Successful preparation requires a strategic understanding of how The Ht Group and its partner companies evaluate candidates. You must demonstrate a balanced capability across technical execution, operational leadership, and client-facing communication.

Technical Domain Mastery – You must prove a deep, practical understanding of PCB manufacturing, with a heavy emphasis on Flex Circuits. Interviewers will evaluate your familiarity with specialized processes like drilling, routing, and photo/film, as well as your ability to leverage software like Cimnet. Be ready to discuss how you troubleshoot complex manufacturing anomalies on the spot.

Workflow and Process Optimization – Managing the Engineering Change Order (ECO) process efficiently is a core requirement for this role. You will be evaluated on your ability to structure workflows, eliminate operational bottlenecks, and implement RPM scheduling to keep projects on track. Your answers should highlight your data-driven approach to tracking quality metrics and cycle times.

People Leadership and Upskilling – As a manager, you are expected to build, mentor, and scale a high-performing engineering team. Interviewers want to see how you design structured training plans, motivate technical staff, and foster a culture of continuous improvement. Prepare examples that showcase your ability to transition from a hands-on engineer to an empowering leader.

Client Advisory and DFM – This role requires a strong consultative presence. You must show that you can collaborate directly with customers to guide them through Design-for-Manufacturability (DFM) constraints. Your communication style should demonstrate diplomacy, technical authority, and a problem-solving mindset that protects both the client's design intent and the factory's yield rates.

The interview process for an Engineering Manager position through The Ht Group is designed to be highly efficient, direct, and transparent. Because The Ht Group operates as a premier professional staffing and search firm, the initial phase of your candidacy is handled by a specialized recruiter who acts as your advocate and primary point of contact.

The journey begins with a brief, highly focused phone screen. This initial conversation is designed to establish basic alignment and ensure you meet the core parameters of the role.

• The Phone Screen: This is a rapid, 15-minute conversation with a recruiter from The Ht Group. The recruiter will get straight to the point, reviewing the specific details of the job, the location requirements (such as onsite work in Valencia, CA or Milpitas, CA), and the nature of the assignment. They will also verify your experience with Flex Circuits and discuss salary expectations.
• The Client Technical Review: Once the recruiter confirms alignment, your profile is submitted to the hiring managers at the partner manufacturing company. They will conduct a deep-dive technical interview focusing on your knowledge of PCB manufacturing, ECO processes, and RPM scheduling.
• The Leadership & Culture Fit Interview: The final stage typically involves an onsite visit to the manufacturing facility. Here, you will meet with cross-functional leaders, tour the production floor, and participate in behavioral interviews that evaluate your management style, client-facing capabilities, and operational philosophy.

The timeline above outlines the progression from your very first interaction with The Ht Group to the final decision. Candidates should note that the initial recruiter screen is exceptionally fast and practical; its purpose is to qualify you quickly so that you do not waste time if the logistics or core requirements are not a perfect match. Once you pass this screen, the timeline transitions to the partner company's internal hiring pace, which typically moves swiftly for critical leadership roles.

To stand out during the technical and managerial loops with the partner company, you must demonstrate deep competence in several highly specialized operational areas.

Flex Circuit & PCB Manufacturing Mechanics

This evaluation area focuses on your technical capability to oversee the physical fabrication of advanced printed circuit boards, particularly flexible circuits. Because flex circuits require specialized handling, materials, and environmental controls, your technical authority in this domain is paramount.

Be ready to go over:

• Material Characteristics – The unique physical properties of polyimide and other flexible substrates, and how they behave during thermal and chemical processing.
• Drilling & Routing Parameters – Optimizing mechanical and laser drilling processes to prevent delamination or registration issues in multi-layer flex designs.
• Photo/Film & Imaging – Ensuring precise artwork preparation and exposure to maintain fine line and space requirements.
• Advanced concepts (less common) – Rigid-flex integration challenges, microvia reliability, and surface finish compatibility for high-reliability aerospace applications.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "How do you adjust your manufacturing parameters when transitioning a production line from standard rigid PCBs to complex, multi-layer Flex Circuits?"
• "Describe a time when you had to resolve a persistent registration issue during the photo-imaging phase of a high-density interconnect (HDI) board."

ECO Workflow & Quality Metrics

An Engineering Manager must maintain tight control over the engineering pipeline. This area tests your ability to manage documentation, implement changes systematically, and use performance data to drive continuous improvement on the production floor.

Be ready to go over:

• ECO Implementation – Managing the end-to-end Engineering Change Order process, from initial request through impact analysis, documentation updates, and floor implementation.
• Yield & Scrap Analysis – Tracking and analyzing scrap rates to identify systemic manufacturing defects and implement corrective actions.
• Cimnet Integration – Leveraging manufacturing execution systems (MES) and Cimnet programs to maintain digital traceability and process control.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "Walk me through how you manage an urgent ECO on an active production run without causing a major schedule disruption or creating excess scrap."
• "What key performance indicators (KPIs) do you prioritize when evaluating the overall efficiency of your CAM and work order planning teams?"

Resource Scheduling & Team Development

This area assesses your competency as a people manager and operational planner. You must demonstrate that you can optimize human and machine resources simultaneously while building a resilient engineering department.

Be ready to go over:

• RPM Scheduling – Utilizing resource planning and scheduling methodologies to balance workload distribution across CAM, planning, and tooling teams.
• Structured Training Plans – Designing and executing training matrices that upskill junior engineers in specialized areas like Hazardous Communication and advanced DFM.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration – Aligning the engineering team's output with the needs of production managers, quality assurance, and customer service.

Example questions or scenarios:

• "How do you use RPM scheduling to ensure your engineering team can handle a sudden, 30% surge in incoming work orders?"
• "Describe your process for identifying skill gaps within your engineering team and how you design a training plan to address them."

As an Engineering Manager placed through The Ht Group, your day-to-day responsibilities will center on driving operational excellence and technical precision within a high-tech manufacturing environment.

In this role, you will spend a significant portion of your time managing the engineering pipeline. This includes overseeing the internal Engineering Change Order (ECO) workflow to ensure all design modifications are vetted, documented, and executed flawlessly on the production floor. You will lead and support critical departmental functions such as Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM), work order planning, artwork preparation, and program scaling. By keeping these front-end engineering processes running smoothly, you prevent costly delays and quality issues downstream in fabrication.

Collaboration is another cornerstone of your daily routine. You will work hand-in-hand with production floor managers to align engineering output with manufacturing capacity, utilizing RPM scheduling to balance workloads. Externally, you will serve as a technical liaison, interfacing directly with customers to resolve complex Design-for-Manufacturability (DFM) issues. Whether explaining a fabrication constraint to a client's design team or mentoring a junior engineer on drilling and routing techniques, your leadership ensures that the facility consistently delivers high-quality, high-yield products.