Engineering Design interview prep.

Behavioural questions to expect

1. Walk me through your engineering background and the design work you've owned.
2. Tell me about a component or subsystem you designed end-to-end.
3. Why aerospace and defense rather than auto, consumer, or general industrial?
4. Why this discipline and domain - structures, propulsion, avionics, thermal, materials?
5. Why the firm?
6. What's your read on our product or programme portfolio?
7. What do you understand about our engineering culture and design practice?
8. Walk me through a detail design from requirement to release - analysis, drawing, qualification.

Technical concepts to master

• Structural, aero, thermal analysis and margin discipline

  Margin of Safety (MoS) and Factor of Safety (FoS) · Limit vs Ultimate vs Design Loads · A-basis vs B-basis allowables · FEA + classical hand calc balance · Fatigue, damage tolerance, durability

• Materials and processes for A+D

  Composite layup + cure + NDI · Forging vs casting vs machining vs additive · Hot section materials: Ni superalloys + CMCs · Surface treatment + corrosion protection · Additive manufacturing qualification

• Qualification and airworthiness substantiation

  Qualification test matrix · DO-160 environmental qualification · MIL-STD-810 + 461 qualification · Type certification basis · Substantiation report + DER + DAR

• Configuration, manufacturing, and supplier discipline

  GD&T + tolerance stack-up · Drawing release + configuration baseline · ECN + ECP + CCB · First Article Inspection (FAI) + PPAP · ITAR + EAR + export classification

Practical drills

• You're tasked with designing a structural fitting that transfers load from a composite skin into a metallic frame on a fielded aircraft. Walk through your design + analysis + release approach.
• During DO-160 qualification, your unit fails the lightning indirect-effects test by exceeding the upset threshold on a critical signal line. Programme is 4 months from CDR. Walk through your response.
• Mid-programme, weight is 8% over target on a structural assembly you own. Programme leadership asks for options. Margin is positive but tight. Walk through your tradeoff analysis.

Smart-question anchors

• Programme + product portfolio - commercial / military / space mix, programme stage
• Engineering discipline structure - functional vs IPT, chief engineer model, design authority
• Materials + manufacturing capability - in-house vs supplier, additive maturity, composites depth
• Airworthiness + qualification posture - FAA / EASA / military airworthiness engagement
• Configuration + quality systems - AS9100, recent FAI / PPAP / DCMA audit history

Sourced from

MMPDS (Metallic Materials Properties Development and Standardization) + CMH-17 (Composite Materials Handbook) · RTCA DO-160 / DO-178C / DO-254 + EUROCAE ED standards · MIL-STD-810 + MIL-STD-461 + MIL-STD-882 DoD standards · FAA FAR Part 25 + EASA CS-25 airworthiness regulations · ASME Y14.5 GD&T + AS9100 + AS9102 FAI quality standards · Bruhn Analysis and Design of Flight Vehicle Structures + Niu Airframe Structural Design + Peery Aircraft Structures