Internia

Electrical Engineer Interview Experiences

AtkinsRealis

Electrical Engineer

Montreal, QC

Summer 2026Accepted

McGill University · Electrical Engineering

4th year · 3.3-3.6 GPA · 2 past internships

Hard Interview

TechnicalBehavioralMultiple roundsVirtual

Applied through my co-op portal. Interview was with the team lead and a senior electrical engineer over Teams. Questions on power distribution design, transformer sizing and protection relay coordination. They also had me work through a single line diagram and identify potential issues. Very technical for a co-op but the interviewers were patient and let me think out loud. Heeard back in about 10 days.

Questions Asked

  1. 1.Why AtkinsRealis specifically?
  2. 2.What's the difference between digital and analog signals in instrumentation?

Hydro One

Electrical Engineer

Toronto, ON

Summer 2026Pending Outcome

University of Waterloo · Electrical Engineering

3rd year · 3.3-3.6 GPA · 1 past internship

Average Interview

TechnicalVirtualMultiple rounds

They asked about CAD and GIS tools I hadn't listed but had used in a course, so be ready for that. Technical panel with two engineers covered power distribution fundamentals and a grid reliability scenario.

Questions Asked

  1. 1.How do you approach safety when working near high-voltage equipment?
  2. 2.How do you stay current with developments in power systems or electronics?

Manitoba Hydro

Electrical Engineer

Winnipeg, MB

Summer 2026No Offer

University of Manitoba · Electrical Engineering

3rd year · 2.5-2.8 GPA · 0 past internships

Easy Interview

BehavioralSlow process

They emailed a PDF beforehand with the exact process and example questions.Got the actual questions at the start with time to think. Really student friendly format. Past competency examples. About 32 days

Questions Asked

  1. 1.What's the difference between CMOS and bipolar transistor technologies?
  2. 2.Describe a time you identified and resolved a fault in an electrical system

Hydro One

Electrical Engineer

Toronto, ON

Summer 2026Accepted

McMaster University · Electrical Engineering

3rd year · 3.3-3.6 GPA · 0 past internships

Easy Interview

Pre-recordedFast process

Practice exercises given before so you knew the format going in. Pre recorded video interview, 3 behavioral questions about 12 minutes total. One question about a leadership accomplishment, one about transformer stations, one about Hydro One's role in Ontario's grid. Got an offer 5 days later

Questions Asked

  1. 1.Tell me about a time you worked alongside mechanical or civil engineers on a shared project
  2. 2.What's the difference between a protection relay and a circuit breaker?

Hydro-Quebec

Electrical Engineer

Montreal, QC

Summer 2026Accepted

McGill University · Electrical Engineering

3rd year · 3.3-3.6 GPA · 1 past internship

Easy Interview

Virtual

Quick process, about four weeks. Resume based questions on career goals and why they should hire me. French preferred for Montreal so I answered partly in French. Transmission infrastructure project.

Questions Asked

  1. 1.What causes harmonics in a power system and how are they mitigated?

AtkinsRealis

Electrical Engineer

Montreal, QC

Winter 2026Accepted

University of Waterloo · Electrical Engineering

4th year · 3.7+ GPA · 3 past internships

Easy Interview

BehavioralMultiple rounds

Two stage process. HR was mostly administrative. Team lead interview was half behavioral half role fit. They mentioned the role was on a power systems project and wanted to confirm I'd taken power electronics. 29 days application to offer

Questions Asked

  1. 1.Walk me through how you'd size an electric motor for a mechanical application

Bruce Power

Electrical Engineer

Kincardine, ON

Fall 2025No Offer

McMaster University · Electrical Engineering

3rd year · 3.3-3.6 GPA · 1 past internship

Easy Interview

BehavioralMultiple rounds

Nothing but behavioral in the department interview, safety culture questions dominated. No technical questions on electrical systems at all. HR screening first then the department interview 3 weeks later. They went with someone with more relevant background.

Questions Asked

  1. 1.State Kirchhoff's current and voltage laws and explain them with a simple circuit
  2. 2.Explain what a Bode plot shows and how it's used in control system design

Huawei

Electrical Engineer

Ottawa, ON

Winter 2026Accepted

Carleton University · Electrical Engineering

4th year · 3.7+ GPA · 2 past internships

Average Interview

TechnicalVirtualResume Review

They were really interested in my senior design project and asked lots of follow ups. Initial screen then technical round with the hiring team. Questions on circuit fundamentals signal processing and some FPGA stuff

Questions Asked

  1. 1.Tell me about an electrical engineering project you contributed to from design to commissioning
  2. 2.Whats the difference between a transformer and an inverter?

