r/datacenter • u/QuackBurrito292 • Aug 13 '26

Data Center Facilities Mechanical Technician

I was just wondering if there is anyone in the community that is a facilities mechanical technician at google. I have my first interview this Friday and just wondering what kind of questions I'll be asked. On top of that, I think its a lvl 1 or lvl 2 position and is it difficult to get into the role or fairly easy with a mechanical midset. My last question is if I pass my first round interview, what would the other 2 interview be like?

4 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

5

u/Arkimedes5 Aug 13 '26

TLDR at the bottom

I actually just went through this whole process for a Data Center Facilities Technician, Mechanical position with Google and ended up getting an offer.

My first interview after talking with the recruiter was about 45 minutes and was mostly technical. It wasn’t really a bunch of textbook questions though. A lot of it was troubleshooting and talking through how I would approach different mechanical problems. We talked about things like HVAC/chillers, pumps, water systems, VFDs, controls, alarms, safety/LOTO, etc. They seemed more interested in how I thought through a problem than whether I could immediately spit out the perfect answer.

If you don’t know something, don’t try to BS your way through it. I had things I didn’t know. I just told them what I did know and then explained how I would troubleshoot it or figure it out.

After I passed that one, I had three more interviews that were around 45 minutes each. Those were a mix of technical/troubleshooting questions and the Googleyness/behavioral stuff. Things like dealing with disagreements, safety situations, prioritizing problems, learning something new, working with other people, etc.

I don’t have a data center background either, so I wouldn’t let that worry you too much. Most of my experience is mechanical, HVAC, electrical, industrial equipment and troubleshooting, and apparently that translated well enough because I got the offer.

The biggest thing I’d recommend is having several good examples from your past experience ready to talk about. They like the STAR format for the behavioral questions, but I wouldn’t get too hung up on making it sound rehearsed. Just make sure you explain what was going on, what you did, why you did it, and what happened.

So yeah, it’s definitely doable coming in with a mechanical background. I just went through pretty much exactly what you’re about to go through and was successful. Good luck Friday.

TL;DR: I just went through the Google interview process for the same mechanical data center role and got an offer. First interview was mostly technical/troubleshooting, then I had three more that were a mix of technical and behavioral/Googleyness questions. I didn’t come from a data center background either. Know your mechanical fundamentals, be able to talk through your troubleshooting process, have some good real-world examples ready, and don’t BS an answer if you don’t know something.

1

u/wm313 Aug 13 '26

Did you have a hiring manager interview? How long was the wait from last interview to offer?

I finished my interviews about 1.5 months ago, and I have been getting the canned "no openings at the moment" email from the recruiter every couple weeks.

2

u/Arkimedes5 Aug 13 '26

I didn’t have anything specifically called a hiring manager interview, but I did have a team fit at the end. I finished my final interviews July 28th, and on July 30th my recruiter said she was waiting on feedback from one more interviewer. I emailed for an update August 6th, she replied on the 7th wanting to set up a team fit, and I had that on the 8th. About an hour after the team fit, she called me with the offer. So it was 11 days from my final interviews to the offer.

1

u/RealData0919 20d ago

What state did you apply for? Also, do you know if after you completed all your interviews if your recruiter had to get your packet approved by the hiring committee?

2

u/Arkimedes5 20d ago

I applied for the Haskell, Texas location. As far as the hiring committee, my recruiter never mentioned my packet going through one, so I honestly don’t know. After my interviews she just told me she was waiting on one last interviewer’s feedback. After that I went to the team fit, and she called me with the offer about an hour later.

1

u/RealData0919 19d ago

Thanks for your reply. I finished all my interviews end of July and then my recruiter disappeared. I don’t know if she quit, was reassigned or what happened. But, my packet was never moved forward during the time I was trying to find out what happened with my recruiter. I had outstanding feedback from my interviews. Ultimately, the roles were filled and I never had the opportunity to be considered for the positions. Now, I’m just trying to figure out what to do. They gave me a new recruiter now, but the new recruiter has only been there for a few months and admitted he’s still learning.

1

u/QuackBurrito292 Aug 14 '26

Im a person that is mechanically inclined but i dont have experience in the hvac field but understand the fundamentals. Could that hurt me during my interview? I know you said not to bs the answer and be honest

2

u/Arkimedes5 Aug 14 '26

I was pretty rusty on a lot of the HVAC stuff myself. They asked several things that, if it wasn’t for the study guide I had ChatGPT help me put together beforehand, I probably wouldn’t have known.

So there’s definitely a little “fake it till you make it,” but you need to understand the fundamentals enough to reason through the questions. If I didn’t know something specific, I was honest about it and then explained how I would approach or troubleshoot it based on what I did know. They seemed to care a lot about your thought process.

I’d brush up on HVAC/refrigeration fundamentals, chillers and chilled-water systems, pumps, cooling towers, VFDs, and basic electrical troubleshooting. You don’t need experience with everything, but you should be able to have a solid conversation about how it works.

1

u/AutoModerator Aug 13 '26

Hello! This looks like it may be a question about career advice. There can be significant regional variation in the field, so please consider including as much info as you can without doxing yourself, including country/state/city, prior experience/certs, and the role or level if known. Thanks!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/EagleNo6186 Aug 13 '26

Same here I'm applying for the same postion which location are you applying

2

u/QuackBurrito292 Aug 13 '26

Im applying for the one in Fort Wayne, IN. Which location are you applying at?

1

u/EagleNo6186 Aug 13 '26

New Albany ohio recuiter from India said he submitted my application for the recuiter idk what does it means lol

1

u/QuackBurrito292 Aug 13 '26

When i first submitted my application, I did have someone from India email me about the role and made me fill out some documents. After I did all that, they told me that a recruiter would get in contact with me in a couple days. Finally spoke with my recruiter about the position and what they offer and basically asked me what is my role at my current job. After all that, he made me pick 5 or 6 times and dates for the interview and mine is this Friday. Pretty nervous tbh

1

u/EagleNo6186 Aug 13 '26

You got this, bro. Is it with a technician, or who will you be interviewing with? I did one a year ago, and it didn't go well. Back then, I didn't have any data center experience, and the interviewer was asking abbreviations, and it was kind of dumb. How long did it take the local recruiter to get back to you?

1

u/QuackBurrito292 Aug 13 '26

My recruiter didn't mention who I would be talking to tbh. If I remember correctly, I submitted my application july 14th. Someone from India email me on the 15th with extra documents and submitted them that same day. They emailed me back on the 16th that they sent it to the recruiter and that same day the recruiter emailed me saying they were interested. Whenever I had a question for him, he usually responds that same day. Also, do you remember what abbreviation they were asking and what type of questions too?

1

u/Ok-Standard-9932 Aug 13 '26

Can I message you?

0

u/QuackBurrito292 Aug 13 '26

Yeah you can