What is a Software Engineer at Ati?

As a Software Engineer at Ati, you are stepping into a critical role at the intersection of advanced specialty materials and modern digital infrastructure. Ati is renowned for producing high-performance materials like titanium and specialized coil products, and our software teams are the backbone that enables these complex manufacturing processes to scale efficiently. You will be building the tools, data pipelines, and cloud services that empower our engineering and operations teams across facilities from Richland, WA to Dallas, TX.

Your impact in this role extends far beyond writing code. You will be directly influencing the reliability and efficiency of our production lines, quality assurance systems, and enterprise infrastructure. Whether you are developing software to monitor titanium melting processes, automating data collection for quality engineers, or scaling our cloud services, your work ensures that our physical operations run seamlessly.

Expect a highly collaborative environment where software engineering meets industrial reality. You will regularly interface with mechanical engineers, process engineers, and facility managers to translate complex physical requirements into robust digital solutions. This role requires a unique blend of traditional software development skills and an appreciation for manufacturing environments, making it an exciting challenge for engineers who want to see their code drive tangible, real-world results.

Common Interview Questions

The questions below are representative of what candidates frequently encounter during our interview process. They are drawn from actual evaluation patterns at Ati and are intended to give you a sense of the themes we focus on. Use these to practice your structuring and delivery, rather than treating them as a strict memorization list.

Coding & Algorithmic Thinking

This category tests your core programming skills, logic, and ability to write efficient code under pressure.

• Write a function to identify duplicate entries in a large dataset of product serial numbers.
• How would you implement a rate limiter for an internal API to prevent system overload?
• Given a list of server logs, write a script to extract all IP addresses that experienced a timeout error.
• Implement a binary search algorithm to find a specific timestamp in a sorted array of sensor readings.
• Design an algorithm to merge multiple sorted streams of manufacturing data into a single chronological feed.

System Design & Architecture

These questions evaluate your ability to design scalable, reliable, and secure software systems that support enterprise operations.

• Design a cloud-based architecture to store and query petabytes of historical quality control data.
• How would you design a notification system that alerts facility engineers when a critical machine goes offline?
• Walk me through the design of an internal URL shortener used for sharing operational reports.
• What strategies would you use to ensure high availability for a database supporting a 24/7 manufacturing facility?
• Explain how you would decouple a monolithic legacy application into microservices.

Behavioral & Cross-Functional Collaboration

We use these questions to understand your working style, your leadership potential, and how you handle the realities of a complex organizational environment.

• Tell me about a time you had to deliver a critical project under a tight deadline. How did you prioritize your tasks?
• Describe a situation where you disagreed with a senior engineer or manager on a technical decision. How was it resolved?
• Give an example of how you handled a situation where the requirements for a project were highly ambiguous.
• Tell me about a time your code caused an issue in production. How did you troubleshoot it, and what did you learn?
• Describe a successful collaboration you had with a non-engineering stakeholder to solve a business problem.

Getting Ready for Your Interviews

Preparation is the key to navigating the interview process at Ati. We look for candidates who not only possess strong technical fundamentals but also demonstrate the adaptability to apply those skills in an industrial enterprise context.

To succeed, you should focus your preparation on the following key evaluation criteria:

Technical Fundamentals & System Architecture – Your interviewers will assess your ability to write clean, maintainable code and design systems that can handle enterprise-scale data. You can demonstrate strength here by showing a deep understanding of cloud infrastructure, database management, and robust API design.

Industrial Problem-Solving – This measures how you approach ambiguous challenges that blend software with physical processes. Strong candidates will structure their thoughts clearly, ask clarifying questions about the operational constraints, and propose pragmatic, scalable solutions rather than over-engineered concepts.

Cross-Functional Communication – Because you will work closely with non-software teams—such as process and mechanical engineers—your ability to translate technical jargon into business value is critical. Interviewers evaluate how well you listen, collaborate, and adapt your communication style to different stakeholders.

Culture Fit & Safety Orientation – At Ati, operational reliability and safety are paramount. We evaluate your alignment with our values by looking at your track record of taking ownership, prioritizing robust testing, and navigating high-stakes environments with a steady, collaborative mindset.

Interview Process Overview

The interview process for a Software Engineer at Ati is designed to be thorough but respectful of your time, focusing heavily on practical application rather than abstract puzzles. You will typically begin with a recruiter screen to align on your background, location preferences, and basic technical qualifications. This is followed by a technical screen with a hiring manager or senior engineer, which usually involves a mix of high-level architecture discussions and practical coding questions relevant to our tech stack.

If you advance to the final loop, you can expect a comprehensive series of interviews that dive deeper into both your technical expertise and your behavioral competencies. This stage often includes dedicated sessions on system design, coding fundamentals, and cross-functional collaboration. We place a strong emphasis on how you approach problems, so expect scenarios that mirror the actual challenges our teams face in modernizing infrastructure and supporting manufacturing operations.

