Instrument and Control System Engineer - DCS Engineer Interview Question

Instrument and Control System Engineer - DCS Engineer Interview Question

This blog post presents key interview questions typically asked for the role of an Instrument and Control System or DCS Engineer. The specific questions can vary depending on the interview panel's composition, the candidate's experience, and the job description. Questions during the interview may vary as per the interview panel members. The interview questions shall vary based on the experience, exposure, and expertise of the subject matter specialist. The interview questions shall also be aligned with the job description and role of the position for which the interview is being carried out. 

One thing that is paramount to mention here is that during the interview, the panel also assesses the soft skills of the candidate as well. The interview team shall produce various scenarios and look for your response during those instances. This is to evaluate your communication skills, stress management, people management, crisis management skills, etc. 

Here, I am sharing the list of questions that I had prepared for the position of Instrument and control engineer or DCS engineer during a panel interview: 

Q.1 Alarm Management

• What is Alarm Management?
• How do you do the alarm identification that is how the need for an alarm is determined?
• What is alarm rationalization or how to prioritize the alarms?

Q.2 You are given a scenario related to any process Setpoint change in a DCS – how do you proceed (to gauge the approach, his exposure to workflow, PTW, MOC, JSA, etc.)?

Q.3 What is a Third-party interface in the control system. Give an example. 

Q.4 The standards ISA99 or IEC6244 have defined the zones and conduits. What is it?

Q5. You worked on Yokogawa Centum VP. What is CAMS?

Consolidated Alarm Management Software for HIS (Human Interface Station)

Q6. Share your experience with life cycle management, upgrades for HMI, Controller, workstation, etc. How to manage the obsolescence.

Q7.What is Modbus protocol? TCP vs. RTU?

Q8. What is OPC? Your experience with OPC in the control system?

OLE for Process Control 

Q9. Cyber security in OT? Malware (control & steal data) vs. Viruses (code formation, duplicate file, can be harmless) vs. Ransomware (lock the system)

Q10. Provide an example of Cascade loop implementation.

Q11. Why Anti-reset windup is required?

Q12. What methods do you use to document changes made to a control system?

I employ different ways to manage changes, such as keeping records of modifications and using systems that version control systems. Additionally, I create diagrams to show how the system looks before and after changes, and I manually document alterations in an Excel spreadsheet. 

Q13. Describe a time when you had to explain complex technical concepts to non-technical personnel.