Review the evidence signals before interviewing. Then use the anchored descriptions—not instinct alone—to choose the score that best matches each answer.
01
Evaluation factor
Technical depth
35% weight
Check depth in precision ag stacks: GNSS RTK correction sources, ISOBUS and CAN bus wiring, variable rate prescriptions, NDVI or multispectral imagery, soil moisture probe calibration.
Evidence to listen for
Explains the physics or mechanism behind their work, not just the tooling
Names the standards, tolerances, and constraints they designed against
Can defend a design decision under follow-up questions
Distinguishes what they personally engineered from what the team delivered
Five-point scoring guide
1
Poor
Cannot explain the fundamentals of their own stated specialism.
2
Needs Improvement
Knows the vocabulary but not the underlying mechanism; struggles under follow-ups.
3
Satisfactory
Solid working knowledge for the role; depth thins out on edge cases.
4
Very Good
Strong command of the domain; explains trade-offs and defends decisions well.
5
Excellent
Explains RTK base versus NTRIP trade-offs, section control calibration and prescription map creation in agronomic units, not marketing terms.
02
Evaluation factor
Work that shipped
30% weight
Probe deployments they personally landed: acres under variable rate, yield monitor calibrations, John Deere Operations Center or Climate FieldView rollouts, irrigation scheduling systems, measured input savings.
Evidence to listen for
Names specific programmes, parts, or systems that reached production or field use
States their own scope inside the project
Can give measured outcomes: yield, cycle time, cost, failure rate
Explains what went wrong and what they changed
Five-point scoring guide
1
Poor
No delivered work; experience is coursework, lab-only, or purely observational.
2
Needs Improvement
Contributed to projects but cannot say what shipped or what their part was.
3
Satisfactory
Has delivered real work; outcomes described without numbers.
4
Very Good
Names shipped work and their scope, with some measured results.
5
Excellent
Names specific farms or seasons with hectares covered and quantified outcomes: nitrogen reduced, water saved, or yield mapped accurately.
03
Evaluation factor
Diagnosis under uncertainty
20% weight
Test how they diagnose mid-season failures: drifting guidance lines, dropped telematics data, miscalibrated flow meters, spurious NDVI patterns, sensor readings contradicting scouting observations.
Evidence to listen for
Describes a real failure they chased to root cause
Shows a method: isolate variables, reproduce, measure, eliminate
Distinguishes correlation from cause
Says what they ruled out and why, not only what the answer turned out to be
Five-point scoring guide
1
Poor
No diagnostic method; guesses or escalates immediately.
2
Needs Improvement
Trial and error with no structure; cannot explain how they narrowed the cause.
3
Satisfactory
Reasonable method on familiar problems; less structured on novel ones.
4
Very Good
Clear systematic approach with a real root-cause story.
5
Excellent
Separates sensor error from real field variability using ground truthing, tissue or soil sampling, and logs rather than assuming the dashboard.
04
Evaluation factor
Working across the org
15% weight
Assess work with agronomists, growers and dealers: training operators at planting, translating data into agronomic advice, coordinating with equipment technicians during narrow field windows.
Evidence to listen for
Explains technical constraints to non-technical stakeholders without condescension
Has negotiated scope, cost, or timeline with manufacturing, product, or suppliers
Documents decisions so others can act on them
Takes review feedback without defensiveness
Five-point scoring guide
1
Poor
Cannot communicate outside their specialism; dismissive of other functions.
2
Needs Improvement
Communication gaps cause rework; avoids stakeholder contact.
3
Satisfactory
Works adequately with other teams; documentation is thin.
4
Very Good
Communicates clearly across functions; reliable collaborator.
5
Excellent
Shows credibility with sceptical growers, adapts explanations for cab operators, and coordinates fixes without stalling planting or harvest.
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