1. What is a Engineering Manager at Hussmann?

As an Engineering Manager at Hussmann, you will be stepping into a critical leadership role that directly shapes the future of commercial refrigeration and the modern food retailing industry. This position is central to our operations, specifically driving the success of our Specialty Engineered projects at the Chino, CA manufacturing site. You are not just managing engineers; you are taking ownership of the technical, operational, and financial outcomes of complex, custom-engineered product lines.

Your impact will resonate across the entire product lifecycle and the broader business. By leading cross-functional teams, you will ensure that new designs and engineering changes are seamlessly integrated into our fast-paced manufacturing environment. The decisions you make regarding manufacturing cost drivers, program milestones, and resource allocation will directly influence Hussmann's profitability and our ability to deliver high-quality, reliable solutions to our customers.

What makes this role uniquely challenging and rewarding is the blend of deep technical oversight and strategic business management. You will be expected to maintain the integrity of our engineering systems while simultaneously acting as a key contributor to business growth. If you thrive in an environment where you can mentor emerging talent, optimize financial performance, and see your custom-engineered products come to life on the manufacturing floor, this role offers an unparalleled platform for your expertise.

2. Common Interview Questions

While you cannot predict every question, understanding the patterns of inquiry at Hussmann will give you a significant advantage. The questions below reflect the core competencies required for the Engineering Manager role.

Project and Financial Management

These questions test your ability to scope projects, manage budgets, and deliver financial results.

• Walk me through your process for creating a work breakdown structure for a complex, custom-engineered product.
• How do you accurately forecast the financial impact of a new engineering initiative?
• Tell me about a time you had to identify and eliminate manufacturing cost drivers. What was the financial outcome?
• Describe a situation where a project was failing to meet its milestones. How did you intervene?
• How do you balance the cost of engineering changes against the potential benefits to product quality?

Manufacturing Operations and Processes

These questions evaluate your experience working alongside the manufacturing floor and managing engineering changes.

• Explain your approach to implementing an engineering change in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• How do you ensure that manufacturing has the correct processes and tools available before a new product launches?
• Tell me about a time when a custom-engineered product failed during initial manufacturing runs. How did you handle it?
• How do you maintain the integrity of your engineering systems while pushing for rapid product iteration?
• Describe a time you had to push back on manufacturing or product teams to ensure engineering quality standards were met.

Leadership and Cross-Functional Collaboration

These questions focus on your people management skills, mentorship, and executive communication.

• Tell me about a time you identified a capability gap within your engineering team. How did you address it?
• Describe your approach to mentoring senior engineers versus junior engineers.
• How do you build consensus among cross-functional teams when there are conflicting departmental goals?
• Walk me through a recent presentation you gave to senior leadership regarding a major engineering deliverable.
• Describe a time you had to make a highly analytical, data-driven decision under pressure.

3. Getting Ready for Your Interviews

Preparing for the Engineering Manager interview requires a holistic approach. Your interviewers will be looking for a blend of technical depth, financial acumen, and proven leadership capability.

Focus your preparation on the following key evaluation criteria:

• Technical Product Development – This measures your foundational engineering expertise, particularly in mechanical engineering and custom product design. Interviewers will assess your ability to guide teams through complex technical challenges and maintain the integrity of engineering systems.
• Financial and Project Acumen – This evaluates your ability to manage the business side of engineering. You must demonstrate how you develop work breakdown structures, track milestones, and identify manufacturing cost drivers to keep large-scale projects on budget.
• Manufacturing Operations – This assesses your experience with engineering change implementation in a fast-paced manufacturing setting. You should be prepared to discuss how you ensure the correct processes and tools are available for seamless production handoffs.
• Leadership and Mentorship – This looks at your ability to lead cross-functional teams, present strategic deliverables to senior leadership, and continuously identify and close capability gaps within your engineering team.

4. Interview Process Overview

The interview process for the Engineering Manager role at Hussmann is designed to be thorough, assessing both your strategic vision and your hands-on operational experience. You will typically begin with an initial recruiter screen to align on your background, salary expectations, and basic qualifications. This is followed by a deeper conversation with the hiring manager, focusing heavily on your past project management experiences and your approach to leading engineering teams.

