Post a Salary or Review

Advanced

Rockwell Collins Systems Engineer Interview Questions & Reviews

Post an Interview

Web: www.rockwellcollins.com | HQ: Cedar Rapids, IA

Connections

Interview questions and reviews posted anonymously by interview candidates.

Difficulty Rating [?] Based on 8 ratings

2.8

“Average” Interview

Interview Experience [?] Based on 8 ratings

Positive	100%
Neutral	0%
Negative	0%

Rockwell Collins has 13,208 connections on Glassdoor

See Who You Know

Hide Filters

1–8 of 8 Rockwell Collins Interviews

Sort by

3.0

Average Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Received and Declined Offer

Interviewed Oct 2011 in Cedar Rapids, IA (took a day)

The people were amazing and very nice, got an interview at a career fair, they liked me, emailed me and asked me if I would fly in for a second interview, to which i was much obliged. Interviewed with team managers who really liked me and they were quite hospitable

Interview Questions

What was a time you had a member of your team that wasn't very motivated and what did you do about it?

Answer Question

Reason for Declining

I didn't want to live that far from my family in the SE united states

Other Details

The interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

3.0

Average Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Received and Accepted Offer

Interviewed Nov 2010 in Cedar Rapids, IA (took 2 days)

First contact was through the university career fair. I waited in line, presented my resume and spoke with a representitve for about 15 minutes, which was slightly longer than the other companies I spoke with. That evwning I received a call at roughly 8pm to schedule aan interview the next day. The next day the person I interviewed with was not the same person I spoke with on the day prior. They had 4 or 5 interviews going at a time in a large room, while most of the other second day interviews I attended only had two or three. The next step was accepting an invitation for an onsite interview. Naturally they paid for hotel' flight anf rental car. The onsite consisted of, for me, 4 job interviews for 4 different position. each interview was one hour 45 minutes, totalling about 7 hours, but some interviews were a bit shorter. I received an offer, contingent on background and drug test, about a week later. Overall very few technical questions, most consisted of how you communicate and work with people and how you would evaluate ssomething (systems specific)

Interview Questions

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Answer Question

Other Details

I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a 1:1 Interview, a Group/Panel Interview, a Drug Test and a Background Check.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

2.0

Easy Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Received and Accepted Offer

Interviewed Mar 2011 in Cedar Rapids, IA (took 3 days)

I was flown to Cedar Rapids. Once in Cedar Rapids, I took a company provided rental car to the Marriott. All food and travel expenses were reimbursed by Rockwell. The next morning we had a welcome breakfast with a company overview. After that there were 4 sessions of interviews/or tour. I had 4 interviews, but most other participants had 1-2 interviews. Each hiring manager drove us to their site. All questions were HR based-- with some questions about past projects. Other than being able to "talk technical" that was the end of the technical aspects. Each hiring manager showed us their labs and their area. During the evening there were snacks and drinks with each of the hiring managers-- jeans/polo-- is acceptable. The next day was a bus tour of cedar rapids. Overall, the interview was easy, but 4 interviews made for a very long, demanding day.

Interview Questions

What projects have you worked on before?

Answer Question

Describe a good requirement.

View Answers (1)

Negotiation Details

Not really negotiable, but offer was higher than I was expecting. If you decide within 2 weeks you qualify for a signing bonus.

Other Details

I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview, a Presentation, a Drug Test and a Background Check.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

4.0

Difficult Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Received and Declined Offer

Interviewed Mar 2010 in Cedar Rapids, IA (took a day)

Secured the interview through a Georgia Tech career fair. The interview was an all-day long event, and consisted of talks with 3 departments. Filled out paperwork and listened to presentation about Cedar Rapids area during breakfast. The actual interview process began shortly thereafter. Interviews consisted of behavioral and technical questions, but were mostly technical. I was caught off guard when the very first group I interviewed with asked me to go up to the whiteboard and teach them something from a technical subject of my choosing. Fortunately I was able to pull something out of my head quickly. I came to expect this from the next groups I talked to after it happened a second time (and yet a third time later in the day). They also like to quiz you on the spot. One of the one-on-one interviews consisted of a printout of a short 50-line c code program, and the interviewer asked me to determine what its resultant output was... normally I wouldn't be bothered by this, but the code was full of tricks... coding practices a good coder would never use.
If you interview with them, be prepared for on the spot quizes and spur of the moment requests to go up to the whiteboard. Be sure that you don't "inflate" your credentials in your resume. They may quiz you on work history, school projects, courses, etc... but that's to be expected. They especially liked to ask questions pertaining to what was learned in (a) given course(s).

