Why pre-screen automation engineers before the technical interview
A test suite that fails intermittently gets rerun until it passes, and within a month nobody reads the results. That is the characteristic failure here, and it is worse than having no automation, because it produces confidence without evidence. Engineers worth hiring have fixed a suite in that state and can explain what caused the flakiness. A short screen asks for that, plus what they decided not to automate.
What actually matters when screening Automation Engineer candidates
- 01
Technical depth
Check depth in PLC platforms they name: Siemens TIA Portal, Rockwell Studio 5000, Beckhoff TwinCAT. Probe structured text versus ladder choices, servo tuning, safety PLC configuration and SIL ratings.
- 02
Work that shipped
Ask for a line or cell they commissioned end to end: I/O count, HMI screens built, cycle time before and after, OEE gain, FAT and SAT sign-off dates.
- 03
Diagnosis under uncertainty
Test how they chase intermittent faults: nuisance trips, EtherNet/IP or Profinet dropouts, encoder drift. Look for trace tools, scope captures, network diagnostics rather than part swapping.
- 04
Working across the org
Probe how they work with maintenance techs, production supervisors and vendor integrators during shutdowns: change control, handover documentation, operator training, spare parts lists.
Pre-screening questions to ask Automation Engineer candidates
12 questions grouped by what they test. Ask the same set in every screen and score answers on a consistent scale, or send them as an async video screen and compare answers side by side.
Automation still running
3 questions01Can you describe a time when you implemented a particularly successful automation?
Listen forSomething still in use with the time or errors it removed, quantified rather than asserted.
Automation delivered and later abandoned, or benefits described with no measurement.
02Discuss the most complex automation project you have worked on and your role in it.
Listen forTheir own scope stated clearly, with the technical difficulty explained rather than the scale.
Complexity described by team size, or no personal technical contribution.
03How have you improved efficiency in previous roles through automation?
Listen forImprovements measured against a stated baseline, with the ongoing maintenance burden acknowledged honestly.
Savings claimed without counting the cost of maintaining the automation.
When it broke
3 questions04Can you share a time when automation you built did not work or caused an issue?
Listen forA specific failure with the consequence owned, and what they changed to prevent a repeat.
No automation that ever caused a problem, or failures attributed to the environment.
05What steps do you take to troubleshoot an automation process that is failing?
Listen forFailures investigated rather than rerun, with intermittent causes such as timing or shared state named.
Failing jobs rerun until they pass, or retries added to hide instability.
06How do you ensure the quality of automation scripts themselves?
Listen forAutomation treated as production code, with review, version control and refactoring applied.
Scripts written once and never revisited, or automation excluded from code review.
Pipelines handled
3 questions07What experience do you have with continuous integration and deployment?
Listen forPipelines they built and maintained, with build times and failure rates known.
Pipelines used but never modified, or no view on why builds are slow.
08Are you familiar with container technologies in an automation context?
Listen forContainers used to make environments reproducible, with images built rather than only consumed.
Containers treated as a runtime detail, or environment differences still causing failures.
09Can you discuss your experience with cloud platforms?
Listen forInfrastructure provisioned as code, with the cost of running the automation considered too.
Resources created by hand, or automation costs never reviewed.
What not to automate
3 questions10What process do you follow to identify opportunities for automation?
Listen forFrequency and stability weighed against maintenance cost, with things they chose not to automate.
Everything treated as automatable, or unstable processes automated before they settle.
11How do you plan and conduct automated testing on a project?
Listen forCoverage concentrated where failures are costly, with fast feedback prioritised over breadth.
Coverage percentage used as the goal, or slow end-to-end tests used for everything.
12What testing techniques are you familiar with in this context?
Listen forA sensible balance across levels, with an understanding of what each level can prove.
One test level relied on entirely, or techniques listed with no application.
How to score responses
Score every candidate on the same four criteria immediately after the screen. At this stage you are shortlisting for panel interviews, not making the final call.
Technical depth
35%5Names specific platforms and firmware versions, explains why they chose structured text or ladder, and discusses safety-rated logic fluently.
Work that shipped
30%5Walks through a commissioned system with real numbers on throughput, scrap or uptime, and owns the punch list they closed.
Diagnosis under uncertainty
20%5Describes isolating an intermittent fault using packet captures or trend logs, and names the root cause plus the permanent fix.
Working across the org
15%5Shows they trained operators, left annotated code and drawings behind, and negotiated shutdown windows with production without slipping the schedule.
A suite that fails intermittently gets rerun until it passes and then ignored. A one-way video screen asks how they fixed one.
Try it on HirevireScreening FAQ
Process basics
How long should a pre-screening round for this role take?
Fifteen minutes across eight to ten questions, answered async. Enough to establish automation still in use, test their handling of failures, and check pipeline and infrastructure experience.
Should I clarify what kind of automation the role means?
Yes, before advertising. Test automation, deployment automation and process automation attract different candidates, and a vague title produces applicants who match none of what you need.
Evaluating answers
What is the strongest signal when screening this role?
Fixing a suite nobody trusted. Engineers who have done it name the cause, whether timing, shared state or environment. Anyone whose tests never flaked has a small suite or short tenure.
How do I judge their judgement about scope?
Ask what they decided not to automate. Real answers weigh maintenance cost against how often something runs. Anyone who automates everything creates a second system to maintain.
Go deeper on this role
Sanat has been hiring since 2012 and watching the recruitment industry change up close ever since, and turned that screening process into Hirevire's video screening platform. LinkedIn
