Preparing for an interview at Cardinal Health requires a balanced approach. You must demonstrate solid technical fundamentals while showcasing the analytical capacity to pass cognitive screenings and the communication skills to collaborate with operational leaders.

Technical & Operational Competence – You must be able to speak confidently about system administration, infrastructure design, and troubleshooting frameworks. Be ready to explain the "why" behind your technical decisions, especially regarding system reliability and security.

Analytical & Logical Reasoning – Because the process often includes cognitive and logical tests, practice structured problem-solving. Approach every scenario systematically, identifying the root cause before proposing a solution.

Communication & Collaboration – As a Systems Engineer, you will interact with both technical peers and business leaders. You must be able to translate complex technical concepts into actionable operational insights.

Adaptability & Cultural Fit – The healthcare sector is highly regulated and constantly evolving. Interviewers look for candidates who can navigate ambiguity, respect compliance guidelines, and maintain a calm, methodical demeanor under pressure.

The interview process for a Systems Engineer at Cardinal Health is designed to evaluate both your cognitive abilities and your deep technical expertise. It typically begins with an initial screening and progresses through cognitive testing to multi-stage technical and managerial discussions.

The initial stage is a phone screen, which may be conducted by an internal recruiter or a third-party partner. This conversation focuses on your background, career goals, and your alignment with the program or specific role. Following this initial contact, candidates are often asked to complete computer-based assessments, including a personality exam and a logical/IQ exam. These tests help the hiring team benchmark your problem-solving speed and workplace behavioral tendencies.

Once you pass the initial screenings, you will move into the core interview rounds. This phase involves discussions with technical leaders, including the IT Supervisor and the Operations Manager. These conversations will delve into your past projects, technical capabilities, and how you handle operational challenges. Depending on the team, you may face subsequent technical interviews focused entirely on system design, troubleshooting, and infrastructure scenarios.

The timeline above outlines the typical progression from the initial recruiter screen to the final decision. Candidates should use this timeline to pace their preparation, ensuring they are ready for the cognitive assessments early on, followed by deep-dive technical preparation for the manager and supervisor rounds.

To succeed in the Cardinal Health interview process, you must understand the specific areas where you will be evaluated. The hiring team looks for a combination of operational readiness, technical depth, and logical clarity.

Systems Administration & Infrastructure Support

This area evaluates your ability to maintain, optimize, and troubleshoot enterprise systems. The interviewers want to see that you have practical, hands-on experience with infrastructure at scale.

Be ready to go over:

• Operating Systems – Deep knowledge of Windows Server or Linux environments, including configuration, security hardening, and performance tuning.
• Monitoring & Alerting – Experience setting up and managing monitoring tools to proactively identify system bottlenecks.
• Automation & Scripting – Your ability to write scripts (e.g., PowerShell, Bash, Python) to automate repetitive administrative tasks and reduce human error.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – High-availability cluster configurations, disaster recovery planning, and hybrid cloud integration strategies.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Describe a scenario where a critical system went offline. How did you diagnose the issue, and what steps did you take to prevent it from happening again?"
• "How do you manage configuration drift across a fleet of hundreds of servers?"

Problem Solving & Logical Reasoning

This evaluation area focuses on your cognitive processing and how you approach unfamiliar or complex challenges. It is tested both through computer-based logic exams and situational technical questions.

Be ready to go over:

• Root Cause Analysis – Your systematic approach to identifying the underlying cause of system failures rather than just treating the symptoms.
• Data Interpretation – Analyzing system logs, performance metrics, and network traffic to make informed decisions.
• Logical Deductions – Solving abstract logical puzzles and pattern-recognition challenges under timed conditions.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "You are presented with a series of logical patterns and must identify the missing element in the sequence within a strict time limit."
• "A database is experiencing intermittent latency, but all hardware metrics look normal. How do you structure your investigation?"

Collaboration & Operational Alignment

Systems engineering does not happen in a vacuum. You must demonstrate that you can work effectively alongside operations staff, management, and other IT teams.

Be ready to go over:

• Incident Management – How you communicate during a system outage, including keeping stakeholders updated and managing expectations.
• Stakeholder Collaboration – Working with Operations Managers to understand business requirements and translate them into technical solutions.
• Knowledge Sharing – Documenting systems and processes so that the wider team can support them effectively.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "How do you handle a situation where an Operations Manager requests a system change that violates security protocols?"
• "Tell me about a time you had to coordinate with multiple IT teams to deploy a major infrastructure upgrade."