Interview Questions

Go to the whiteboard and teach us something from a technical subject of your choosing.

Answer Question

We have people of many faiths and diverse backgrounds working for the company. How would you work with and communicate effectively with people in such an environment?

View Answers (1)

Reason for Declining

The offer was terrible. I have a 4.0 from a top 10 graduate engineering program with 7 years experience (albeit, 4 years as an intern) in the field (related to what I would be doing at Rockwell Collins) and all they offered me was 64k. When I told them I would need more than that, they countered with 67k with a 3k signing bonus. I politely declined their offer. Don't expect to get a competitive salary at this company, that is, unless perhaps you are an SME.

Other Details

I got the interview through a College or University and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview, a Group/Panel Interview, a Presentation and a Skills Test.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

2.0

Easy Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Received and Accepted Offer

Interviewed Sep 2009 in Cedar Rapids, IA (took a day)

Applied to a req. online, got a call a couple days later by recruiter. In the end, I'd say about 4 managers ended up calling me to ask me about my application. The phone interview was pretty simple, just to confirm that I am who I said I was. The face-to-face interview started with a presentation by myself about what I'd worked on, followed by questions by individuals. The rest of the day was spent interviewing each manager individually along with a tour of the facility.

Interview Questions

What experience do you have with this subject?

Answer Question

Why do you want to work at RCI?

Answer Question

Negotiation Details

No ability to negotiate, but the sign-on bonus was pretty generous. Unfortunately, accepting the bonus and relocation money means you need to spend at least 1 year at RCI. Consider this carefully as 1 year can seem like an awfully long period of time while you're waiting.

Other Details

I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a Phone Interview, a Group/Panel Interview, a Skills Test and a Background Check.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

3.0

Average Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Received and Accepted Offer

Interviewed Jan 2008 in Cedar Rapids, IA (took 2 days)

Rockwell Collins performs what is called a round robin interview process for engineering. I'm not sure if they have the same process for finance or HR or even higher lever managerial or executive positions. I found out about the company through a career fair and after presenting my resume and discussing my skills and interests, was invited to the round robin event at the their headquarters in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. How it works is like this: based on your resume (job experience, intern/co-op experience, undergrad/grad GPA), the folks at Rockwell put you on a "wall" for all hiring managers in your area of interest or their preference of job to see. The managers then pick which candidates they would like to interview at the round robin. They fly you up to Cedar Rapids and put you in the Crowne Plaza, and they give you an orientation of the company in the ballroom with a group of other potential candidates. They provide lunch and a site tour of the campus.

The number of interviews you get that day depends on how many managers are interested in hiring you. If two managers want to interview you, you spend about with each manager,. I had 5 30-45 minutes interviews back to back in a BIG room where candidates are rotated through interview tables. 3 managers in the morning, then lunch at round tables with current employees and managers present to answer any questions about the company, interview process or life in Iowa, then my last 2 interviews. The interviews can be one hiring manager, or a hiring manager plus a current engineer or a manager in the dept, or a manager that may not be your direct manager (this is not good in my opinion, because you REALLY want to get a feel for who you will be working for and ask questions about expectations. In short, if you get to the interview, ask if the person interviewing you would be your direct manager, if they are not, be wary).

Then they take you down to Iowa City, which is a much more liberal and college oriented area (thanks to Univ of Iowa) for a mingler/mixer, where you meet other young people who've been with the company a short time (perhaps in the honeymoon phase before stuff gets real) to ask more questions about what you can do in Iowa, how are the people, and so on. After you get home they rate your interviews amongst everyone that interviewed you. I believe they ask you to rank your top three manger/group choices before leaving. The managers rank the candidates they interviewed. If your top choice matches their top choice, you get the one offer. If more than one manager has you as their number one, I think you get an offer from each and you have to choose. Or, they bid for you internally to only dish out one offer.