If you progress to the final stages, expect a comprehensive panel interview, often held onsite at the Chino facility or virtually with key stakeholders. This panel usually consists of cross-functional leaders, including manufacturing directors, product managers, and senior engineering leadership. The questions will be highly behavioral and scenario-based, pushing you to explain how you handle conflicting priorities, budget constraints, and engineering change orders in real-time.

Hussmann places a strong emphasis on collaboration, financial responsibility, and quality. Throughout the process, interviewers will look for evidence that you are an assertive, resourceful team player who makes data-driven decisions. Be prepared to back up your claims with specific metrics, particularly regarding cost savings, schedule adherence, and quality improvements.

This visual timeline outlines the typical stages of the Hussmann interview process, from the initial recruiter screen to the final cross-functional panel. Use this to pace your preparation, ensuring you have your high-level leadership narratives ready for the hiring manager, and your detailed, metric-driven case studies prepared for the final panel. Keep in mind that the exact sequence may vary slightly depending on executive availability.

5. Deep Dive into Evaluation Areas

To succeed, you must understand exactly how Hussmann evaluates candidates across its core competencies. Below are the primary areas where you will be tested.

Project Management and Financial Impact

As an Engineering Manager, you are ultimately responsible for the financial success of Specialty Engineered projects. Interviewers want to see that you understand the dollars and cents behind the engineering. Strong performance here means you can confidently discuss how you plan programs, establish major reviews, and control costs without sacrificing quality.

Be ready to go over:

• Work Breakdown Structures (WBS) – How you divide complex projects into manageable, trackable components.
• Cost Driver Identification – Your methodology for analyzing manufacturing processes to find and eliminate unnecessary expenses.
• Schedule and Budget Adherence – Strategies you use to keep cross-functional teams aligned with strict deadlines and financial constraints.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Earned Value Management (EVM), advanced risk mitigation modeling, and ROI analysis for capital expenditures.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Walk me through a time when a major engineering project was trending over budget. How did you identify the cost drivers and course-correct?"
• "How do you balance the need for high-quality custom engineering with strict financial and scheduling constraints?"
• "Describe your process for developing detailed program plans and presenting these deliverables to executive leadership."

Engineering Change Implementation

Hussmann operates a fast-paced manufacturing site in Chino. The transition from engineering design to manufacturing execution must be flawless. You will be evaluated on your ability to implement engineering changes smoothly, ensuring that the manufacturing floor has the correct processes and tools available.

Be ready to go over:

• Change Management Processes – How you document, communicate, and execute engineering change orders (ECOs).
• Cross-Functional Handoffs – Your strategies for collaborating with production, quality assurance, and supply chain teams.
• Process Improvement – How you audit existing implementation processes and drive continuous accuracy and efficiency.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Lean manufacturing principles, Six Sigma methodologies, and automated ECO tracking systems.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Tell me about a time an engineering change caused a disruption on the manufacturing floor. How did you resolve it and prevent it from happening again?"
• "How do you ensure that your engineering team provides the manufacturing group with the exact tools and specifications they need?"
• "Describe your experience managing custom engineered products in a high-volume or fast-paced environment."

Leadership and Team Development

An effective Engineering Manager at Hussmann is a mentor and a strategic leader. You will be assessed on your ability to build high-performing teams, identify capability gaps, and foster a culture of continuous improvement. Strong candidates demonstrate emotional intelligence, assertiveness, and a genuine commitment to their team's professional growth.

Be ready to go over:

• Mentorship and Coaching – How you develop junior engineers and prepare them for leadership roles.
• Capability Gap Analysis – Your approach to assessing your team's skills and hiring or training to meet future business needs.
• Cross-Functional Influence – How you lead teams that do not report directly to you to achieve overarching business goals.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Succession planning, organizational design, and managing remote or distributed engineering contributors.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Give me an example of how you identified a critical skill gap on your team and the steps you took to close it."
• "How do you handle conflicts between the engineering department and manufacturing operations?"
• "Describe your leadership style when managing a team through a period of intense pressure or rapid change."

6. Key Responsibilities

As an Engineering Manager at Hussmann, your day-to-day work is a dynamic mix of strategic planning and operational execution. You will spend a significant portion of your time overseeing the implementation of Specialty Engineered products at the Chino manufacturing site. This involves developing detailed specifications, establishing work breakdown structures, and leading major milestone reviews to ensure programs remain on schedule and within budget.

