1. What is a UX/UI Designer at Burns & McDonnell?

At Burns & McDonnell, a UX/UI Designer plays a pivotal role in bridging the gap between complex engineering data and intuitive user experiences. Unlike traditional consumer-facing tech roles, working here means designing for high-stakes industries such as aviation, power generation, transmission, and construction. You are not just making screens pretty; you are building tools that help engineers, project managers, and clients visualize critical infrastructure and manage massive projects.

This position sits at the intersection of technology and architecture/engineering. Whether you are working within the Global Facilities group designing interfaces for mission-critical data centers, or supporting the Transmission & Distribution team with internal tools for grid modernization, your work directly impacts operational efficiency. The company operates as a 100% employee-owned firm, meaning your designs contribute directly to the shared success of the organization.

You will be expected to advocate for the user—often an internal stakeholder or a specialized client—while navigating the technical constraints of the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. This role requires a blend of creative problem-solving, technical proficiency in design tools, and the ability to translate dense technical requirements into seamless digital interactions.

2. Getting Ready for Your Interviews

Preparation for Burns & McDonnell requires a shift in mindset. While design skills are baseline requirements, the hiring team is looking for candidates who understand the ownership culture and the practical application of design in an engineering context.

Focus your preparation on these key evaluation criteria:

Problem-Solving in Complex Domains Interviewers assess your ability to simplify complexity. You must demonstrate how you take ambiguous, data-heavy requirements and turn them into clean, logical user flows. They value function and clarity over purely decorative trends.

Communication & Stakeholder Management You will often work with non-designers—engineers, architects, and construction managers. You need to show that you can articulate your design decisions clearly, defend your rationale without being defensive, and collaborate effectively with technical teams.

Cultural Fit & Employee Ownership As an employee-owned company, Burns & McDonnell values individuals who are self-motivated, accountable, and looking for a long-term career. They look for "owners," not just employees—people who take initiative and care about the final quality of the product because it reflects on the entire firm.

Technical Proficiency Beyond standard tools like Figma or Adobe Creative Suite, you should demonstrate an understanding of how your designs get built. Familiarity with the limitations of web technologies or specific enterprise platforms is a significant advantage.

3. Interview Process Overview

The interview process at Burns & McDonnell is generally described as professional, conversational, and efficient. Unlike the grueling multi-stage marathons of some tech giants, their process focuses on finding the right fit for the team and the culture quickly. However, do not mistake "efficient" for "easy"; they probe deeply into your character and capability.

Typically, the process begins with a Recruiter Screen. Candidates consistently report that recruiters here are "great listeners" and genuinely helpful, sometimes even looking for alternative matches within the company if the initial role isn't a perfect fit. This conversation focuses on your background, interest in the AEC industry, and high-level qualifications.

Following a successful screen, you will move to a Hiring Manager Interview (often virtual). This is the core of the assessment. Expect a mix of behavioral questions and a review of your portfolio. For internships or junior roles, this may be the final step before an offer. For full-time positions, you may progress to a panel interview or a presentation with key team members to discuss your design process in depth.

This timeline illustrates a typical flow, though steps may vary based on the specific business unit (e.g., Aviation vs. Power). Use the time between the recruiter screen and the hiring manager interview to thoroughly research the specific market segment mentioned in the job description, as this context will be critical during your conversation.

4. Deep Dive into Evaluation Areas

To succeed, you must demonstrate competence in specific areas relevant to the firm's work.

Portfolio & Design Process

Your portfolio is your most important asset. Interviewers are less interested in the final "polish" and more interested in how you got there.

• Process over pixels: Be ready to show sketches, wireframes, and failed iterations.
• Data visualization: Show examples where you organized complex information (e.g., dashboards, tables, maps).
• User advocacy: Explain how you identified user needs and validated your solutions.

Behavioral & Cultural Alignment

Because of the employee-ownership model, cultural fit is weighted heavily. They want to know if you are someone they can trust and collaborate with for years.

• Ownership: Be ready to discuss times you took responsibility for a failure or went above and beyond without being asked.
• Collaboration: Expect questions about working with difficult stakeholders or cross-functional teams.

Industry Interest & Knowledge

You don't need to be an engineer, but you must show curiosity about what Burns & McDonnell builds.

• Research the sectors: Know the difference between their "Transmission & Distribution" work and "Aviation & Federal" projects.
• Contextual design: Be prepared to discuss how design principles change when the user is a field engineer on a construction site versus an executive in an office.

Be ready to go over:

• Design Systems: How you contribute to or utilize existing libraries.
• Accessibility: Ensuring designs meet compliance standards (crucial for federal projects).
• Hand-off: How you prepare files for developers to ensure accuracy.
• Advanced concepts: Experience with CAD-adjacent software or BIM (Building Information Modeling) tools is a rare but highly valued differentiator.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Walk me through a project where you had to simplify a complex dataset for a non-technical user."
• "Tell me about a time you received critical feedback from a stakeholder. How did you handle it?"
• "How do you prioritize features when you have tight deadlines and conflicting requests?"

5. Key Responsibilities

As a UX/UI Designer at Burns & McDonnell, your day-to-day work is collaborative and project-based. You will be responsible for translating high-level requirements from project managers and engineers into tangible user interfaces. This often involves creating user flows, wireframes, and high-fidelity prototypes for web applications, internal tools, or client-facing portals.

Collaboration is central to the role. You will work closely with development teams to ensure your designs are feasible and implemented correctly. You will also interface with subject matter experts—engineers who know the technical data inside and out—to understand exactly what the user needs to accomplish. Your job is to extract that domain knowledge and wrap it in a usable interface.

