Growing Energy Labs, Inc. (GELI) is a forward-thinking company committed to revolutionizing the renewable energy landscape. As a product manager for GELI's SCADA & PPC offerings, you will play a crucial role in shaping and delivering advanced power plant control and data acquisition systems, focusing on utility-scale storage and PV+storage applications. You'll collaborate with various internal teams to develop innovative solutions, drive product strategy, and ensure that GELI stays at the forefront of the industry.

In this interview guide on Interview Query, we’ll outline the interview process, share common questions, and provide valuable tips to help you prepare for a role that promises significant impact and high visibility in a dynamic and fast-growing team. Welcome to your journey with GELI!

Submitting Your Application

The first step to kick-start your journey with Geli as a Product Manager for SCADA & PPC systems is crafting a compelling application. Your application should reflect a strong background in power systems, electrical engineering, and hands-on experience with utility-scale projects, including storage and PV applications.

Tailor your resume to highlight your expertise in power plant control, data acquisition systems, and familiarity with industry standards like NERC CIP and IEEE. Incorporate pertinent keywords and make sure to write a cover letter that showcases your ability to lead cross-functional teams and manage product lifecycles from inception to launch.

Recruiter/Hiring Manager Call Screening

If your application impresses, a recruiter from Geli will reach out for an initial screening call. Here, they'll verify key details of your background and experiences. This stage may also include a preliminary discussion on your technical expertise and industry knowledge.

Occasionally, a hiring manager might join the call to provide insights into the role and answer any queries you have about the company or position. The entire recruiter call should last about 30 minutes.

Technical Virtual Interview

Upon successfully passing the screening call, you’ll be invited for a technical virtual interview. This interview will focus on your knack for product management, specifically within utility-scale PPC & SCADA solutions. Expect questions about system architecture, communication protocols, compliance with industry standards, and functional definitions of PPC/SCADA solutions.

You'll also discuss your experience with software collaboration tools like Jira, Confluence, Slack, and your ability to convert complex subjects into simplified requirements. This round of interviews might last an hour and include discussions around real-case scenarios you have previously handled.

Onsite Interview Rounds

Advancing from the virtual technical interview, you receive an invitation for a comprehensive onsite interview loop that encompasses multiple interview rounds. These rounds will evaluate your technical prowess, strategic thinking, and leadership skills.

At this stage, you might present any previous take-home assignments or case studies you were given. The onsite interviews will be an excellent opportunity to showcase your ability to work with cross-functional teams, manage product roadmaps, and make critical decisions on system architecture and component selection.

Quick Tips For Geli Product Manager Interviews

• Know Your Industry Standards: Geli places a high emphasis on industry compliance and standards. Brush up on NERC CIP, NERC Mod, applicable IEC and IEEE standards.
• Demonstrate Your Technical Expertise: Be prepared to discuss in-depth technical details about PPC & SCADA solutions, data acquisition systems, and your past experiences with real-time and day-ahead markets.
• Showcase Cross-Functional Team Leadership: Highlight your experiences in leading and collaborating with varied teams, from engineering to business units, ensuring seamless product development and market delivery.

To get more tips on interview preparation and access a plethora of practice questions, consider visiting Interview Query.

Typically, interviews at Geli vary by role and team, but commonly Product Manager interviews follow a fairly standardized process across these question topics.

• Write a SQL query to select the 2nd highest salary in the engineering department. Write a SQL query to select the 2nd highest salary in the engineering department. If more than one person shares the highest salary, the query should select the next highest salary.

• Write a function to merge two sorted lists into one sorted list. Given two sorted lists, write a function to merge them into one sorted list. Bonus: What's the time complexity?

• Create a function missing_number to find the missing number in an array. You have an array of integers, nums of length n spanning 0 to n with one missing. Write a function missing_number that returns the missing number in the array. Complexity of (O(n)) required.

• Develop a function precision_recall to calculate precision and recall metrics from a 2-D matrix. Given a 2-D matrix P of predicted values and actual values, write a function precision_recall to calculate precision and recall metrics. Return the ordered pair (precision, recall).

• Write a function to search for a target value in a rotated sorted array. Suppose an array sorted in ascending order is rotated at some pivot unknown to you beforehand. You are given a target value to search. If the value is in the array, then return its index; otherwise, return -1. Bonus: Your algorithm's runtime complexity should be in the order of (O(\log n)).

• Would you suspect anything unusual about the A/B test results with 20 variants? Your manager ran an A/B test with 20 different variants and found one significant result. Would you consider this result suspicious?

• How would you set up an A/B test to optimize button color and position for higher click-through rates? A team wants to A/B test changes in a sign-up funnel, such as changing a button from red to blue and/or moving it from the top to the bottom of the page. How would you design this test?

• What steps would you take if friend requests on Facebook are down 10%? A product manager at Facebook reports a 10% decrease in friend requests. What actions would you take to investigate and address this issue?