Collaboration is a cornerstone of this role. You will constantly interface with cross-functional teams—including manufacturing, product management, and finance—to align engineering outputs with business goals. You will be responsible for preparing and presenting project deliverables to these teams, ensuring everyone understands the strategic direction and the financial impact of your initiatives.

Beyond project execution, you are the custodian of engineering excellence. You will actively identify manufacturing cost drivers and implement plans to control them. Concurrently, you will maintain the integrity of Hussmann's engineering systems while continuously mentoring your staff, identifying capability gaps, and fostering a culture of high performance and quality.

7. Role Requirements & Qualifications

To be a competitive candidate for the Engineering Manager position at Hussmann, you must bring a robust blend of technical education and seasoned leadership experience. The company is looking for dynamic professionals who are assertive, resourceful, and possess strong analytical capabilities.

• Must-have skills – A Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering (or a closely related field) is required. You must have at least 10+ years of experience in technical product development and people management. Proven experience with engineering change implementation, fast-paced manufacturing, and custom engineered products is strictly necessary.
• Nice-to-have skills – Advanced degrees (such as an MS in Engineering or an MBA) can be advantageous. Experience specifically within the commercial refrigeration, HVAC, or food retail equipment industries will help you ramp up quickly. Familiarity with Lean Six Sigma and advanced financial modeling for engineering projects is highly valued.

8. Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How technical are the interviews for the Engineering Manager role? While you won't likely be asked to solve complex equations on a whiteboard, you must demonstrate deep technical fluency. Interviewers will expect you to comfortably discuss mechanical engineering principles, custom product design, and manufacturing constraints to prove you can effectively lead technical teams.

Q: How much emphasis is placed on financial management during the interview? A tremendous amount. The job description explicitly highlights responsibility for the overall financial impact of projects and identifying cost drivers. You must be prepared to speak about budgets, ROI, and cost-reduction strategies in detail.

Q: What is the culture like at the Chino manufacturing site? The environment is fast-paced and heavily focused on quality and custom engineering. It requires an assertive, team-oriented leader who is comfortable spending time on the manufacturing floor as well as in the boardroom.

Q: How long does the Hussmann interview process typically take? From the initial recruiter screen to the final offer, the process generally takes between 3 to 5 weeks. Delays can occasionally happen due to the scheduling of cross-functional panel members.

Q: Is this role remote or hybrid? Given the strong emphasis on coordinating engineering implementation at the Chino manufacturing site and overseeing fast-paced manufacturing processes, this role requires a significant onsite presence.

9. Other General Tips

• Use the STAR Method rigorously: When answering behavioral questions, structure your responses with Situation, Task, Action, and Result. Always quantify your "Result" with metrics related to cost savings, time-to-market, or defect reduction.
• Speak the language of manufacturing: Use terminology that resonates with Hussmann's operational focus. Discuss engineering change orders (ECOs), bill of materials (BOM) accuracy, and design for manufacturability (DFM).
• Highlight your cross-functional empathy: Show that you understand the pain points of the manufacturing, quality, and supply chain teams. An Engineering Manager who bridges the gap between design and production is highly prized here.
• Demonstrate decisive leadership: The job description specifically asks for an "assertive" and "dynamic" professional. Don't shy away from discussing times you had to make tough calls or course-correct a failing project.

10. Summary & Next Steps

Securing the Engineering Manager role at Hussmann is a chance to lead impactful, financially significant projects within a globally recognized company. By stepping into this position, you will directly influence the success of custom-engineered products and drive operational excellence at the Chino facility.

To succeed in your interviews, remember to balance your deep technical mechanical engineering knowledge with a sharp focus on financial impact and manufacturing efficiency. Review your past projects to ensure you can clearly articulate how you managed cost drivers, implemented seamless engineering changes, and mentored your teams to close capability gaps. Approach your conversations with confidence, knowing that your blend of leadership and analytical problem-solving is exactly what Hussmann is seeking.

The salary module above provides an overview of the compensation range for this position. Keep in mind that the base salary is just one component of Hussmann’s total rewards package, which includes discretionary bonuses, a 401(k) match, and comprehensive health benefits. Position yourself strongly during the interview to negotiate toward the upper end of this range based on your years of people management and financial oversight experience.

You have the experience and the drive to excel in this process. Continue to refine your narratives, practice your delivery, and leverage the insights available on Dataford to ensure you are fully prepared. Good luck with your interview!