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Automation Engineer interview questionsAutomation Scripting Test round

A 60 min interview plan with a time-boxed script, what each question is for, and the signals to score against. Key skills: Scripting, Automation, Test Automation, Integration, Error Handling.

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Introduction

5 min
•

Hi, I’m [YOUR_NAME], and I’m a [YOUR_TITLE] at [COMPANY_NAME]. I’m excited to learn more about your experience today.

•

Could you briefly introduce yourself and share what attracted you to apply for this position?

What this question is for, and what to listen for

Purpose

Assess communication skills, alignment with the role, and initial confidence.

Signals to score

  • Clear introduction provided
  • Relevant experience mentioned
  • Motivations for applying explained
  • Alignment with team values
  • Specific skills highlighted
  • Response is concise and organized
  • Understanding of role requirements

Follow-up questions

  • What excites you most about this position?
  • How does your background align with our team’s work?
•

Great, thank you for sharing! In the next 50 minutes, we’ll focus on a scripting challenge to assess your technical skills. After that, you can ask any questions you have about the role or the company.

Automation Scripting Challenge

50 min
•

Challenge: Write a script to automate the process of checking the status of a list of URLs and logging the results. Requirements: - The script should accept a list of URLs as input. - It should check if each URL is reachable (HTTP status code 200). - Log the status of each URL (reachable or not) to a file. - Handle any errors or exceptions gracefully. Follow-up Questions: - How would you handle a large list of URLs efficiently? - What libraries or tools would you use to enhance the script? - How would you integrate this script into a larger automation framework?

What this question is for, and what to listen for

Purpose

Assess scripting, automation, error handling, and integration skills.

Signals to score

  • Clear understanding of the task
  • Logical and structured approach
  • Efficient and clean code
  • Proper error handling
  • Use of appropriate libraries/tools
  • Consideration of scalability
  • Effective logging implementation

Follow-up questions

  • Can you explain your approach to solving this challenge?
  • What considerations did you make for error handling?
  • How would you test your script?
•

If you had more time, what would you change in your solution?

What this question is for, and what to listen for

Purpose

Assess the candidate's ability to reflect on their work, identify areas for improvement, and demonstrate critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

Signals to score

  • Recognizes limits in their original answer.
  • Points out clear areas to improve.
  • Suggests specific changes.
  • Talks about how changes could help performance.
  • Shares ideas clearly and logically.
  • Shows a desire to learn and improve.

Follow-up questions

  • What would you do differently if you had more time?
  • How could you improve the efficiency of your script?
  • Are there any additional features you would add?
•

Great job on the scripting challenge!

Closing

5 min
•

Do you have any questions for me about the team or the company?

What this question is for, and what to listen for

Purpose

Gauge the candidate’s curiosity and interest in the role.

Signals to score

  • Thoughtful questions asked
  • Interest in company culture
  • Curiosity about growth expressed
  • Questions about role raised
  • Inquiries about team challenges
  • Engagement with responses shown
  • Desire to learn next steps
  • Focus on company values expressed

Follow-up questions

  • What interests you most about this team?
  • Are there any areas of the role you’d like to explore further?
•

Thank you for your time today. We’ll be in touch soon regarding the next steps.

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Interview Template
Position
Automation Engineer
Round
Automation Scripting Test for 60 min
Key skills
Scripting, Automation, Test Automation, Integration, Error Handling

Automation Engineer interviews — common questions

Who is this Automation Engineer interview plan for?
It is written for the interviewer, not the candidate: the hiring manager, engineer or panel member running the Automation Scripting Test round for a Automation Engineer role. It gives you a 60 min script to follow in the conversation — 4 questions with what each one is for and the signals to score against — so you are not writing the round from scratch the night before.
What does the Automation Scripting Test round assess?
This round is focused on: Scripting, Automation, Test Automation, Integration, Error Handling. It works through Introduction, Automation Scripting Challenge and Closing, scoring against 28 observable signals, with follow-up prompts on all 4 questions for going deeper where an answer is thin.
How is the 60 min split up?
Introduction (5 min), Automation Scripting Challenge (50 min), Closing (5 min). The timings are there so the round stays on schedule and every candidate gets the same shape of interview — which is what makes two candidates comparable afterwards.
What other rounds should I run for a Automation Engineer?

A single round does not cover a whole role. The other rounds in this library for a Automation Engineer: