The short answer: robotics engineering interviews cover mechanics (kinematics and dynamics), control (especially PID), sensing and perception, localization and motion planning, software (C++, Python and usually ROS), and hardware integration and safety, plus a walk-through of a robot you’ve built or worked on. Most roles lean toward one area, so read the job posting closely. Below are the common questions with short answers, grouped by area, the behavioral questions to expect and how to present a project.
What the job involves
O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor’s occupational database, describes robotics engineers as people who “research, design, develop, or test robotic applications.” Typical tasks include processing sensor data, debugging robot programs, building and testing robots, designing end-of-arm tooling, and designing systems such as autonomous vehicles and computer vision. Common tools listed include MATLAB, Simulink, Gazebo, SolidWorks, Python, C++ and PLC software.
Kinematics and dynamics
“What’s the difference between forward and inverse kinematics?”
Forward kinematics computes the end effector’s position and orientation from the joint angles. Inverse kinematics does the reverse: finds joint angles that reach a desired pose. Inverse kinematics can have multiple solutions or none, and may need numerical methods.
“What is a singularity?”
A configuration where the robot loses one or more degrees of freedom, so small movements at the end effector need very large joint velocities. The Jacobian becomes singular there. Planners avoid these configurations.
“What are degrees of freedom?”
The number of independent ways a robot can move. A rigid body in 3D has six (three positions, three rotations); an arm needs at least six joints to reach any position and orientation in its workspace.
“What’s the Jacobian used for?”
It relates joint velocities to end-effector velocities. It’s used for velocity control, force control and detecting singularities.
Control
“Explain PID control.”
A controller that computes a correction from the error between target and actual value: the proportional term reacts to the current error, the integral term removes steady-state error, and the derivative term damps overshoot by reacting to how fast the error is changing.
“How would you tune a PID controller?”
Start with only proportional gain and increase it until the response is fast but oscillates, then add derivative to damp the oscillation, then add a small integral term to remove steady-state error. Test with realistic loads, and watch for integral windup.
“What’s the difference between open-loop and closed-loop control?”
Open-loop sends commands without measuring the result. Closed-loop uses feedback from sensors to correct errors.
Sensors and perception
“How would you fuse data from an IMU and wheel encoders?”
With a filter such as a Kalman filter or an extended Kalman filter, which weights each sensor by its uncertainty. The IMU captures fast changes but drifts; encoders drift with wheel slip; together they give a better estimate than either.
“LiDAR, camera or radar: how do you choose?”
LiDAR gives accurate distances and works in the dark but is costly and struggles with some surfaces; cameras are cheap and rich in detail but sensitive to lighting and need more processing for depth; radar works in bad weather and measures speed but has lower resolution. Many systems combine them.
“How do you calibrate a camera?”
Estimate intrinsic parameters (focal length, optical center, lens distortion) using images of a known pattern such as a checkerboard, and extrinsic parameters (the camera’s position relative to the robot).
Localization and planning
“What is SLAM?”
Simultaneous localization and mapping: building a map of an unknown environment while tracking the robot’s position within it.
“How does A* work?”
A graph search that expands the node with the lowest estimated total cost: cost so far plus a heuristic estimate of the cost to the goal. With a heuristic that never overestimates, it finds the shortest path.
“When would you use a sampling-based planner like RRT?”
In high-dimensional spaces, such as a robot arm with many joints, where searching a grid would be too slow.
Software and ROS
“What is ROS, and how do nodes communicate?”
The Robot Operating System is a framework of tools and libraries for robot software. Programs run as nodes that communicate through topics (publish and subscribe), services (request and response) and actions (long-running tasks with feedback). ROS 2 is the current generation.
“How do you test robot software before running it on hardware?”
Unit tests, then simulation (for example Gazebo), then hardware-in-the-loop tests, then controlled tests on the robot, with limits and an emergency stop.
Hardware and safety
“How do you choose a motor for a joint?”
From the required torque and speed (including a safety margin), the duty cycle, weight, size, cost, and whether you need a gearbox and an encoder.
“How do you make a robot safe to work around people?”
Risk assessment, emergency stops, speed and force limits, safety-rated sensors, guarding or zones, and following the relevant safety standards for the robot type.
Behavioral questions
- “Tell me about a robot or system that didn’t work the first time.” See tell me about a time you failed.
- “Tell me about a hard bug you tracked down.” See solving a complex problem.
- “How did you work with mechanical, electrical and software teammates?” See teamwork questions.
Presenting a robotics project
- The goal and the constraints (budget, time, environment).
- Your part of the system.
- The key design decisions and the alternatives you rejected.
- Testing: what failed and what you changed.
- Results with numbers: accuracy, speed, success rate.
- What you’d do differently.
Bring a short video if you can. For mechanical design questions, see our mechanical engineer interview questions.
Frequently asked questions
What questions are asked in a robotics engineer interview?
How do I prepare for a robotics engineering interview?
What is the difference between forward and inverse kinematics?
Do robotics interviews include coding?
What software do robotics engineers use?
Sources
- O*NET OnLine, Robotics Engineers (17-2199.08). Read on 30 September 2026.
