40 Structural Engineering Interview Questions

March 2, 2024 by Kazu Fujimoto

Structural Engineering Interview Questions will be very difficult and it’s important that you are prepared.

The best way to prepare for structural engineering interview questions is by going through all the questions below.

As with anything that you do, practice makes perfect.

If you have a big structural engineering interview coming up, there’s no need to be nervous if you practice all of these questions.

5 HR Phone Screening Questions for Structural Engineers

As with applying to any company, you’ll need to be prepared for an HR Phone Screening.

This is to verify that you are who you say you are.

• Tell me about yourself
• Why are you Interested in this position?
• Why are you interested in working at this company?
• Where do you see yourself in five years?
• Walk me through your resume

As a result of passing the HR Phone Screening, you’ll move onto the next round of interviews for the Structural Engineering position.

10 Behavioral Structural Engineering Interview Questions

Make sure to answer behavioral questions using the STAR framework. Most people that interview do not use the STAR method, and as a result their chances of getting the job. You will put yourself in the Top 1% of your competition if you implement the STAR method.

The STAR framework consists of – Situation, Task, Action, and Result

You’re going to explain the situation, task, action, and result, which is the optimal way to answer your interview questions.

• Tell me about a time that you had to step up to someone regarding Structural Engineering
• Tell me about a Structural Engineering project that you had failed on
• What’s your greatest strength as a structural analyst?
• What’s your greatest weakness as a structural analyst?
• Tell me about a time you resolved a conflict between two group and what happened as a result
• What has been some of your favorite structural engineering projects so far?
• Tell me about a time you had 2 differing opinions on a project, and how you had to move forward from it
• How do you handle a situation when one of your colleagues is taking awhile to give you deliverables?
• How would you ensure that project deliverables are going to be met on time?
• What is your day to day like as a structural engineer?

Questions such as “What are your greatest strengths/weaknesses” should be answered using the STAR format.

One of my greatest strengths is my resourcefulness. I’d like to highlight a situation where I was responsible for overseeing the Test Engineering applications of our product. The previous engineer had quit and I suddenly took the role, with almost zero knowledge of backstory. I was responsible for the design, release, fabrication, and production of all products associated with our test. I didn’t know everything right from the get go, but I knew where I had to go for the information that I needed. As a result, I’ve been able to complete the test which supports a critical $2M application in our company.

Greatest Strength – Interview Answer

10 Technical Structural Engineering Interview Questions

Structural Engineering interviews will largely be composed of technical questions, so you will need to be ready for these.

These questions below will consist of basic Structural Engineering Design principles that you need to know anyways.

These will be definition type questions in structural engineering and also understanding critical concepts.

At any time, you should know these as a structural engineer so it’s important that you go over these questions.

• Explain why it is important to consider the concept of fatigue in engineering
• What is mechanical stress in engineering?
• What is mechanical strain in applications for engineering?
• Draw a shear force and bending moment diagram of a simply supported beam
• Tell me how to calculate beam deflection for a cantilevered beam?
• Tell me what the relationship is between a stiff and a flexible structure in terms of the deflection you will see
• Explain the concept of natural frequency and tell me why it is important
• Tell me about the specific software you’ve used for the job
• What specific engineering standards have you worked and are familiar with?
• What is column buckling?

It’s always good to review these question from time to time so that you understand the basics. Understanding the basics will give you a good foundation to move forward in the next rounds.

10 Structural Engineering Interview Questions – Critical Thinking

Along with behavioral and technical questions, you will need to know critical thinking because interviews will test your problem solving skills.

Anticipate these problem solving type questions because structural engineering involves a lot of problem solving.

• Draw a free body diagram of this mechanical system for me and tell me how it works
• What are your assumptions in setting up analysis for structural engineering?
• How would you perform seismic analysis for the anchor bolts of this building?
• Look at this FEMapping result and tell me if this is good data to give to the customer
• Would you expect to see high strains or low strains in this joint?
• Tell me why this mechanical system is designed this way and it’s advantages/disadvantages
• How would you improve features on this product so that we can meet customer needs?
• What type of loads are subject to this mechanical system?
• Why is that one system has a certain FOS and another system has a different value for FOS?
• How would you make changes to this system so that it passes a natural frequency analysis?

If you ever find yourself stuck answering a question, it’s fine if you don’t know the answer. What interviews are ultimately looking at is your problem solving skills, so you need to explain your reasoning behind your answer.

To explain your answer, you need to tell the interviewer step by step what you are thinking.

Need an engineering mock interview? Check out: Mechanical Engineering Mock Interview

5 Structural Engineering Analysis Interview Questions

Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is a huge skill regarding Structural Engineering, and as a result you need to be prepared for these questions.

• Perform this simple FEA analysis exercise and determine if this system will work for our needs
• Adjust the model so that the stiffness values will give the appropriate deflection for the customer
• Given that this system is subject to this load at this point, predict what the deflections are in these areas
• We are having trouble making this system pass a natural frequency analysis, make changes so that it passes
• This static stress analysis is failing, make changes to the geometry and re-run this analysis so that it passes

Closing Thoughts

As you can see from all of these questions, Structural Engineering is no easy feat.

You will need to practice these question over and over so that you will be prepared.

If you need additional interview resources, check out our mock interviewing service.