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 on distribution modelling and protocols: OpenDSS or CYME load flow, IEC 61850 GOOSE, DNP3 mapping, IEEE 1547 DER interconnection limits, volt/VAR optimisation settings.
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
Names specific protocol stacks and modelling tools, explains inverter ride-through or VVO parameter choices with correct voltage and impedance reasoning.
02
Evaluation factor
Work that shipped
30% weight
Probe substations, feeders or platforms they energised: FLISR schemes commissioned, ADMS or DERMS rollouts, AMI meter counts, measured SAIDI or CAIDI improvement after go-live.
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
Cites named feeder or substation projects with circuit counts, commissioning dates, and reliability index movement they can defend numerically.
03
Evaluation factor
Diagnosis under uncertainty
20% weight
Test how they chase intermittent faults: nuisance recloser operations, PMU or waveform data review, false trips from misconfigured relay settings, communications dropouts on RF mesh backhaul.
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 an unexplained trip or data gap, describes evidence gathered from event files, and states the confirmed root cause.
04
Evaluation factor
Working across the org
15% weight
Assess work with protection engineers, planning, field crews and regulators: interconnection queue reviews, switching order approvals, rate case or DSIP filing support, vendor factory acceptance testing.
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 concrete handoffs with operations and planning, and evidence of translating engineering constraints for regulators or executives.
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