Mechanical engineering interview prep
Practise real interview questions out loud, with follow-ups.
MaterialsYou are designing a plastic phone case that gets dropped all the time. Do you want high strength, resilience, toughness or hardness? Why?
Built by MechEs, for MechEs.
854 questions · 15 topics
Questions reported from interviews at
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The interviewer asks
A mild steel bar is pulled in a tensile test until it breaks. Sketch the engineering stress-strain curve you would expect, and tell me what is happening at each stage.
Your answer
In the product you also talk or type your reasoning, and the interviewer asks follow-ups. Here, just the sketch.
Your prep today
Glassdoor thread from 2019Alumni DM, left on read200 questions, zero answersI know the formula, then a part I have never seen“Why 6061?” … blankRehearsing alone in my head01Fundamentals
Hand calcs and first principles
02Applying it
Unfamiliar parts and design problems
03Defending it
“Why?” until you can hold your choice
Interviewer
You are designing a rotary actuator for a robot arm: 500 mm reach, 20 kg payload. What type of drive would you use?You, spoken
A high-ratio gearbox. I get the torque without an oversized motor, assuming speed is not a major constraint.Interviewer
Why not a high-torque direct-drive motor? A gearbox adds failure points and transmission losses, doesn't it?You, spoken
True, but direct drive needs a much larger motor for the same torque. I would take the gearbox to keep the actuator compact.Interviewer
Okay. In continuous operation the motor overheats even though it is below its rated torque. What is happening, and what would you change?Held up
You tied the holding condition to reverse efficiency instead of just the gear ratio.
Missed
You never stated the payload torque or the efficiency you assumed, so the number could not be checked.
Next
Redo it with a number: what reverse efficiency makes 8 kg at 0.6 m hold?
Forces, stress, energy, flow and heat. The fundamentals, and whether you can apply them.
Choosing materials, processes and tolerances, and defending the choice.
Actuators, sensors, valves, control and the models that check them.
This week, weakest links first
Skill map
Each shape is a topic, from grey (not started) to blue (interview-ready). Where you are now.
Example. Your plan is built from your own answers.
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No. It is designed to help you work through engineering problems, understand the underlying concepts, explain your reasoning and improve how you approach technical questions.
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Everything from mechanics of materials, machine design and material selection to manufacturing, GD&T, tolerance stack-ups, robotics, testing and failure analysis.
The platform includes company-focused preparation and engineering questions relevant to these roles. Not every question is an actual previously asked interview question. We distinguish reported interview questions from practice questions.
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