What is an Engineering Manager at CHEP?

As an Engineering Manager at CHEP, you are stepping into a pivotal leadership role at the heart of the global supply chain. CHEP is renowned for its pioneering circular economy model, managing the world’s largest pool of reusable pallets, crates, and containers. In this role, you will lead the engineering initiatives that keep this massive, complex network running efficiently, sustainably, and safely.

Your impact extends far beyond standard engineering deliverables. You will be responsible for driving automation, optimizing facility layouts, implementing process improvements, and leading cross-functional teams to solve high-stakes logistical challenges. The work you do directly influences the operational efficiency of global supply chains, affecting how essential goods are transported worldwide.

Expect a role that blends deep technical oversight with strategic business leadership. You will not only manage projects and personnel but also identify new business opportunities where engineering can drive value. Whether you are modernizing plant infrastructure, integrating new automation technologies, or mentoring the next generation of engineers, this role requires a leader who is comfortable with scale, complexity, and continuous improvement.

Common Interview Questions

Getting Ready for Your Interviews

Preparing for the Engineering Manager interview at CHEP requires a strategic approach. Interviewers will look beyond your technical acumen to evaluate your leadership style, your strategic mindset, and your ability to navigate complex business environments.

Focus your preparation on these key evaluation criteria:

• Lominger Competencies – CHEP relies heavily on the Lominger (Korn Ferry) competency framework to evaluate candidates. Interviewers will assess traits like dealing with ambiguity, drive for results, building effective teams, and problem-solving. You must demonstrate these competencies through concrete, behavioral examples.
• Strategic Business Impact – Interviewers want to see how your engineering decisions drive bottom-line results. You will be evaluated on your ability to identify new business aspects, optimize processes, and deliver measurable ROI.
• Resilience and Problem-Solving – You will be asked to discuss both your successes and your failures. CHEP values leaders who can candidly analyze past project failures, extract actionable lessons, and apply them to future challenges.
• Proven Track Record – Your ability to visually and verbally articulate past successes is critical. Candidates who bring a well-structured portfolio of past projects and achievements often stand out in the evaluation process.

Interview Process Overview

The interview process for an Engineering Manager at CHEP is thorough, structured, and highly focused on your past experiences. You will typically begin with a 30-minute phone screen with an HR Director or recruiter. This initial conversation covers your background, your interest in CHEP, and a high-level overview of your career successes and failures. It is designed to ensure baseline alignment with the role and company culture.

Following the HR screen, candidates usually advance to a rigorous panel or 1-on-2 interview, often featuring the Direct Hiring Manager and a Division Senior Director. This stage is highly detailed. Interviewers will dig deep into how your specific experiences translate to the job at hand. The pace can be fast, and the expectations are high—you will be challenged to explain exactly what value you bring to the table and how you intend to make a tangible difference in the business.

This visual timeline outlines the typical progression from the initial HR screening through the final leadership interviews. Use this to pace your preparation, ensuring you are ready for high-level behavioral discussions early on, and deep, strategic business-impact conversations in the final rounds. Note that while the process is rigorous, it is often executed quickly, meaning you should have your examples and portfolio prepared before your first phone call.

Deep Dive into Evaluation Areas

To succeed in the CHEP interview process, you must master the specific areas that hiring managers prioritize. Below is a detailed breakdown of the core competencies you will be evaluated against.

The Lominger Competency Framework

CHEP has a well-documented tendency to utilize Lominger competency interview questions. This framework assesses the underlying behaviors that drive success in leadership roles. Strong performance here means providing highly structured, STAR-method answers that map directly to core competencies like Action Orientation, Strategic Agility, and Directing Others.

Be ready to go over:

• Dealing with Ambiguity – How you lead teams through uncertain, shifting project requirements.
• Drive for Results – Your track record of pushing projects across the finish line despite obstacles.
• Managerial Courage – How you handle difficult conversations with stakeholders or underperforming team members.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Organizational agility, managing vision and purpose, and building peer relationships across global matrixed teams.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Tell me about a time you had to lead a critical engineering project with incomplete data or shifting requirements."
• "Describe a situation where you had to push back on a senior stakeholder to ensure the safety or quality of an engineering deliverable."

Managing Successes and Failures

Interviewers at CHEP are highly interested in your professional resilience. They will explicitly ask about projects that did not go as planned. A strong candidate does not shy away from failure but rather uses it to demonstrate growth, accountability, and improved risk management.

Be ready to go over:

• Root Cause Analysis – How you identify what went wrong without assigning undue blame.
• Course Correction – The immediate steps you took to mitigate damage during a failing project.
• Process Improvement – How you changed your engineering or management approach based on a past failure.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Walk me through an engineering project that failed to meet its objectives. What was your role, and what did you learn?"
• "Describe your most successful project to date. What specific leadership actions did you take to ensure that success?"

Strategic Value and New Business Aspects

As an Engineering Manager, you are expected to be a business partner, not just a technical executor. You will be evaluated on your ability to look at an operational network and identify areas for cost reduction, automation, and efficiency.

Be ready to go over:

• ROI and Capital Expenditure (CapEx) – How you justify the cost of new engineering initiatives.
• Automation and Innovation – Your experience introducing new technologies to legacy operational environments.
• Cross-Functional Synergy – How your engineering solutions make life easier for the operations, safety, and logistics teams.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "If you were hired, how would you identify new opportunities to drive efficiency in our service centers?"
• "Explain a time when your engineering initiative directly resulted in a measurable increase in business profitability."