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 command of SWRO train design: intake screening, pretreatment (DAF, UF), membrane flux and recovery limits, energy recovery devices, and brine density plume modelling with CORMIX or Delft3D.
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
Quotes real flux, recovery and salinity figures; explains diffuser port spacing and dilution ratios against local benthic tolerance limits.
02
Evaluation factor
Work that shipped
30% weight
Probe plants they took from feasibility to commissioning: capacity in m3/day, intake type chosen, entrainment mitigation fitted, and measured post-commissioning receiving water salinity.
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 plants and their role in each, with before and after monitoring data and permit conditions actually met.
03
Evaluation factor
Diagnosis under uncertainty
20% weight
Assess how they chased causes of unexplained differential pressure rise, biofouling blooms, red tide intake shutdowns, or seagrass decline near an outfall with ambiguous baseline data.
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
Walks through autopsy of membranes, SDI trends and ambient sampling, separating plant impact from natural variability before acting.
04
Evaluation factor
Working across the org
15% weight
Look for work alongside marine biologists, regulators on NPDES or equivalent brine permits, plant operators, and EPC contractors during design reviews and stakeholder hearings.
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
Describes translating ecological monitoring requirements into contractor specifications and defending outfall design to regulators and coastal communities.
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