What makes our process distinctive is the focus on domain integration. You will likely meet with stakeholders outside of the core software team, such as process or quality engineers, to assess how well you can gather requirements and deliver solutions that make sense on the factory floor.

The visual timeline above outlines the typical progression of our interview stages, from the initial screen through the final onsite or virtual loop. You should use this to pace your preparation, ensuring you are ready for behavioral discussions early on and fully primed for deep technical and system design evaluations in the later rounds. Note that specific stages may vary slightly depending on whether you are interviewing for a specialized cloud infrastructure team or a facility-integrated software role.

Deep Dive into Evaluation Areas

Technical Fundamentals & Coding

Your technical proficiency is the foundation of your success as a Software Engineer at Ati. Interviewers want to see that you can write efficient, bug-free code that can be easily maintained by a team. Strong performance in this area means not just arriving at the correct answer, but explaining your thought process, considering edge cases, and optimizing for both time and space complexity.

Be ready to go over:

• Data Structures and Algorithms – Core concepts like hash maps, arrays, trees, and graphs, and knowing when to apply them to optimize data retrieval or processing.
• Scripting and Automation – Writing robust scripts (often in Python or similar languages) to automate data pipelines, testing, or infrastructure deployments.
• Database Querying – Writing efficient SQL queries to extract and manipulate large datasets generated by our manufacturing processes.
• Advanced concepts (less common) –
  • Real-time data streaming architectures.
  • Integration with IoT devices or programmable logic controllers (PLCs).
  • Advanced concurrency and multi-threading for high-performance applications.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Write a function to parse a large log file generated by a manufacturing sensor and return the top 5 most frequent error codes."
• "How would you optimize a database query that is currently taking too long to pull historical quality metrics for our coil products?"
• "Implement an algorithm to detect anomalies in a time-series dataset representing temperature readings from a titanium melting furnace."

System Design & Cloud Infrastructure

As Ati continues to modernize its digital footprint, your ability to design scalable and secure systems is heavily evaluated. This area tests your capacity to zoom out and architect solutions that span multiple services, databases, and cloud platforms. A strong candidate will balance ideal technical architecture with the practical constraints of enterprise IT and manufacturing environments.

Be ready to go over:

• Cloud Services Integration – Designing applications that leverage AWS or Azure for storage, compute, and serverless functions.
• API Design – Creating RESTful or GraphQL APIs that allow different internal systems to communicate securely and efficiently.
• System Reliability and Fault Tolerance – Architecting systems that gracefully handle network failures or hardware outages without losing critical production data.
• Advanced concepts (less common) –
  • Hybrid cloud architectures blending on-premise factory servers with cloud data lakes.
  • Designing distributed tracing systems for microservices.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Design a system that collects real-time telemetry data from multiple manufacturing facilities and centralizes it for the quality engineering team."
• "How would you architect an internal dashboard that needs to display live production metrics with sub-second latency?"
• "Walk me through how you would migrate a legacy on-premise inventory management application to the cloud."

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Behavioral

Software at Ati does not exist in a vacuum; it directly supports our physical operations. This evaluation area focuses on your soft skills, leadership, and ability to navigate complex organizational dynamics. Interviewers are looking for empathy, clear communication, and a track record of successfully delivering projects that required buy-in from multiple departments.

Be ready to go over:

• Stakeholder Management – How you gather requirements from non-technical users and manage their expectations throughout the development lifecycle.
• Conflict Resolution – Navigating disagreements on technical direction or project prioritization with peers or managers.
• Adaptability – Your ability to pivot when project requirements change due to shifting business priorities or operational constraints.
• Advanced concepts (less common) –
  • Leading agile transformations within traditionally non-agile engineering teams.
  • Mentoring junior engineers or interns in a hybrid work environment.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Tell me about a time you had to explain a complex technical constraint to a non-technical stakeholder, like a facility manager."
• "Describe a situation where you had to push back on a feature request because it would compromise system stability."
• "Give an example of a time you identified a process inefficiency and took the initiative to build a software tool to solve it."

Key Responsibilities

As a Software Engineer at Ati, your day-to-day work will be dynamic, blending deep technical execution with strategic collaboration. You will be responsible for designing, building, and maintaining software applications that support our core business functions, from manufacturing execution to enterprise cloud infrastructure. This involves writing clean, well-documented code, conducting peer reviews, and ensuring that your applications meet our stringent security and performance standards.

A significant portion of your role will involve collaborating with adjacent teams. You will frequently partner with process engineers, quality engineers, and facility managers to understand the physical realities of our production lines. For example, if a team in Richland, WA needs better visibility into titanium melting temperatures, you will be the one architecting the data pipeline and dashboard to surface those insights reliably.

