**FIDO Intern Interview Guide 2026**

30 minutes  |  Candidate: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_  |  Date: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

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# **START RECORDING**

## **1\. Opening**  \~2 min

*Briefly introduce yourself and FIDO before asking anything. Keep it to 60–90 seconds — enough context for them to know what they're talking about, not so much that you answer your own questions.*

## **2\. Motivation**  \~7 min  |  Priority 1 — do not skip or rush

**★ "Walk me through what drew you to this specific project — not MBARI generally, but FIDO specifically. What was it about the work that made you put it at the top of your list?"**

*→ Forces specificity. A prepared candidate will have a real answer. Replaces the generic 'why MBARI / why this project' HR question.*

*Follow-up: Had you heard of eDNA work before, or was that new to you when you read the project description?*

**★ "What does a good day at work look like to you?"**

*→ Are they energized by lab work, field deployments, debugging code, building things? Tells you a lot about fit.*

***★ Follow-up:** Say more about that — what is it about \[what they said\] that does it for you?*

***★ This follow-up is required. This question tends to get short first answers — the real answer comes when you push once. Don't move on after their first response.***

## **3\. Technical Skills**  \~12 min  |  Priority 2

*Goal: let them show depth where they have it, and watch how they handle the edges of what they don't know. Probe for stories, not claims.*

**★ "Out of CAD, programming, fabrication, field work, and working with hardware and sensors — where do you feel most confident? Where are you still developing?"**

*→ Self-ranking without the formality. Watch for self-awareness and honesty about gaps — not just where they claim strength.*

***★ Follow-up:** Tell me about a time you really put that to work. Walk me through it.*

***★ Always pull on their strongest area with a story prompt. Don't let a claim of confidence go unprobed.***

***★ If they volunteer a superlative at any point — 'best day I've had,' 'hardest thing I've done' — stop and pull on it immediately. Don't bank it for later.***

**"Tell me about a project where you had to build or fabricate something physical to solve a problem. Walk me through it."**

*→ Opens up CAD, 3D printing, and embedded systems naturally. Let them lead.*

*Follow-up: Did you iterate on the design? What broke first?*

**"How have you worked with sensors or microcontrollers before? Even just tinkering counts."**

*→ Low-pressure entry. Watch how they characterize their own experience — honest vs. overselling.*

*Follow-up: If a sensor was giving you readings that didn't look right and you were out in the field without much to work with — how would you start to figure out what was going on?*

*→ Problem-solving-on-the-fly probe, embedded naturally in a technical context.*

**"What's your programming background? Walk me through what languages you've used and what you've built with them."**

*Follow-up: Have you worked in C at all, or mostly higher-level languages?*

*Follow-up: Have you used Python for anything beyond scripting — data processing, interfacing with hardware?*

## **4\. Learning Goals**  \~5 min  |  Priority 3

**★ "What's something technical you don't know yet that you're hoping this internship would teach you?"**

*→ Better than 'what skills do you hope to gain.' Forces specificity and self-awareness. Also surfaces gaps they already know they have.*

**★ "Where would you most want to take this project if you had free rein? Is there a direction — scientifically or technically — that excites you most?"**

*→ Gets at both learning goals and genuine scientific curiosity.*

***★ If the candidate has a specific, well-developed direction they'd take the project, spend real time here — 2 to 3 minutes. This is your strongest signal for initiative and scientific thinking. Required follow-up: 'What would that look like in practice?'***

*Follow-up: What would that look like in practice?*

## **5\. Problem Solving & Self-Direction**  \~4 min  |  Priority 4

*If you are running ahead of schedule at this point, use this section to slow down rather than skipping ahead. The buffer question below is designed for this.*

**★ "Tell me about a time you got stuck on something for a while — technically or otherwise. What did you do?"**

*→ Looking for resourcefulness, intellectual honesty, and whether they seek help appropriately vs. spinning their wheels alone.*

*Follow-up: How long did it take you to think of that approach?*

**"Tell me about a project that didn't go the way you planned. What happened, and what would you do differently?"**

*→ Buffer question — use this if you're running ahead of schedule, or if the 'got stuck' story was thin. Also good for candidates whose previous answers have been polished — this one is harder to rehearse.*

## **6\. Close \+ Passions**  \~3 min  |  Priority 5

*Leave at least 2 minutes for their questions. If the conversation has been warm, close with the passions question before logistics.*

**"Last thing — is there something you do or care about outside of engineering or science that you'd want me to know about you?"**

*→ Casual and optional-feeling. Some candidates will light up. Watch for problem-solving disposition, patience, and how they talk about something they're genuinely good at.*

**"Just so I know how to work with you best — do you prefer async communication like email, or do you like checking in more regularly?"**

*→ From the HR list. Quick logistics close.*

# **Notes on HR Questions**

The standard HR questions are folded in as follows:

* "Tell us about yourself" → replaced by opening framing \+ the FIDO motivation question

* "Why choose MBARI?" → replaced by the specific FIDO motivation question

* "Why this project?" → replaced by the specific FIDO motivation question

* "What skills do you hope to gain?" → replaced by the learning goals questions

* "Communication style?" → moved to close as a quick logistics question

# **Backup: Technical Hypothetical**

Use this if the candidate's technical stories are thin and you need a different angle to probe problem-solving under uncertainty:

**"Imagine you're in the field. The instrument is logging but the values look flat — not noisy, just completely flat. What are you thinking?"**

*→ Doesn't require deep knowledge. Shows how they reason when they don't have all the information. Good candidates will start isolating variables immediately.*