Engineering Automation interview prep.

Behavioural questions to expect

1. Walk me through your background + path into warehouse + fulfillment automation engineering.
2. Tell me about an automation project you've owned end-to-end.
3. Why warehouse automation engineering vs OEM machinery design, plant automation, or pure IT?
4. Why fulfillment / DC automation specifically vs manufacturing / process automation?
5. Why the firm?
6. What's your read on our automation roadmap + technology stack?
7. Tell me what you understand about our engineering culture + project delivery model.
8. Walk me through a solution design - sizing an automation system against a throughput + cube + flow spec.

Technical concepts to master

• Solution design + capacity modeling

  Throughput modeling - takt + station count · Cube + slotting + density analysis · Discrete-event simulation · Capital + payback case · Make vs buy vs integrator-led

• WCS + WES + WMS integration

  WMS - WCS handshake · WES vs WCS vs WMS · Controls + PLC layer · FAT + SAT · Hypercare + ramp curve

• OEE + reliability + sustaining engineering

  OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) · MTBF + MTTR + availability · Spares + preventive maintenance · Fault Pareto + RCA · Sustaining engineering vs project engineering

• Machinery safety + risk assessment

  ISO 12100 risk assessment · ISO 13849 + IEC 62061 - functional safety · ANSI B11 + B20 + B30 series · Guarding + light curtains + interlocks · Lockout / tagout (LOTO)

Practical drills

• An e-com FC wants to add AMR-based goods-to-person picking. Current manual UPH is 90; AMR-assisted UPH is expected to be 150. Throughput need is 24,000 picks / shift over 8 productive hours. Fully-loaded labor cost is $25 / hr. Each AMR costs $35,000 capital + $5,000 / yr maintenance + WCS license. Assume 1 AMR supports 1 picker. Walk me through fleet size, labor displaced, and simple payback. Show your numbers.
• You're the lead automation engineer on a greenfield 800,000 sq ft e-com FC. Peak throughput 200,000 units / day, baseline 80,000 / day. 60,000 active SKUs, e-com cube profile. Walk me through your solution design approach + the technology trade-offs you'd weigh.
• An AMR fleet went live two weeks ago at a 500-person e-com FC. Design throughput is 12,000 picks / hr; actual is running at 7,500. WCS event logs show high jam + traffic incidents. The site general manager wants design throughput in 4 weeks. Walk me through your hypercare + recovery playbook.

Smart-question anchors

• Automation roadmap + vendor partners - AS/RS, AMRs, GTP, sortation, robotics pilots
• Engineering org shape - network engineering vs site engineering, controls / IE / project mgmt / reliability balance
• WMS + WCS + WES stack + integration model - named platforms + standards
• Capital + payback discipline - automation capex run-rate, payback hurdle, build vs buy
• OEE + reliability + sustaining engineering posture - KPI scoreboard, spares + maintenance model

Sourced from

MHI (Material Handling Institute) + Modern Materials Handling magazine · MODEX + ProMat industry conferences (MHI-run) · ISO 12100 + ISO 13849 + IEC 62061 machinery safety standards · ANSI B11 + B20 + B30 + ANSI / RIA R15.06 industrial standards · Gartner Magic Quadrant for Warehouse Management Systems + Warehouse Execution · Supply Chain Dive + DC Velocity + Logistics Management trade press