ASK LOTS OF QUESTIONS THROUGH THE ENTIRE PROCESS. I find that most people are so excited about being "courted" they think everything is beautiful, but they don't ask the right questions. What is work/life balance like? What are the apartments like in Cedar Rapids? How is the driving in the winter since the weather is harsh? Do you feel connected with the community? Does the community embrace newcomers (since is it primarily a blue collar town)? What kind of cultural outlets are available? Where do the young professionals hang out (NOT college students)? What is the average time a non-native Iowan or Cedar Rapidian stays with the company? Do they treat you as well to keep you as they do to get you? What groups have mandatory overtime? How does the 401(k) program work? What are the differences in the benefits packages (PPO vs EPO)? If you have kids, how long is the waiting list for company daycare? You HAVE to ask these questions.

They send you a formal offer letter through the mail with your salary on it. You can negotiate, which I didn't, or you can reply to accept. Once accepted, you have to do a full background and drug test, in which they DO call your previous employers for references. If you pass everything with flying colors, you pack up and move to Iowa. Your first day you spend in an orientation going over your benefits choices and learning more about the company (AGAIN, ask a bunch of questions. I HIGHLY recommend that if you can get more info from your manager or HR about the PPO and EPO programs BEFORE you get there, the better. That way you know what you're getting into). Just because people OFFER insurance, doesn't make what they're offering good for YOU depending on your financial situation. Plus, they try to hurry you to make important decisions about the medical/dental/vision plans, group life insurance and so on. If you're new to the experience, it can be overwhelming and you just start choosing whatever because you have move on.

The onboarding process from what I hear has SIGNIFICANTLY improved to what I have just described, and some newbies even say that it has gotten better.

Interview Questions

Explain high band pass filters.

Answer Question

Negotiation Details

Always counter with whatever the national median is for your position, because I bet they will offer lower. For example, if they offer you $58,000 for an entry starting Systems Engineer, find what the national median is for your area. It may be $60,000 or $61,000. Cost of living is cheaper relatively speaking in Cedar Rapids, but still go for what you are worth. They get HORDES of folks snatching up that first offer because they don't know any better. You may also be able to negotiate your relocation package too. Just be aware, whatever the relocation money is that they give you in the offer, subtract about 40% of it. It's taxed at a higher rate. So if you NEED $3000 to move, don't let them give you a $3000 relocation bonus, because after taxes, the amount you get in your first check is $1800. Ask for $5500 or $6000.

Other Details

The interview consisted of a Group/Panel Interview, a Skills Test, a Drug Test and a Background Check.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

3.0

Average Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Received and Declined Offer

Interviewed Jan 2007 in Melbourne, FL (took 3 months)

Getting in the door was hard, once there it was very pleasant

Interview Questions

There were no difficult questions asked

Answer Question

There were no difficult questions asked

Answer Question

Reason for Declining

Current Employer counter offered

Other Details

I Applied Online and the interview consisted of a 1:1 Interview.

Helpful Interview?

Yes | No

Inappropriate?

2.0

Easy Interview

Overall Positive Experience

Interviewed and No Offer

Interviewed Sep 2009 in Cedar Rapids, IA (took a day)

Pre-Interview process consisted of 3-4 weeks before on-site interview was arranged.

They are hiring for position, not doing pool interviews.

Application was filled out, received an email from hiring manager requesting phone interview. Phone interview was very straightforward and open. Consisted of company history, job needs etc followed by perhaps 2-3 total questions: Tell me about yourself. How does your education prepare you for this job? What are your long term goals?

Then, on-site interview was offered. Prior to on-site interview I filed out a more detailed online application that they send you a link for. You also fill out disclosure paperwork for your background and get an email of critical documents. (maps, expense report, etc) Company pays expenses for interview and will fly or let you drive in the day before (hotel, car, airline ticket, meals). They offer an ambassador (Realtor) to give a local area tour. Mine was excellent!

Interview started at 9AM, interviewed with hiring manager and three other managers all of which were 1:1 situations. There were no HR reps present for any of the on-site interview. Taken to lunch with primary hiring manager around noon. Small tour of work area and bldg after lunch. Interview complete.