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How to Prepare for an Engineering Interview

Written by

melisanengineer

·

Engineering interviews are tricky to prepare for. Every interview I have had has been slightly different even if it was for the same or similar role. Every company has a different process and set of criteria they need to follow.

That said, I can confidently say that you will be asked to prepare for at least these three type of interview questions: Design/technical, behavioral, coding or software problem walk through, live problem solving. Here is how to prepare:

Design & Technical Interviews

These can go in so many directions, but here’s what you can expect:

  • Basic physics questions (like, what are the units of power or how to calculate work).
  • Full-on physics or dynamics problems — whiteboard and all.
  • Open-ended system design questions like: How do you charge a battery? Here’s the battery and here’s the charger — go!

Your brain might try to overcomplicate everything — mine does too. My best advice? Keep it simple and say your thoughts out loud. Your intuition is probably right, but fear will cloud it if you let it.

How to Prep

  • Rewatch some basic physics YouTube videos. Seriously. Even just 30 minutes here and there.
  • Work through a couple of simple physics problems by hand — no software, just pen and paper.
  • Make yourself a cheat sheet of basic equations — energy, work, power, etc.
  • Two YouTube channels I love for this:
Open-ended Design Questions Framework

When they throw you something open like “design a system for XYZ,” follow this framework — they’re not just testing your technical knowledge; they want to see how you think.

Problem:

  • Business objectives (what does the company care about?)
  • User objectives (what do the users need?)
  • Metrics (what defines success?)
  • Past research and data — has anyone already done this or something similar?
  • Ask for clarification — don’t be shy! Requirements are your best friend.

Approach:

  • Make assumptions — state them so they know you’re thinking critically.
  • Brainstorm multiple options — even if you like your first idea, show range.
  • Weight tradeoffs — use an affinity matrix: effort vs impact. This shows you can think like a systems engineer.

YouTube Channels I love for this:

Coding Exercises

Okay, let me start by saying — I’m not a software engineer. I don’t spend my days building apps or writing thousands of lines of code. But here’s the reality — I code about 70% of the time in my job. Most of it is in MATLAB, sometimes Python, and occasionally C depending on the role and the company.

Even if your background or the role you’re applying to is not software engineering, as modeling and simulation engineers, or really any analysis-focused or controls design role, you’re going to need to know how to code. It’s just part of the job — and that means knowing how to approach a coding interview, even if you’re not a “coder” by title.

Step 1: Write it down

When they give you the prompt — pause. Don’t start typing. Write it down — on paper if you’re in person, in your notes if it’s virtual. Read it. Then read it again. This seems basic, but skipping this step is how you end up solving the wrong problem (I’ve done it — not fun).

Step 2: Sketch it out

Before you write a single line of code, draw something. It could be a flowchart, a quick diagram, or just a scribble of inputs and outputs. The goal here is to understand the flow of what you’re being asked to do — not just jump straight into syntax. This step alone separates people who “kind of code” from people who actually solve problems with code.

Step 3: Identify inputs & outputs

What’s coming into your function? What’s going out? Write it down. This is the core of any coding problem — doesn’t matter if it’s MATLAB, Python, or C. Every piece of code is basically just transforming inputs into outputs. Keep it that simple.

Step 4: Now, you code

Once you’ve done the thinking work, writing the actual code becomes so much easier. You already know the shape of the problem, so now you’re just translating it into whatever language they want. It doesn’t have to be perfect — they care more about how you think than whether every semicolon is in place.

The best prep for a non-live test? Practice. Sit down and work through several problems on your own — no peeking at solutions, no shortcuts. Get used to writing out your thought process, even if no one’s watching.

Watch these three YouTubers:

Behavioral & Leadership Principle Interviews

You’d think these are easy — after all, it’s just talking about yourself, right? Nope. They can be brutal if you’re not ready.

What They Want

  • Are you a decent human?
  • Can you balance confidence with humility?
  • Do you own your work but also own your mistakes?

At Amazon and other companies with strong leadership principles, they want to know:

  • Do you make processes better for your team?
  • Do you play nice with others?
  • Do you learn from failure?

How to Prep

  • Grab your resume.
  • For every bullet point, write 1-2 stories.
  • Tie each story to a company value or leadership principle.

I do this backwards — instead of starting with the values, I start with my actual experience and find stories that fit. This way, I’m never hunting for a story in the moment — I’ve already got my examples ready to go.

Classic Example Question

“Tell me about a time you had a conflict with a teammate or manager — how did you handle it?”

Use the STAR method:

Situation — Set the scene.

Task — What was your role?

Action — What did you do?

Result — What happened in the end?

Youtube Channels I love for this:

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