Thales

Electrical Engineer

Ottawa, ON

Fall 2025No Offer

University of Ottawa · Electrical Engineering

3rd year · 3.3-3.6 GPA · 1 past internship

Easy Interview

TechnicalBehavioralMultiple rounds

Asked about citizenship for clearance right away. Two rounds, resume walkthrough and behavioral. No feedback after rejection

Questions Asked

  1. 1.What is a PID controller? What does each of the three terms contribute
  2. 2.Describe a time you had to learn a new standard or electrical code on the job

Hydro-Quebec

Electrical Engineer

Montreal, QC

Summer 2026Pending Outcome

McGill University · Electrical Engineering

3rd year · 3.7+ GPA · 1 past internship

Average Interview

TechnicalVirtualMultiple rounds

Brush up on technical vocabulary in French before this one. Interview with the network team covered transmission line protection, relay coordination and SCADA systems. Interview was partly in French. Waiting to hear back

Questions Asked

  1. 1.What's the difference between protection relaying and revenue metering

Magna International

Electrical Engineer

Aurora, ON

Fall 2025Accepted

University of Waterloo · Electrical Engineering

4th year · 3.7+ GPA · 3 past internships

Hard Interview

TechnicalIn-PersonFast process

In person at the Aurora facility. Technical interview covered Kalman filter estimation and C++ on classes and inheritance. Then behavioral with HR. Offer within 12 days. The campus rep at my school helped set expectations for the technical portion

Questions Asked

  1. 1.Tell me about a time you had to balance technical requirements against budget constraints

Ontario Power Generation (OPG)

Electrical Engineer

Oshawa, ON

Summer 2025No Offer

Queen's University · Electrical Engineering

4th year · 3.7+ GPA · 2 past internships

Easy Interview

BehavioralMultiple roundsSlow processStressful

Really wanted this one got so upset when i didnt get it. Applied January, screening call mid February, panel late March, rejection in April. The wait between each step was brutal. Panel was safety culture and behavioral with three people.

Questions Asked

  1. 1.What's the difference between AC and DC power? When is each preferred
  2. 2.What is electromagnetic interference and how do you design to reduce it?
  3. 3.Explain the concept of power system transient stability.

Hatch

Electrical Engineer

Mississauga, ON

Summer 2026Declined Offer

University of Waterloo · Electrical Engineering

3rd year · 3.7+ GPA · 2 past internships

Average Interview

TechnicalBehavioralMultiple roundsVirtual

Declined because I got a better offer at OPG. Two rouund interview, technical discussion with a principal engineer got into power distribution and protection relay questions, dug into a course project about substation design

Questions Asked

  1. 1.What does earthing or grounding accomplish in an electrical installation?
  2. 2.Explain what a short circuit current is and how it affects equipment ratings

Ecobee

Electrical Engineer

Toronto, ON

Fall 2025Pending Outcome

University of Waterloo · Electrical Engineering

3rd year · 3.3-3.6 GPA · 1 past internship

Hard Interview

TechnicalIn-PersonMultiple rounds

Final round had a teardown exercise on a thermostat, identify components and explain how they interact. Bar was higher than expected. First two rounds were normal HR and behavioral

Questions Asked

  1. 1.Tell me about a particularly complex electrical troubleshooting challenge you solved

Magna International

Electrical Engineer

Aurora, ON

Fall 2025No Offer

McMaster University · Electrical Engineering

2nd year · 2.9-3.2 GPA · 0 past internships

Average Interview

TechnicalVirtual

One interview with a couple engineers, dug into embedded systems and CAN bus protocol. I had light CAN exposure from a project but not deep enough. They were looking for more automotive specific electronics background

Questions Asked

  1. 1.What is a load flow analysis and why do power engineers run them?
  2. 2.What is a three-phase power system and what are its advantages over single-phase?

Ontario Power Generation (OPG)

Electrical Engineer

Toronto, ON

Summer 2026No Offer

Ontario Tech University · Electrical Engineering

3rd year · 2.9-3.2 GPA · 1 past internship

Average Interview

TechnicalBehavioralVirtualMultiple rounds

Was not prepared for how safety heavy this interview would be. Power systems theory and transformer fundamentals then a safety scenario on working near live electrical equipment. Technical panel after a quick HR screen

Questions Asked

  1. 1.Walk me through the design of a basic DC regulated power supply
  2. 2.Explain what a PLC is and how it's used in industrial control systems

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