1. What is a QA Engineer at Burns & McDonnell?

At Burns & McDonnell, the concept of a "QA Engineer" often sits at the intersection of Automation, Controls, and Construction Quality. Unlike pure software companies where QA focuses solely on code, here you are ensuring the integrity of critical infrastructure—ranging from food and beverage processing plants to electrical transmission networks. You are the gatekeeper of quality for engineering designs, control systems (PLCs/HMIs), and on-site installations.

This role is critical because Burns & McDonnell is an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) firm. Your work directly impacts the safety, efficiency, and reliability of major industrial facilities. You will likely be involved in the full project lifecycle: reviewing P&IDs (Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams) during the design phase, leading Factory Acceptance Tests (FATs) for control panels, and overseeing commissioning and start-up at client sites.

You are not just testing a product; you are validating a physical system that must operate flawlessly in the real world. Whether you are ensuring a PLC program executes logic correctly or verifying that a construction installation meets safety codes, your role is to deliver projects that meet the high standards of an employee-owned company.

2. Getting Ready for Your Interviews

Preparation for Burns & McDonnell requires a shift in mindset. You are not just interviewing for a job; you are interviewing to become an employee-owner. This distinction drives their culture and their evaluation process.

Technical Proficiency & Standards – You must demonstrate a strong grasp of engineering principles relevant to the specific division (e.g., Food & Beverage, Networks, or Transmission). Interviewers will evaluate your familiarity with industry standards (such as NEC, IEEE, or GMP) and your ability to apply them to complex automation and control designs.

Project Execution & Quality Assurance – You will be evaluated on your ability to manage quality throughout a project's life. This includes your approach to verification of design, checking calculations, and managing vendor quality during the procurement phase. You need to show that you can catch errors before they reach the field.

The "Owner's Mindset" – Because Burns & McDonnell is 100% employee-owned, they look for candidates who take extreme ownership of their work. They evaluate whether you treat company resources and client relationships as if they were your own. Passivity is a red flag; proactive problem-solving is a requirement.

Communication & Field Readiness – You will face questions about your ability to interface with diverse teams—from project managers and clients to construction personnel and vendors. Since many roles involve up to 30% travel to job sites, you must demonstrate the adaptability to work effectively in the field during startups and commissioning.

3. Interview Process Overview

The interview process at Burns & McDonnell is thorough and structured to assess both technical capability and cultural alignment. It typically begins with a screening call with a recruiter or HR representative. This conversation focuses on your background, your interest in the EPC industry, and your understanding of the employee-ownership model.

Following the screen, you will likely move to a technical interview with a hiring manager or a senior lead within the Automation & Controls or Quality department. This stage digs into your resume specifics—expect detailed questions about projects you have managed, specific control systems you have programmed (like Rockwell/Allen Bradley), and how you handle quality control in design deliverables.

The final stage is often a comprehensive onsite or virtual panel interview. You will meet with multiple team members, including Department Managers and peer engineers. This round tests your problem-solving skills through scenario-based questions and assesses your "fit" within the team. They will want to see how you handle stress, deadlines, and on-site challenges.

This timeline represents a typical flow, though it can vary slightly depending on the specific global practice you are applying to (e.g., Food & Beverage vs. Transmission & Distribution). Use the time between the screen and the panel to brush up on specific technical standards and prepare your "war stories" of past project challenges.

4. Deep Dive into Evaluation Areas

To succeed, you must be prepared to discuss specific technical and operational areas. Based on the role's demands, focus your preparation on the following domains:

Automation & Controls Logic

For roles involving automation, the core of "Quality Assurance" involves validating software and hardware designs. You need to show you can ensure the "brains" of the facility work correctly.

Be ready to go over:

• PLC & HMI Programming: validating logic for platforms like Rockwell (ControlLogix), Siemens, or Modicon.
• System Integration: How you ensure different subsystems (MES, Batch, Virtualization) communicate error-free.
• Instrumentation: Selecting and verifying protocols for temperature, pressure, flow, and level analyzers.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Walk me through your process for debugging a complex PLC loop that isn't behaving as expected during a FAT."
• "How do you verify that the I/O list matches the P&IDs before procurement begins?"