You will also drive initiatives related to modernizing our tech stack. This includes migrating legacy systems to modern cloud architectures, optimizing databases for faster query performance, and building internal tooling that automates repetitive tasks. Whether you are working on a high-visibility infrastructure project led by the Dallas team or supporting localized facility engineering efforts, your responsibilities will directly impact the operational efficiency of Ati.

Role Requirements & Qualifications

To thrive as a Software Engineer at Ati, you need a solid foundation in computer science principles coupled with a pragmatic approach to problem-solving. We look for engineers who are comfortable navigating the complexities of an enterprise environment and who possess the technical depth to build resilient systems.

• Must-have skills – Proficiency in at least one major programming language (such as Python, Java, or C#). Strong understanding of relational databases (SQL) and data modeling. Experience building and consuming RESTful APIs. Solid grasp of version control (Git) and standard software development lifecycles (Agile/Scrum).
• Experience level – Typically, candidates have a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field, along with relevant industry experience. We value experience in enterprise IT, manufacturing tech, or cloud infrastructure, though strong candidates from other domains are highly encouraged to apply.
• Soft skills – Exceptional communication skills are mandatory. You must be able to articulate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders and collaborate effectively across distributed teams. A proactive mindset and a strong sense of ownership over your projects are also critical.
• Nice-to-have skills – Experience with cloud platforms (AWS, Azure) and containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes). Familiarity with CI/CD pipelines and automated testing frameworks. Background knowledge in industrial IoT, SCADA systems, or manufacturing execution systems (MES) is a significant plus but not required.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How difficult is the technical interview process, and how should I prepare? The technical interviews are rigorous but practical. We focus less on obscure brainteasers and more on real-world engineering problems. You should spend your preparation time reviewing core data structures, practicing system design for enterprise applications, and refining your behavioral stories using the STAR method.

Q: What differentiates a successful candidate for this role? Successful candidates demonstrate a strong balance of technical depth and business acumen. They don't just write code; they seek to understand the underlying manufacturing or business process their software supports. Showing curiosity about Ati's core operations will make you stand out.

Q: What is the working culture like within the software teams at Ati? Our culture is deeply rooted in collaboration, reliability, and continuous improvement. Because our software impacts physical manufacturing and enterprise infrastructure, we prioritize robust testing, clear documentation, and cross-functional teamwork over moving fast and breaking things.

Q: What is the typical timeline from the initial screen to an offer? The process typically takes between three to five weeks. After the initial recruiter screen, the technical screen is usually scheduled within a week, followed by the final loop a week or two later. We strive to provide prompt feedback after the final interviews.

Q: Does Ati offer remote work, or is this role strictly onsite? Work arrangements depend heavily on the specific team and location. Roles tied to specific facilities (like Cudahy, WI or Richland, WA) may require onsite presence to interact with physical hardware, while roles aligned with enterprise infrastructure (like the Dallas, TX team) may offer more hybrid flexibility. Clarify this with your recruiter early in the process.

Other General Tips

• Understand the Business Context: Software at Ati is an enabler for our specialty materials and manufacturing operations. Take time to understand what Ati produces and how software might improve those processes.
• Clarify Before Coding: In technical interviews, never jump straight into writing code. Take a few minutes to ask clarifying questions about constraints, scale, and expected edge cases. This demonstrates maturity and prevents wasted effort.

• Use the STAR Method: For behavioral questions, structure your answers using Situation, Task, Action, and Result. Be specific about your individual contributions, especially in team settings.
• Emphasize Reliability: In a manufacturing context, downtime is costly. Highlight any experience you have with robust testing, CI/CD pipelines, and writing fault-tolerant code.

• Ask Insightful Questions: At the end of your interviews, ask questions that show you are thinking deeply about the role. Ask about the team's biggest technical debt, how they measure success, or how they collaborate with facility engineers.

Summary & Next Steps

The compensation data provided gives you a general baseline for engineering roles at Ati, though specific offers for a Software Engineer will vary based on your experience level, location, and the specific technical demands of the team. Use this information to ensure your expectations are aligned with the market and the scope of the role you are targeting.

Stepping into a Software Engineer role at Ati is an opportunity to build technology that directly impacts the physical world. You will be tackling complex challenges in system architecture, data integration, and enterprise infrastructure, all while collaborating with a diverse group of engineering professionals. The work you do here will drive the efficiency and reliability of processes that produce some of the most critical specialty materials in the world.

As you prepare, remember to focus on the intersection of solid technical fundamentals and practical problem-solving. Review your past projects, practice articulating your design decisions, and be ready to demonstrate how you collaborate across teams. For more insights, practice scenarios, and detailed interview strategies, continue exploring the resources available on Dataford. You have the skills and the potential to succeed—approach your interviews with confidence, curiosity, and a readiness to build the future of industrial technology.