• Why might job applications be decreasing while job postings remain constant? You observe that the number of job postings per day has remained stable, but the number of applicants has been decreasing. What could be causing this trend?

• What are the drawbacks of the given student test score datasets, and how would you reformat them for better analysis? You have data on student test scores in two different layouts. What are the drawbacks of these formats, and what changes would you make to improve their usefulness for analysis? Additionally, describe common issues in "messy" datasets.

• Is this a fair coin? You flip a coin 10 times, and it comes up tails 8 times and heads twice. Determine if the coin is fair based on this outcome.

• Write a function to calculate sample variance from a list of integers. Create a function that takes a list of integers and returns the sample variance, rounded to 2 decimal places. Example input: test_list = [6, 7, 3, 9, 10, 15]. Example output: get_variance(test_list) -> 13.89.

• Is there anything suspicious about the A/B test results with 20 variants? Your manager ran an A/B test with 20 different variants and found one significant result. Evaluate if there is anything suspicious about these results.

• How to find the median in a list with more than 50% of the same integer in O(1) time and space? Given a sorted list of integers where more than 50% of the list is the same repeating integer, write a function to return the median value in (O(1)) computational time and space. Example input: li = [1,2,2]. Example output: median(li) -> 2.

• What are the drawbacks and formatting changes needed for messy datasets? You have data on student test scores in two different layouts. Identify the drawbacks of these layouts, suggest formatting changes to make the data more useful for analysis, and describe common problems seen in messy datasets.

• How would you evaluate whether using a decision tree algorithm is the correct model for predicting loan repayment? You are tasked with building a decision tree model to predict if a borrower will pay back a personal loan. How would you evaluate if a decision tree is the right choice for this problem?

• How would you evaluate the performance of a decision tree model before and after deployment? If you decide to use a decision tree model, how would you assess its performance both before deployment and after it is in use?

• How does random forest generate the forest, and why use it over logistic regression? Explain the process by which a random forest generates its forest. Additionally, discuss why you might choose random forest over logistic regression for certain problems.

• When would you use a bagging algorithm versus a boosting algorithm? Compare two machine learning algorithms. In which scenarios would you prefer a bagging algorithm over a boosting algorithm? Provide examples of the tradeoffs between the two.

• How would you justify using a neural network model and explain its predictions to non-technical stakeholders? If your manager asks you to build a neural network model to solve a business problem, how would you justify the complexity of the model and explain its predictions to non-technical stakeholders?

• What metrics would you use to track the accuracy and validity of a spam classifier for emails? Assume you have built a V1 of a spam classifier for emails. What metrics would you use to monitor the accuracy and validity of the model?

What is the average salary for a Product Manager at Geli?

Q: What does the Product Manager (SCADA & PPC) position at Geli entail? The Product Manager for SCADA & PPC at Geli is responsible for defining our product offerings for power plant control and data acquisition systems, specifically for utility-scale storage and PV + storage applications. The role involves working closely with internal controls and software engineering teams as well as external stakeholders to develop a new in-house product while leveraging existing market solutions.

Q: What qualifications and experiences are required for this role? A degree in Power System, Electrical or Electrical & Electronics Engineering is required, along with over 10 years of experience with ISOs, RTOs, Utilities, or IPPs in the US market. The ideal candidate should have a deep understanding of power systems operations, various markets, and experience with software collaboration tools like Jira, Confluence, and Slack. Familiarity with electrical modeling and simulation tools is also beneficial.

Q: What are the key responsibilities of this position? The key responsibilities include defining detailed features and functions for the PPC & SCADA solution, supporting controls teams in system architecture, making "Build vs Buy" decisions, defining test and certification requirements, accelerating time to market through MVP approaches, and leading the product lifecycle from inception to launch.

Q: What is the work environment like at Geli? Geli offers a collaborative and casual professional working environment, valuing impact and contributions from every team member. The company is committed to renewable energy, encourages diversity, and supports remote work and flexible schedules where feasible.

Q: How can I prepare for an interview at Geli? To prepare for an interview at Geli, you should research the company and the specifics of the Product Manager role. Utilize resources like Interview Query to practice common interview questions and review your technical skills. Be ready to discuss your past experiences and how they align with Geli's mission and the responsibilities of the position.

If Geli’s Product Manager- SCADA & PPC role excites you, dive deeper into our extensive Growing Energy Labs, Inc. Interview Guide on Interview Query! Explore a plethora of potential interview questions and gain insights into what makes a standout candidate. We also have detailed guides for other roles at Geli, such as software engineers and data analysts, to help you navigate the company’s diverse interview landscape.

At Interview Query, we equip you with a comprehensive toolkit, empowering you with the knowledge, confidence, and strategic guidance needed to ace your Geli interview and secure your dream position.

Good luck with your interview!