Why pre-screen wireless charging engineers before the technical panel
Everything difficult in this discipline is connected. Coil misalignment costs efficiency, lost efficiency becomes heat, heat limits the charge rate, and a metal object between the coils becomes a hazard. Engineers worth hiring can account for where the losses go in a design they built. A short screen asks exactly that, and what the thermal result was.
What actually matters when screening Wireless Charging Engineer candidates
- 01
Technical depth
Check command of resonant inductive coupling: coil and ferrite geometry, coupling coefficient targets, compensation topology (series-series, LCC), inverter design, and Qi2 MPP or SAE J2954 clauses.
- 02
Work that shipped
Probe shipped transmitters or receivers: WPC certification passed at an ATL, PTx/PRx controller used (TI bq501xx, NXP, STWBC), EPP wattage, unit volumes.
- 03
Diagnosis under uncertainty
Test debugging of foreign object detection false trips, in-band ASK/FSK comms dropouts, NFC coexistence, CISPR 11 radiated failures and hotspot thermal runaway.
- 04
Working across the org
Assess collaboration with mechanical on Z-gap and magnet stackup, with EMC labs, with silicon vendors on firmware, and with the WPC compliance path.
Pre-screening questions to ask Wireless Charging 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.
Products they shipped
3 questions01Have you taken a wireless charging project from concept through to a finished product?
Listen forA product that shipped, with their scope across design, test and production support described.
Involvement limited to a prototype, or projects that never reached production.
02Can you describe a project where you developed or improved this technology?
Listen forA measured improvement in efficiency, thermal performance or alignment tolerance, with the method.
Improvements described qualitatively, or performance never measured before and after.
03Have you worked with inductive or resonant close-proximity charging?
Listen forCoupling and alignment tolerance understood from real designs, with coil geometry chosen deliberately.
Coils treated as a purchased component, or alignment tolerance never characterised.
Power electronics depth
4 questions04What is your expertise in electromagnetic fields and related principles?
Listen forField behaviour understood well enough to reason about coupling, losses and emissions together.
Field theory recited without application, or emissions treated as a compliance surprise.
05Do you have experience with the common power electronic topologies?
Listen forTopologies chosen for the application, with switching losses and control loop behaviour understood.
Topology copied from a reference design, or control stability never analysed.
06Do you have a strong understanding of magnetics design in power transfer systems?
Listen forCoil and shielding design done by them, with core losses and proximity effect accounted for.
Magnetics outsourced entirely, or losses in the coil assembly never calculated.
07Have you worked on power electronics design for wireless energy transmission?
Listen forFull chain designed from input to receiver output, with efficiency measured at each stage.
Only one part of the chain understood, or overall efficiency quoted without a breakdown.
Thermal and safety
3 questions08Do you have experience managing thermal considerations in these systems?
Listen forHeat paths designed from the start, with measured temperatures under sustained charging described.
Thermal design addressed after the electrical design, or temperatures only measured briefly.
09Do you have experience developing safety features for wireless charging?
Listen forForeign object detection implemented and tested properly, with over-temperature protection built into the design.
Foreign object heating not treated as a hazard, or detection assumed from a reference design.
10What is your knowledge of the standards for wireless power transfer?
Listen forInteroperability requirements known in detail, with compliance testing planned into the development schedule.
Standards treated as a final certification step, or interoperability assumed without testing.
Tested and buildable
2 questions11What experience do you have with hardware testing and validation?
Listen forTest plans they wrote, with measurement equipment used properly for high frequency power circuits.
Testing limited to functional checks, or measurement technique that would distort results.
12Can you describe your experience with design for manufacture and assembly?
Listen forTolerances and assembly variation considered, since coil placement variation directly affects performance.
Manufacturing variation discovered in production, or alignment tolerance not specified for assembly.
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%5Explains coil turns, litz selection and shielding choices with measured k, Q and DC-to-DC efficiency numbers, not just standard names.
Work that shipped
30%5Names production programs with certified power class, thermal derating profile and yield or field return data they personally owned.
Diagnosis under uncertainty
20%5Walks through a specific failure with instrumentation used (network analyzer, thermal camera, power loss accounting) and the root cause found.
Working across the org
15%5Describes negotiating coil placement or gap budget against industrial design constraints and driving vendor firmware fixes to closure.
Misalignment costs efficiency, lost efficiency becomes heat. A one-way video screen asks where the losses went.
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 products they shipped, test their power electronics depth, and check thermal and safety design experience.
Does standards experience matter for this role?
Yes. Interoperability with an established wireless power standard decides whether a product works with what customers already own, and compliance testing shapes the design from the beginning.
Evaluating answers
What is the strongest signal when screening this role?
Where the losses went in a real design. Engineers who shipped can break efficiency down by stage and say what they measured. Anyone quoting a single efficiency figure has not investigated.
How do I judge their safety thinking?
Ask about foreign object detection. Real answers cover how metal heats in the field and how detection is implemented and tested. Anyone treating it as optional is designing a burn hazard.
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
