See below a summary of Collins Aerospace Interview Questions you should expect. Collins Aerospace is a leading aerospace and defense company. They support multiple products under military, surveillance, commercial aircraft, and much more. Collins Aerospace is a subsidiary under Raytheon technologies, one of the companies I outline as part of the Big 4.
February 29, 2024Top 10 Collins Aerospace Interview Questions:
Behavioral Questions:
Tell me about yourself.
Interviews will always start off with this. I’ve been in enough interviews to know. There is never a case where an interviewer will not ask this question. Never and always are words that are rarely used, but I can confidently say it here.
“I’m X, I’m currently a manufacturing engineer where I specialize in building flight hardware and any tooling and packaging associated.
What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
Use the star method and tie it to one of your experiences that are relevant to the company role.
See below of an example using project management:
“What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?”
“My greatest strength is project management, and I’m going to highlight the time that I took the lead of a project that lacked project management. We were behind on schedule and could no way meet our deadlines at the rate we were going. I took it upon myself to run weekly scrum meetings, detailing what we needed to do to get things done. As a result of implementing scrum, we were successful in meeting deadlines and generated $3 million for the firm.”
What has been your best achievement?
Again, you should use the STAR method for this question, as like all others.
A Design Engineering example to answer this question is as follows:
“My best achievement has been X. I’m going to highlight the time that I was responsible for designing X. To design X, I had to make sure I had inputs Y, Z and Q. Accurate inputs were very challenging to obtain regarding schedule deadlines and amongst multiple disciplines such as electrical and structural engineering. I had to take initiative, host multiple design review meetings, and follow up multiple times to obtain everything I needed to finish Project X. As a result, I had accomplished project X, and it functions to serve 3000+ customers worldwide.
What do you do outside of class? (If you’re a student)
Your interviewer just wants to ensure that you’re not only about engineering and that you have other interests too. An interviewer basically wonders if they can imagine working with you the entire time. Make sure you leave a lasting impression.
To answer this question, assess the type of person your interviewer is. A book I recommend is What Every Body Is Saying, by Joe Navarro, an Ex-FBI agent. This book tells you everything you need to know about subtle body language. Given the interviewer’s clothing and how they present themselves, come to a conclusion of what they like and tailor your answers accordingly.
If they seem active:
Mention sports, hiking, or something outdoorsy.
If they seem more laidback:
Say that you like art, reading, or photography. Be prepared to follow up with specific examples if you do provide this answer.
If they’re older (Age 50+):
Depending on their personalities, either something classical related or sports/outdoorsy related will work.
Do you have any questions for me?
I can’t believe that I’ve asked this question to younger engineers, and they didn’t have any questions for me! Not asking any questions shows a lack of initiative or interest to me.
Good questions to ask are ones that demonstrate your interest in the position, such as the following:
“What is the long term trajectory you see regarding the Aerospace / Defense market?”
“What are some traits of some of the successful people that you see?”
“Provided that I get the job, how can I make sure I succeed in the role?”
Technical Questions
Tell me how you would interpret this schematic.
Depending on your job function, make sure you are familiar with fundamental knowledge such as standards and codes. Be able to interpret stuff such as P&ID diagrams if you’re doing hydraulics or circuit layouts if you’re applying to be in electrical.
What hand tools are you familiar with?
This question applies if you’re in any type of manufacturing or technician role. Be able to explain the tools that you have used articulately. An easy way to prepare for this is to generally be a handy man outside of work. You’re going to be familiar with tools very easily and there’s cross over between those tools.
What software are you familiar with?
Demonstrate competence through what you know regarding software. If a job application specifies a certain type of software, chances are, you’re going to get asked about it.
Explain the load distribution of this beam for me.
If you think that you’re not going to see beam bending diagrams in your career as an engineer, you are mistaken. There’s a reason why Mechanics of Materials focuses so much on them – they are very applicable to mechanical designs. If you’re applying for a design or structural engineering position, you will need to understand load distribution and draw out free body diagrams.
How does a plane fly?
Very low chance that you’re asked something like this, but you should be ready. Know the various functions of mechanical systems (just the basics) and you should be good to go. Sometimes the difference between you getting a job or not is being able to answer one of these “tricky” questions.
Closing Thoughts of Collins Aerospace Interview Questions
The questions above are pretty standard aerodynamic interview questions that you should be able to answer at any time. Although not all of the above questions will not be suitable, use them as a framework.
For example, let’s take the question, “What hand tools are you familiar with?” If you’re applying for a non-technician type of role, expect something like “What software are you familiar with?” or “Are you familiar with X software?”
Take that framework and apply that to your interview practice.
Need a mock engineering interview? Check out our mock interviewing service.
About the author
Kazuyoshi Fujimoto, PE
Founder | Engineering Career Coach | Principal Mechanical Engineer
Kazu oversees all of ultmeche’s engineering services. He provides consulting such as resume reviews, rewrites, mock interviews, and all services career related. Additionally, Kazu performs consulting work regarding Oil & Gas, Automotive, and Aerospace & Defense. Kazu is licensed as a professional engineer in the state of California and has 9+ years of experience in Oil & Gas, Automotive, and Aerospace & Defense.