Motional is one of the most exciting players in autonomous vehicle technology. As a leader in driverless platforms, their innovations are steering the future of transportation. With top talent powering their continued growth, competition is fierce for roles at Motional.

This article will help you navigate the interview process by covering:

• Overview of Motional’s hiring process
• Most common behavioral interview questions
• Technical interview questions for software engineering roles
• Tips for crafting winning responses

Arm yourself with these insider tips to stand out from the applicant pool and rev up your chances of joining Motional’s award-winning team.

What to Expect During the Motional Interview Process

Motional’s selective hiring process is designed to assess skills, experience and culture fit. Here’s an overview of what to expect:

• Screening Call A 30 minute introductory call with HR reviewing your resume and experience

• Technical Interview: 1-3 rounds of technical questions related to the role, either over the phone or on-site.

• Manager Interview: A 60 minute interview with the hiring manager on leadership style and cultural alignment.

• Panel Interview Interview with 2-3 team members at once to provide diverse perspectives

• Project Assignment: Some roles require a small project or case study to showcase capabilities.

Motional looks for candidates who can communicate well, work well with others, and solve problems throughout the process.

Common Motional Behavioral Interview Questions

Behavioral questions allow Motional to understand how you’ve handled situations in the past that relate to the target role. Here are some of the most common behavioral questions asked and strategies for crafting strong responses:

Q: Tell me about a time when you led a project or initiative from beginning to end and did a great job.

• Reflect on a specific project that showcases your leadership skills. Provide details on the challenges faced and actions you took.

• Highlight project planning strategies, communication tactics, and how you motivated the team.

• Emphasize key results like shipping ahead of schedule or under budget to exhibit effective leadership.

Q: Describe a situation where you had to collaborate with a difficult coworker or stakeholder. How did you handle it?

• Outline a specific scenario where a colleague or stakeholder was difficult to work with.

• Discuss tactics you used like building rapport, communicating expectations, and identifying mutual goals.

• Share the outcome and how you turned the relationship around. Position yourself as a team player able to build bridges.

Q: Tell me about a time you failed and what you learned from it.

• Choose an example that showcases self-awareness rather than major mistakes.

• Take accountability for what went wrong and avoid blaming external factors.

• Emphasize key learnings that make you better equipped to handle similar situations now. Show how you grow from setbacks.

Technical Interview Questions for Software Engineers

For software engineering roles, Motional asks more technical, skills-based questions. Here are some examples and strategies:

Q: How would you go about debugging an autonomous vehicle perception algorithm that is misclassifying objects?

• Highlight methodical debugging strategies like reviewing sensor fusion and segmentation code for issues.

• Discuss adding additional logging statements to narrow down problem areas.

• Suggest potential solutions like fine-tuning classifier thresholds or augmenting training data. Demonstrate technical depth.

Q: If you were developing a self-driving car simulation environment, how would you validate that it accurately reflects real-world conditions before releasing it?

• Propose techniques like performing tests in the simulation and real world for comparison.

• Suggest creating diagostic visualizations to validate sensor functionality.

• Recommend extensive regression testing across use cases and adding simulated noise. Highlight thorough validation.

Q: How would you improve the efficiency of motion planning algorithms in autonomous vehicles?

• Discuss optimizations like implementing more efficient spatial indexing and search techniques.

• Suggest hardware improvements like GPU acceleration to improve parallelization.

• Propose using machine learning to learn efficient trajectories or prune search spaces. Demonstrate creativity.

Tips for Crushing the Motional Interview

Here are some top tips for excelling in your Motional interview:

• Review portfolios and news articles to familiarize yourself with Motional’s technology and initiatives. This shows passion.

• Prepare stories that highlight achievements relevant to the role’s skills and values. Quantify results.

• Practice aloud to polish your responses. Enlist a friend to give feedback.

• Ask smart questions that show your understanding of Motional’s mission and team culture.

• Follow up and express your continued interest in the role after the interview. Send a thank you note recapping your qualifications.

With these strategies, interview tips, and sample questions, you’ll be primed for success in landing your dream job innovating the future of autonomous transportation at Motional. Bring your A-game and get ready to hit the road to an exciting new opportunity.

Additional Example Interview Questions

Behavioral Questions

• What strategies do you utilize to motivate team members and improve performance?

• Walk me through how you build consensus and manage stakeholders on a complex project.

• How do you proactively identify and mitigate risks on a project?

• Tell me about a time you persuaded others to adopt a new tool, process or strategy. How did you convince them?

• Describe a situation where you had to adjust your communication style based on the audience. What tactics did you employ?

Technical Questions

• How would you optimize perception algorithms to improve accuracy in poor weather conditions like heavy rain or snow?

• Discuss considerations for safely handing control between the autonomous driving system and a human driver.

• Explain how you would test and validate the safety of trajectory and motion planning systems.

• What techniques would you use to secure in-vehicle networks against malicious hacking attempts?

• How would you go about fusing lidar, camera and radar data to create a comprehensive view of the vehicle environment?

Leadership Questions

• What is your leadership style and how has it evolved over your career?

• How do you typically approach developing team members and coaching less experienced engineers?

• Tell me about your strategies for delegation – how do you determine what tasks are appropriate to delegate to team members?

• Describe a time you had to rally your team and motivate them through a period of significant uncertainty or challenges. How did you keep spirits high?

• How do you foster innovation and encourage new ideas from engineering teams?

Culture-Fit Questions

• What excites you most about the future of autonomous transportation technology?

• How would you describe your working style? Are you more collaborative or independent?

• On a team project, would you describe yourself as more hands-on tactical or strategic advisory?

• How do you typically like to receive feedback from managers and peers? Do you prefer directness or a more nuanced approach?

• Tell me about a time you faced a moral dilemma at work. How did you handle it?

Key Takeaways

• Expect 1-3 rounds of interviews including technical, behavioral and culture-fit questions.

• Come equipped with stories that highlight your leadership, collaboration and problem-solving.

• For engineering roles, be ready to discuss complex technical concepts and system design.

• Ask thoughtful questions that show your passion for Motional’s autonomous driving mission.

• Follow up after the interview and reiterate your strong interest in the role.

With diligent preparation using these tips, you’ll be in the driver’s seat to passing Motional’s selective hiring process. Cruise into your interview with confidence to unlock an opportunity that accelerates your career.