Quality Assurance in Design & Procurement

A major part of the role is preventing errors before construction begins. This involves rigorous review processes and vendor management.

Be ready to go over:

• Design Verification: Methods for checking electrical deliverables, panel designs, and cable schedules.
• Vendor Management: How you track vendor progression and conduct Factory Acceptance Tests (FATs) to ensure equipment meets specifications.
• Standards Compliance: Applying ANSI, IEEE, and safety codes to design reviews.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Describe a time you caught a critical design error during a quality review. What was the impact?"
• "How do you structure a Factory Acceptance Test to ensure a vendor has met all technical requirements?"

Field Commissioning & Safety

The "QA" aspect extends to the physical job site. You must demonstrate that you can translate office design into a safe, working reality.

Be ready to go over:

• Startup Methodologies: Steps for energizing equipment and validating control loops in the field.
• Troubleshooting: resolving installation issues (wiring errors, device calibration) on the fly.
• Safety Culture: Adhering to site safety policies and ensuring designs are safe for operators.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "You arrive on site and find the installation does not match your design drawings. How do you handle this with the construction team?"
• "How do you manage client expectations during a chaotic startup phase?"

5. Key Responsibilities

As a QA/Automation Engineer at Burns & McDonnell, your day-to-day work is dynamic, shifting between detailed office engineering and hands-on field execution. In the office, you are responsible for leading and executing design activities. This includes developing software deliverables, creating control narratives, and defining instrument lists. You will work closely with process engineers to review P&IDs, ensuring the control scope is accurately defined.

Collaboration is central to the role. You will interface with a multi-disciplined team—electrical, mechanical, and construction—to coordinate deliverables. A significant portion of your responsibility involves quality reviews. You will perform checks on project design submittals, ensuring calculations are correct and that the design adheres to internal and industry standards. You are also the primary technical point of contact for equipment vendors, managing their progress and leading the testing of their panels (FATs).

When the project moves to the field, your role shifts to execution. You will travel to job sites (often around 30% of the time) to support installation, commissioning, and startup. Here, you are responsible for the technical success of the system. You will troubleshoot loops, coordinate with construction personnel to resolve installation issues, and ensure the client is satisfied with the final operating system. You are not just delivering a drawing; you are delivering a working facility.

6. Role Requirements & Qualifications

To be competitive for this position, you need a blend of formal engineering education and practical, hands-on experience in an industrial setting.

Must-Have Qualifications:

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Electrical, Controls, Mechanical, or Chemical Engineering from an ABET-accredited program.
• Licensure: Successful completion of the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam is heavily preferred, with many senior roles requiring or preferring a PE license.
• Technical Experience: For mid-to-senior roles, 3–7 years of experience in electrical engineering or automation controls is standard.
• Domain Knowledge: Proficiency with PLC/HMI programming (Rockwell/Allen Bradley is frequently cited), reviewing P&IDs, and understanding electrical design deliverables (480VAC equipment, motor power).

Nice-to-Have Skills:

• EPC Experience: Prior background working in an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction environment is a significant advantage.
• Advanced Tools: Experience with tools like Proposal Works, Integrated Architecture Builder (IAB), or Bluebeam.
• Field Experience: A demonstrated history of leading startups and commissioning activities.
• Soft Skills: Strong written communication for creating control narratives and the ability to lead less experienced team members.

7. Common Interview Questions

The following questions are representative of what you might face. They are designed to test your technical depth, your approach to quality, and your alignment with the company's client-focused culture.

Technical & Design Verification

• "How do you approach reviewing a P&ID to ensure all control points are captured correctly?"
• "Explain your process for selecting the appropriate control valve or instrument for a specific application."
• "What steps do you take to validate a PLC program before it is loaded onto the actual hardware?"
• "How do you calculate and verify the power requirements for a new control panel?"
• "Describe how you ensure compliance with NEC or IEEE standards in your electrical designs."

