Ford Audio-Video Systems Project Engineer interview questions

It was a pre-screening. Pretty good, and they were nice as well. I wish they could have provided more context arouns what the day-to-day would look like if I was given the role.

The interview process starts with a virtual interview with the hiring manager, then a formal in-person group interview with management if you are considered beyond the initial meeting. Prior to both meetings, you are required to fill out some paperwork and take aptitude/skill based tests covering basic math, grammar, and typing. The assessments were easy, but I felt they were unnecessary and very generalized - certainly not requiring any knowledge specific to the role which I applied for. The actual on-site interview was great and I had a pleasant conversation with the managers interviewing me. They wanted to know more about my education, previous work and projects. They also asked some AV industry specific questions but I was not expected to know any of them. I ultimately turned down the offer I received because the pay and benefits weren't great, and the expectation for new engineers to spend several months "familiarizing themselves" as an install technician before getting into any work directly related to the engineering process. I wouldn't expect that kind of onboarding process to take much more than a month, and done so while shadowing a senior engineer. The seeming lack of guaranteed relevant engineering experience out the gate was discouraging. There's also the requirement for new hires to spend between $1k-2k on their own tools for the technician period, which I would expect to be required of a contractor; not a tech. I inquired as to why this was the case and was told their loner tools kept getting damaged/lost. I think it's completely wrong passing these burdens down to new hires for what sounds like an organizational issue, and especially since the technician role for engineers is only temporary. Overall, it's an easy, relatively pressure-free interview process. I personally just don't feel encouraged by some of the processes and policies I was informed about.