Engineering Design interview prep.

Behavioural questions to expect

1. Walk me through your engineering background + automotive supplier experience.
2. Tell me about a component or sub-system program you've designed.
3. Why automotive supplier design vs OEM / aerospace / consumer engineering?
4. Why this product family - powertrain / chassis / safety / electronics / e-mobility / interior?
5. Why the firm?
6. What's your read on our product portfolio + key OEM customers + recent program wins?
7. Tell me what you understand about our engineering culture + APQP discipline.
8. Walk me through how you took an OEM SOR + design input to a producible component.

Technical concepts to master

• SOR-to-PPAP supplier program arc

  Statement of Requirements (SOR) · RFQ engineering response · Design Verification (DV) + Product Validation (PV) · Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) · Run-at-rate + ISIR

• DFMEA + GD&T + Cpk + statistical tolerancing

  DFMEA (Design FMEA) · PFMEA (Process FMEA) · GD&T per ASME Y14.5 + ISO 1101 · Cpk + Ppk + statistical capability · Statistical tolerance stack-up

• Design-to-cost + VAVE + Tier 2 cascade

  Design-to-cost (DTC) · Should-cost analysis · VAVE (Value Analysis / Value Engineering) · Tier 2 supplier cascade · ECN / ECR + change discipline

• ISO 26262 + ASPICE + IATF for suppliers

  ASIL cascade from OEM · Technical Safety Concept (TSC) · ASPICE capability level · DIA (Development Interface Agreement) · IATF 16949 + customer-specific requirements (CSRs)

Practical drills

• An OEM has awarded your team a new component program. SOR specifies functional + dimensional + quality + cost + timing. Walk through your APQP plan, design concept, DV / PV, PPAP path. Identify 2-3 highest-risk gaps in the SOR.
• DV testing reveals a high-RPN failure mode on a safety-relevant feature. Walk through DFMEA update, design + process response, DV / PV protocol, PPAP impact.
• OEM has demanded an 8% piece-price reduction by year 2 of production - VAVE program triggered. Current BOM walk: material 55%, process 25%, Tier 2 components 15%, overhead 5%. Walk through your VAVE engineering approach + design alternatives + ECN / re-PPAP plan.

Smart-question anchors

• Product portfolio + lead OEM customers - awarded programs + SOP roadmap
• Electrification + ADAS posture - BEV / hybrid + sensor / ECU + SW investment
• Engineering org + global tech-center model - design vs application vs program
• Quality + safety + cyber posture - IATF + ISO 26262 + ISO 21434 + ASPICE maturity
• Cost + commercial posture - margin trend, VAVE programs, piece-price negotiation rhythm

Sourced from

AIAG core tools (APQP, PPAP, FMEA, MSA, SPC) + AIAG-VDA FMEA Handbook 2019 · IATF 16949:2016 + customer-specific requirements (CSRs) · ISO 26262:2018 + ISO 21434:2021 + ISO 21448:2022 · VDA Automotive SPICE + VDA 6.3 process audit + VDA QMC publications · ASME Y14.5-2018 + ISO 1101 GD&T standards