Project Execution & Quality

• "Tell me about a time a vendor was not meeting their schedule or quality requirements. How did you manage it?"
• "Walk me through a Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) you led. What was your checklist?"
• "How do you track design changes and ensure they are communicated to the construction team?"
• "If you find a discrepancy between the design and the field installation, what is your process for resolving it?"

Behavioral & Culture (The "Owner" Mindset)

• "Burns & McDonnell is 100% employee-owned. What does that mean to you in terms of how you do your job?"
• "Describe a time you had to deliver bad news to a client. How did you handle it?"
• "Tell me about a time you made a mistake in a design. How did you catch it, and how did you fix it?"
• "How do you handle a situation where a project manager is pushing for a deadline, but you haven't finished your quality checks?"

8. Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How much travel should I strictly expect? Most Automation and QA/Controls roles at Burns & McDonnell list travel at approximately 30%. This is usually clustered around project milestones like site surveys, FATs, and final commissioning/startup. You should be prepared for periods of heavy travel followed by office-based design work.

Q: What is the significance of the ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan)? The ESOP is a cornerstone of the company's identity. It means you are not just an employee; you are a beneficial owner. This impacts the interview because they look for long-term commitment and a "business owner" mentality—caring about profitability, client relationships, and efficiency more than a typical employee might.

Q: Is a Professional Engineer (PE) license required? While an FE (Fundamentals of Engineering) is often a baseline requirement for entry-to-mid-level engineering roles, obtaining a PE is strongly encouraged and supported for career advancement. For senior roles, it is often expected or highly preferred to seal design drawings.

Q: What is the work-life balance like? Project work in the EPC industry can be cyclical. During critical design phases or site startups, hours can be long and demanding. However, the culture is collaborative, and the employee-ownership model often fosters a supportive environment where teams help each other meet deadlines.

Q: How technical will the interview be? Expect it to be quite technical. You will likely speak with other engineers who understand the nuances of control loops, electrical codes, and instrumentation. Be prepared to "talk shop" in detail.

9. Other General Tips

Understand the EPC Model: If you come from a product background, research the EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) lifecycle. Understand that "Quality" here means preventing expensive rework in construction. Frame your answers around saving costs and ensuring safety through rigorous design checks.

Highlight Client Relationships: Burns & McDonnell prides itself on repeat business. When answering behavioral questions, emphasize how your actions built trust with a client or solved a problem that made the client's life easier.

Safety is Non-Negotiable: In any scenario question regarding the field or design, always prioritize safety. If a question asks "What would you do if..." and safety is a factor, your answer must address that first before discussing schedule or cost.

Prepare for "Self-Execution": Some job descriptions mention "controls self-execution." This means Burns & McDonnell doesn't just manage subcontractors; they often do the work themselves. Highlight your ability to be hands-on and not just a clipboard manager.

10. Summary & Next Steps

The QA Engineer role (often titled Automation & Controls Engineer) at Burns & McDonnell is a position of high responsibility and high reward. You are not simply checking boxes; you are engineering the systems that power industries. The company values technical excellence, but they value ownership even more. They want engineers who treat every project budget, schedule, and safety record as if it were their own business.

To prepare, review your technical fundamentals in automation and electrical design, but also reflect on your history of ownership. Be ready to tell stories where you went above and beyond to ensure a project's success. Brush up on your knowledge of the EPC lifecycle and be prepared to discuss how you ensure quality from the drawing board to the construction site.

The compensation at Burns & McDonnell is competitive and often includes significant upside through the ESOP and bonus structures. When reviewing salary data, remember that the "total compensation" often includes these variable components, which can grow substantially over a long tenure.

You have the skills to succeed here. Approach the interview with confidence, show them you are ready to be an owner, and demonstrate that you can deliver the high-quality engineering solutions their clients expect. Good luck!