Tell me about any products you designed and the challenges you faced.
Product design questions are common in electrical engineer/product manager interviews. Companies want employees who are motivated, can work with different teams, and can prioritize and ask for help when needed. A product manager has to be resilient, strategic, and insightful. The best way to prepare for this question is to thoroughly read through the description of the role you're applying for and find resources (dev blogs, press releases, etc) to research the products you'll be working with. Describe a product you designed, the process to get it to market, any challenges you faced, and what you learned from the experience. If you have not designed anything that has gone into production, simply say so. Be honest.
"As an entrepreneur, I spent years developing my consumer products and have helped other colleagues and entrepreneurs develop products. I learned that I needed to bring in other experts to fill in any gaps in my expertise while remaining involved in all key decisions during design and production. Very few people have all of the skills needed to develop a market-ready electronic product completely on their own. The product I developed was more complex mechanically than it was electronically. I did as much of the development as my skills allowed and tried to learn additional skills, but it took a lot of my energy and lengthened the time it took to get the product on the market. I'm an electrical engineer but not a mechanical engineer, so I reached out to a few freelance mechanical engineers late in the process to help me. Reaching out to other designers and technicians proved to be a good choice; I just wish I had known this sooner."
