NASA Interview Engineer

Tell me about a time you had to analyze a complex technical problem and make a recommendation.

STAR Answer 

Situation: 
As a Patent Examiner with the USPTO, I worked with highly technical patent applications involving advanced AI and machine-learning algorithms. These applications could involve complex technical concepts as well as extensive amounts of prior-art information.  

Task: 
My responsibility was to evaluate the technical disclosure and determine whether the claimed invention met requirements such as novelty, non-obviousness, and sufficiency of disclosure. 

Action: 
I conducted comprehensive searches across domestic and international databases and analyzed technical information to identify relevant patterns and prior art. I then applied the applicable technical and legal criteria to the evidence I found. I made sure my reasoning was technically accurate and that the conclusions were supported by the evidence. 

Result: 
I produced authoritative written decisions and recommendations concerning patentability. This experience strengthened my ability to analyze complex technical information, exercise independent judgment, and communicate a defensible recommendation—skills that directly apply to engineering program and project analysis.  

Tell me about a time you had to explain complex technical information to a non-technical audience. 

Situation: 
During my blockchain developer internship at Technuf, I worked with blockchain technology, including blockchain code and Amazon EC2 multichain nodes running in Ubuntu.  

Task: 
I needed to communicate the technology and its capabilities to the company's CEO, who needed an understandable explanation rather than simply seeing implementation details. 

Action: 
I organized the technical concepts into a PowerPoint presentation and focused on explaining what the technology did, how the components interacted, and why the technology was relevant. I translated technical implementation details into a format that was easier for an executive audience to understand. 

Result: 
I successfully delivered the presentation to the CEO. The experience taught me how to adjust the level of technical detail depending on the audience, which is particularly important when engineers need to advise program managers or technical leadership. 

3. Describe a time when you had to work with a large amount of technical data.  

Situation:  

The data gathering process at RANE’s company website was slow.  

 Task:  

I was in charge of creating a process that would expedite this process. I needed to develop a method to streamline the data processing and analysis to improve efficiency and accuracy. I was tasked with managing and analyzing large datasets from various sources, including server logs and user activity data.

 Action:  

I created a single python program that would extract, transform, and load log data from Amazon Cloudwatch to JSON files and then load those files to Amazon S3. Then I would use Amazon Athena to query the data to find specific results and then create visualozations in Amazon Quicksight based on those queries.  

 Result:  

Data gathering was expedited as well as visuals to communicate the findings more easily. The streamlined process significantly reduced data processing time and improved the accuracy of insights delivered to the team.

Result:

4. Tell me about a time you had to ensure the quality of your technical work. 

Situation: 
During my Data Analyst internship at RANE, I developed a Python program to extract, transform, and load encrypted data into Amazon S3.  

Task: 
I needed to develop the data pipeline while ensuring that the resulting software and data-processing workflow were reliable. 

Action: 
I used Test-Driven Development and followed coding standards. I also worked with Amazon Athena to create tables and SQL queries against the data stored in S3. This allowed me to validate both the software implementation and the resulting data-processing workflow. 

Result: 
I delivered the ETL functionality and associated SQL analysis while maintaining a focus on software quality and coding standards.  

5. Describe a time you had to collaborate with technical stakeholders. 

Situation: 
At RANE, I was developing data and cloud-based solutions while working as a Data Analyst Intern.  

Task: 
I needed to coordinate with colleagues and communicate project progress to technical leadership. 

Action: 
I consulted with colleagues to develop a requirements file for automating software package installations. I also routinely collaborated with the company's CTO to present project updates. 

Result: 
The experience gave me practice working across different levels of technical responsibility and communicating project status to technical leadership.  

6. Tell me about a time you had to learn a new technical subject quickly. 

6. Tell me about a time you had to learn a new technical subject quickly. 

STAR Answer 

Situation: 
When I was working on my first patent, I was working with using AI to detect non-collision scenarios, near-collision scenarios and collision scenarios. 

Task: 
I needed to learn how current AI systems work in regards to vehicle collisions. 

Action: 
I learned the relevant technologies while doing prior art research and viewing technical documents 

Result: 
I successfully created a non-final rejection of a patent with technology I was unfamiliar with before I got the job. 

OR 

Situation: 
During my blockchain development internship, I worked with blockchain technologies and an existing blockchain implementation. 

Task: 
I needed to contribute to a system involving technologies including JavaScript, Python, Node.js, Flask, Amazon EC2, Ubuntu, and Multichain.  

Action: 
I learned the relevant technologies while contributing to the project. One specific task involved moving blockchain code from Python 2.x to Python 3.7. I also worked with blockchain data and EC2 Multichain nodes. 

Result: 
I was able to contribute to the modernization and operation of the blockchain system while expanding my technical knowledge across multiple technologies. 

7. Tell me about a time you improved an existing technical process. 

RANE  

Situation:  

The data gathering process at RANE’s company website was slow.  

 Task:  

I was in charge of creating a process that would expedite this process. 

 Action:  

I created a single python program that would extract, transform, and load log data from Amazon Cloudwatch to JSON files and then load those files to Amazon S3. Then I would use Amazon Athena to query the data to find specific results and then create visualozations in Amazon Quicksight based on those queries.  

 Result:  

Data gathering was expedited as well as visuals to communicate the findings more easily.

OR

Situation: 
At RANE, there was a need to automate software package installations. 

Task: 
I worked with colleagues to help define requirements for the automation process. 

Action: 
I consulted with colleagues to create a requirements file and created a config.ini file for accessing encrypted data.  

Result: 
The work helped establish a structured approach for automating package installation and accessing the required encrypted data. 

Why this matters: This answer connects directly to the job's requirement to contribute to requirements documents and engineering guidance. 

8. Tell me about a time you had to make a decision based on incomplete or complicated information. 

Situation: 
Patent examination frequently required me to evaluate complex technical applications and determine whether the available evidence supported patentability conclusions. 

Task: 
I needed to reach technically accurate conclusions while dealing with large amounts of technical information and prior art. 

Action: 
I conducted comprehensive searches, analyzed the technical disclosures, compared relevant information, and applied the appropriate criteria to the evidence. 

Result: 
I produced authoritative written decisions and recommendations that were technically accurate and legally defensible.  

9. You are assigned to a project where two engineering teams disagree about the best technical solution. What would you do?

First, I would make sure I understood the technical objectives, requirements, constraints, and assumptions behind each team's position. 

I would then ask each team to identify the technical evidence supporting its proposed solution. I would compare the alternatives using objective criteria such as performance, reliability, risk, cost, schedule, and compliance with requirements. 

If appropriate, I would recommend additional testing or analysis to resolve uncertainties rather than allowing the disagreement to become subjective. 

Once the analysis was complete, I would document the alternatives, tradeoffs, risks, and recommendation and communicate that information to the appropriate technical lead or program manager. 

My experience at the USPTO has taught me to approach technically complex disagreements by examining the evidence, applying defined criteria, and producing a defensible recommendation. 

10. A program manager asks you for your technical recommendation, but you don't have enough information to give a confident answer. What do you do? 

I would not make an unsupported recommendation. 

First, I would identify exactly what information is missing and determine whether the missing information affects the decision materially. I would then identify available sources of data, engineering analysis, testing, or subject-matter expertise that could close the gap. 

If a decision were time-sensitive, I would clearly communicate what is known, what is uncertain, the assumptions being made, and the potential risks of proceeding. 

I would provide the program manager with a recommendation at the appropriate confidence level and identify what additional analysis should be performed. 

That approach is consistent with my experience examining complex technical information at the USPTO, where my conclusions had to be supported by evidence and technically defensible.