With the increase in adopting smart, mechatronic products, the discipline of systems engineering is one of the most important roles out on the market today.
Due to the complexity of modern products, it’s always important to have an individual or group of individuals that are specifically responsible for systems engineering within your business.
System engineers are people who are responsible for optimizing and managing in-house information systems that often support the foundational organizational functions. This person or team oversees software decisions, designs, and development to ensure systems across the organization perform well, securely, and are available to all who need access to do their jobs.
When you’re hiring for a system engineer, it’s important to look for a few key skills in their backgrounds to ensure you’re hiring the best fit. System engineers should have an established technical background and excellent troubleshooting skills.
When you’re interviewing a candidate for this type of role, you’ll want to be sure to ask questions that help you understand their previous experience with any automation software and scripts that your organization might use. It’s a good idea to understand this up front, to decide how much onboarding training is necessary.
Additionally, you’ll want to be sure your top candidates can provide solutions for your system malfunctions or any problem areas in an efficient way. Some system engineer interviews involve a project or assignment to complete so that hiring managers can get a decent idea of their skillset.
Finally, you’ll want to be sure your candidate has a strong interest in the industry or industries with which you work. They’ll understand how systems work within a specific industry or be able to further research and suggest new applications to enhance what already exists.
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System engineers are an important piece of any team, overseeing all aspects of a project or system in a variety of fields including software, transportation, product development, and manufacturing. Their primary goal is to create and continuously manage and improve a system that can help create a product from beginning to end.
System engineers can work in a variety of industries. Depending on which industry, responsibilities for the role may differ. However, some common job duty examples are:
Constant improvement. System engineers are expected to monitor any existing systems to evaluate structural integrity and assess any necessary upgrades or updates that could improve the system.
Optimization. System engineers should be constantly researching new software products available on the market, as well as any hardware or equipment that might help the business become more efficient with its output.
Installations. These individuals install all new software, operating systems, and any necessary equipment.
Security. As one of the biggest concerns many organizations have, system engineers are expected to design and implement security systems as well as ensure safety procedures are articulated and in place.
Technical assistance. As the new software is implemented, system engineers are required to provide any technical assistance to new users and others involved in the process.
Collaboration. System engineers should monitor all systems continuously and set up protocols for feedback from other teams. They’ll also be expected to cross-coordinate with other teams to troubleshoot and find optimal solutions to any pain points.
If you’re looking for a starting point for what are the best questions and answers for a system engineer interview, below we’ll discuss our top few.
These questions should, of course, be updated to reflect your specific industry, organization, and position, but they’re a great general starting point.
Tell me about a past project that you worked on involving systems engineering. How did you participate in this project? Since system engineers are the ones who are responsible for the in-house IT structure, it’s important to understand their breadth of knowledge.
System engineers can have a diverse set of technology skills, depending on their experience.
The more knowledge, the better, but it will all ultimately depend on the company’s needs. Painting this question a bit broader will allow candidates to expand on their full expertise and how their skills fit with the business needs.
Example Answer:
“At my previous company, I worked on an exciting project that involved overhauling our reporting system. I was responsible for developing and managing the initial rollout of a system that ultimately went on to improve our report processing by almost 60%.”
What is the value that system engineering brings to a business? Since system engineering is such a huge responsibility for any organization, you want to be sure that your candidate understands what the true value of their position can be.
This question is a great way to get an understanding of your candidate's “big picture” view of projects including decisions like finances, scheduling, and other constraints. You’ll want to be sure they also can collaborate easily and can work with leadership teams who may require their insight for important decisions.
Example Answer:
“System engineering is one of the most pivotal responsibilities in any organization. Having a smart systems engineer allows businesses to make better decisions and work across teams more efficiently. By having one person or a team focused on system operations, you’ll be sure it’s constantly improving for maximum efficiency which means better savings and better productivity across teams.”
Have you ever developed a disaster recovery plan? Can you walk me through a successful plan you may have developed at a previous organization? System engineers should have a good idea of what a disaster recovery plan is, how to create one, and how to execute it. These plans are important to have in place in case of scenarios like natural disasters and power outages.
If this is an important requirement for you and your organization, you’ll want to be sure you ask this question point-blank. Be sure your candidate understands how to take everything into account including physical and electronic assets and maintaining customer satisfaction in the event of a disaster.
Example Answer:
“I’m proud to say that I worked closely with a colleague at an old job to develop a disaster recovery plan for a wholesale distribution company. They needed to create a cloud-based data center that could be accessible from anywhere, even if one location went down. Once we developed this plan, when we had a storm or power outage for any reason, the other five branches could continue to operate while we focused on getting power back.”
Walk me through the types of documentation you’ve created as a system engineer in past roles. One of the most important things a system engineer can do is to document their projects for support roles.
Many times system engineers run a full team and creating documentation can help to establish requirements at the beginning of a project or serve as a guiding point for new projects.
If this is an important requirement for your new hire, it’s a great idea to ask this question and understand their experience in this area. Even if the candidate hasn’t done this in the past, look for other written or verbal communication skills as well as any proof of collaboration or planning experience.
Example Answer:
“In my last role, I was very involved in creating project plans that we would distribute to outside clients regularly. I also was involved in developing SOPs for our internal teams whenever we would roll out new software.”
There are plenty of other questions you may choose to ask your candidate. Below, we list some of the most common questions that can give you different insights on your candidate’s strengths, weaknesses, and how they may fit with your existing team.
How do you maintain up-to-date documentation?
Walk me through the last piece of software you installed on a server.
How do you typically troubleshoot problems? Can you give me a step-by-step example?
Tell me what you know about virtualization and containerization? Do you have any experience with tools like VMware or Virtualbox?
What are you familiar with as it concerns a SQL server deployment?
When you’re assessing an application’s efficiency, what kind of tests do you run?
What do you know about the Java Scripting API?
In your opinion, what automation software is best for Windows? How about Mac?
When deploying a new system, who do you think you need to collaborate with to be sure the project runs smoothly?
What resources do you use to ensure you’re up to date on engineering trends?
Do you have any certifications as it relates to system engineering?
What are some common questions you’ve experienced in systems following deployment? How do you manage the feedback you receive?
Talk to me about the most challenging project you’ve worked on as a system engineer.
Describe a time when you had to present a new operational procedure to a non-technical audience. How did you ensure they understood all technical references?