Depending on the specific group (e.g., Global Facilities or Oil, Gas & Chemical), you might also assist in broader design tasks. This could include maintaining design consistency across a suite of applications, conducting user research sessions with internal teams, or even assisting with digital presentations for high-value client proposals.

6. Role Requirements & Qualifications

Candidates are evaluated against a mix of technical design skills and professional maturity.

Technical Skills

• Must-have: Proficiency in Figma, Sketch, or Adobe XD. Strong understanding of responsive web design and mobile-first principles.
• Core: Ability to create wireframes, user flows, site maps, and interactive prototypes.
• Nice-to-have: Basic knowledge of HTML/CSS (to speak the developer's language), experience with data visualization tools, or familiarity with CAD/Revit (conceptual understanding).

Experience & Background

• Education: A Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design, Interaction Design, HCI, or a related field is typically required.
• Portfolio: A solid portfolio demonstrating end-to-end design case studies is non-negotiable.
• GPA: For intern and entry-level roles, a minimum 3.0 GPA is strongly preferred and often checked.

Soft Skills

• Communication: Excellent verbal and written skills are essential. You must be able to write clear design documentation.
• Adaptability: The ability to learn quickly about new industries (e.g., how a power grid works) is vital.
• Leadership: Even in junior roles, demonstrating leadership potential—taking initiative, mentoring others, or leading a small project—is highly valued due to the ownership culture.

7. Common Interview Questions

The following questions reflect the patterns seen in Burns & McDonnell interviews. They focus on behavioral traits and practical design thinking. Do not memorize answers; instead, prepare stories that highlight your problem-solving process.

Behavioral & Situation

These questions test your fit within the employee-owned culture.

• "Tell me about a time you had to work with a difficult team member. How did you handle the situation?"
• "Describe a time you made a mistake on a project. How did you fix it and what did you learn?"
• "Why do you want to work for Burns & McDonnell specifically?"
• "How do you handle tight deadlines when you have multiple projects on your plate?"

Design & Process

These questions dig into your hard skills and workflow.

• "Walk us through your design process for the project in your portfolio. Why did you make those specific layout choices?"
• "How do you decide which features to prioritize when designing a new tool?"
• "How do you ensure your designs are accessible to all users?"
• "Tell me about a time you had to advocate for the user against a technical constraint."

Technical & Domain

• "What tools do you use for prototyping, and why do you prefer them?"
• "How do you hand off your designs to developers?"
• "If you were designing a dashboard for a construction manager, what key information do you think they would need first?"

These questions are based on real interview experiences from candidates who interviewed at this company. You can practice answering them interactively on Dataford to better prepare for your interview.

8. Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the interview difficulty level? Most candidates rate the difficulty as Medium. The technical questions are standard for the industry, but the behavioral questions regarding culture and fit are probed deeply. The atmosphere is generally described as positive and conversational.

Q: Is this a remote position? Burns & McDonnell places a high value on in-person collaboration and office culture. While hybrid schedules exist, full remote work is less common than in pure software companies. Expect to be in the office (e.g., Kansas City, Chesapeake, Houston) several days a week to collaborate with engineers.

Q: How long does the process take? The process can be surprisingly fast. Candidates have reported receiving offers within a few days of their final interview, especially for internship or entry-level roles. However, full-time experienced hires may take 2–4 weeks depending on scheduling.

Q: What if I don't have an engineering background? You do not need an engineering degree. However, you must show a willingness to learn the "language" of the business. Showing that you aren't intimidated by technical acronyms or complex workflows is key.

Q: Does the recruiter really help find other roles? Yes. As noted in candidate experiences, recruiters at Burns & McDonnell are often proactive. If you are a strong cultural fit but not right for the specific requisition, they frequently circulate your resume to other groups (e.g., moving you from an Aviation application to a Transmission & Distribution opening).

9. Other General Tips

Research the Employee Ownership Model (ESOP) Understand what it means to be an employee-owner. Mentioning this in your interview shows you have done your homework and understand the core of their culture. It implies you are ready to take responsibility for the company's success.

Tailor Your Portfolio to "Utility" While aesthetic beauty is important, prioritize case studies that solve functional problems. If you have examples of dashboards, data entry tools, or B2B platforms, highlight those over purely marketing or e-commerce designs.

Be Honest About What You Don't Know If asked about a specific engineering concept or industry regulation you don't understand, admit it but explain how you would find the answer. They value integrity and resourcefulness over bluffing.

Highlight Transferable Skills If you are coming from a different industry, explicitly connect your past experience to their needs. For example, "Managing inventory systems in retail gave me experience designing for data-heavy interfaces, which applies to your asset management tools."

10. Summary & Next Steps

Securing a UX/UI Designer role at Burns & McDonnell is an opportunity to work on projects that shape the physical world. This is a role for designers who crave impact, stability, and a strong sense of community. By preparing to discuss your process, demonstrating your ability to collaborate with technical teams, and showing a genuine interest in their unique ownership culture, you will set yourself apart.

Focus your final preparation on refining your portfolio storytelling. Ensure you can articulate why you made design decisions and how they impacted the user. Approach the interview with confidence, curiosity, and professional warmth. The team is looking for a partner, not just a pair of hands.

The compensation at Burns & McDonnell is competitive, particularly when factoring in the benefits of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), which can be a significant wealth-builder over time. For interns, hourly rates typically range between $18 and $25+ depending on location and year in school, while full-time salaries are adjusted based on market segment and experience. Always consider the total package—including bonuses and stock—when evaluating an offer here.

Good luck with your preparation. You have the insights needed to succeed—now go own the interview.