I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (Pullman, WA) in Jun 2015
Interview
The interview had 3 stages :
1. Standard HR questions on phone followed by some 20-25 Technical Questions.
2. Video interview on webex which has both in depth technical questions on Power Systems Engineering as well as software
3. On site interview with a 1 hour talk/Q&A session, followed by two 1 on 1 technical sessions
They offered me the position at the end of the on site interview. I think they decide based on how well you do in the 2nd round.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
1. power system protection (distance realys)
2. power system dynamic model (synchrophasors)
3. load flow study
4. Matlab Coding and Numerical Analysis
I applied online. The process took 4 weeks. I interviewed at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (Pullman, WA) in May 2015
Interview
Overall, it was quite challenging.
It was a three step process.
1. Phone interview - Basics about faults and stuff, some simple maths like calculus, and some HR related questions.
2. Video Interview - Harder, with two technical people who grilled on concepts in Power Systems and stuff. They had provided an outline of topics that they will cover beforehand. They kept assisting me if I got stuck and were very nice.
3. Onsite interview - There was a presentation (2 hours) whose topic I had to decide beforehand. It was tough, very tough. There were six-ish people in the panel and they kept delving deeper into each and every topic I had on my slides. Then there was a panel interview (2 hours) in which they asked me stuff about different things in the field, and here too they went into the very basics. Whenever I got stuck, they helped out, but it was very difficult. I did not know the answers to many questions, but I tried my best. Then there are some HR meetings and some other stuff.
Mostly they are looking for your limits and how well you cope under pressure. Be honest and answer to the best of your capabilities and you will be fine. Don't try to muddle through. Tell them if you dont know. But make sure that you know your basics thoroughly.
They took a day to reply after the phone interview and set up the video a week from that. After teh video, they took a few days to respond and set up the visit, which was two weeks later. It was a full day interview process onsite. I got the offer a week after the onsite.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Fault analysis of systems, Motors and their working, DSP, Digital logic, Power Sytsems Analysis, FACTS, Power Electronics
They basically covered everything an EE will know