From d34bd7d27c9e48050e41d9088ae8b866ed89e409 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Connor Rhodes Date: Thu, 23 Apr 2026 09:06:17 -0500 Subject: [PATCH] create new skill: prep-tech-screen --- _skill-index.md | 7 + prep-tech-screen/SKILL.md | 148 ++++++++ .../references/peer-tech-screen-guide.md | 346 ++++++++++++++++++ 3 files changed, 501 insertions(+) create mode 100644 prep-tech-screen/SKILL.md create mode 100644 prep-tech-screen/references/peer-tech-screen-guide.md diff --git a/_skill-index.md b/_skill-index.md index 07d24db..4fd7925 100644 --- a/_skill-index.md +++ b/_skill-index.md @@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ description: Master index of all skills in your robot assistant system. Your ass | "polish my LinkedIn post," "clean up my LinkedIn draft," "turn this into a LinkedIn post," "edit my LinkedIn post" | **linkedin-post** | | "use mongodb," "query my database," "add to mongo," "mongo," "database," "docdb" | **mongodb** | | "add this to my book list," "add to my books," "what's on my reading list," "show me my to-read books" | **book-list** | +| "prep for this interview," "prep a tech screen," "prepare for this technical interview," "tech screen prep," "interview prep" | **prep-tech-screen** | --- @@ -165,6 +166,12 @@ description: Master index of all skills in your robot assistant system. Your ass **File:** `skills/book-list/SKILL.md` **Dependencies:** mongodb skill (for database operations) +### Prep Tech Screen +**Purpose:** Prepare interview questions for a Verkada Enterprise Solutions Engineer peer technical interview. Reads a candidate's resume, cross-references the Peer Tech Screen Guide, and produces a structured meeting note with checkboxed questions organized by scorecard category. Links the meeting note in the daily note. +**Triggers:** "prep for this interview," "prep a tech screen," "prepare for this technical interview," "tech screen prep," "interview prep" +**File:** `skills/prep-tech-screen/SKILL.md` +**Dependencies:** `pdftotext` CLI (for PDF resume extraction) + --- ## Adding New Skills diff --git a/prep-tech-screen/SKILL.md b/prep-tech-screen/SKILL.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..abf8dea --- /dev/null +++ b/prep-tech-screen/SKILL.md @@ -0,0 +1,148 @@ +--- +name: prep-tech-screen +description: This skill should be used when the user says "prep for this interview," "prep a tech screen," "prepare for this technical interview," "tech screen prep," "interview prep," or provides a candidate's resume/PDF and asks to prepare interview questions for a Verkada Enterprise Solutions Engineer peer technical interview. Also trigger when the user pastes or references a candidate resume and mentions an upcoming interview, tech screen, or peer screen. +--- + +# Prep Tech Screen + +Prepare interview questions for a Verkada Enterprise Solutions Engineer peer technical interview. Reads the candidate's resume, cross-references with the Peer Tech Screen Guide, and produces a structured interview outline as a meeting note. + +## Role Context + +Verkada is an IoT company making physical security for enterprises: security cameras, access control, intrusion alarms, air quality monitoring, video intercoms, cellular connectivity devices, and visitor management. Solutions Engineers need broad technical knowledge across networking, storage, cloud, IAM, and physical security. The interview is 30 minutes and conversational, not a grilling session. + +## Step 1: Get the Resume + +The user will provide a resume. This is commonly a PDF. The model cannot read PDFs directly, so extract text first: + +```bash +pdftotext "/path/to/resume.pdf" - +``` + +If the resume is already text or markdown, read it directly. + +## Step 2: Analyze the Candidate + +From the resume, identify: +- **Current and previous employer(s)** +- **Years of experience** and career trajectory +- **Certifications held** (CCNP, PCNSE, CISSP, etc.) +- **Technical domains listed** on the resume +- **Likely area of expertise** (networking, storage, cloud, IAM, physical security, or other) + +Read the Peer Tech Screen Guide for reference on question topics and depth levels: + +``` +skills/prep-tech-screen/references/peer-tech-screen-guide.md +``` + +## Step 3: Create the Meeting Note + +Create a meeting note at: + +``` +~/notes/mt/YYMMDD-candidate-name-tech-screen.md +``` + +- `YYMMDD`: date of the interview (two-digit year, zero-padded month and day) +- `candidate-name`: first and last name, lowercase, hyphen-delimited +- Example: `260423-charles-oliver-tech-screen.md` + +Use this structure: + +```markdown +# Candidate Name - Peer Tech Screen + +**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD +**Role:** Enterprise Solutions Engineer (region/info if known) +**Recruiter:** (if known) +**Candidate:** Name | Location | Phone (if available) + +## Candidate Background + +- **Current:** Title, Company (dates) +- **Previous:** Title, Company (dates) +- **Education:** Degree, University +- **Certifications:** List from resume + +## Likely Area of Expertise + +One or two sentences identifying the candidate's strongest technical domain(s) based on their resume. This is where the interviewer should go deep. + +## Interview Questions + +(See question structure below) +``` + +### Question Structure + +Organize questions into these sections, each with `- [ ]` checkboxes. The interviewer checks them off during the interview. + +**Opener (area of expertise / current role)** +- Start with a technically relevant question about their current position. No generic icebreakers. The first question should connect to one of the required technical areas. Good openers: "Walk me through a typical engagement," "What does your day-to-day look like technically," "Describe the lifecycle of [project type from their resume]." + +**Networking (required, go deep)** +- Always include the "plug into a fresh network" scenario question +- Include the Verkada-specific scenario: segmenting Verkada traffic on a physical network, or bandwidth considerations for cloud backup +- Tailor follow-ups to what's on the candidate's resume (e.g., if they list firewall experience, ask about NAT/PAT and firewall filtering in the context of the scenario) +- For candidates with strong networking backgrounds, include advanced follow-ups: DORA, DNS resolution hierarchy, TCP handshake, TLS handshake details + +**Identity & Access Management** +- Cover auth vs authorization, IDPs, MFA, SSO, Zero Trust basics +- For candidates with IAM experience, go deeper: SAML vs SCIM, SP vs IDP-initiated, hybrid identity, NAC +- Always include a Verkada-relevant IAM question (badge integration, directory sync, etc.) + +**Cloud Technologies** +- Cover hybrid cloud, public cloud providers, compute/storage/archive concepts +- Connect to Verkada's hybrid cloud model (cameras on-prem, management in cloud) +- If the candidate lists specific cloud platforms, tailor accordingly + +**Storage** +- Cover HDD vs SSD, RAID, NAS, retention sizing +- For candidates with storage background: IOPS, fabric, scale-up vs scale-out, storage protocols +- Include a video storage sizing question (e.g., "How would you size storage for X cameras at Y resolution for Z days?") + +**Physical Security** +- Cover NVR, PoE, fail secure vs fail open, H.264 vs H.265 +- For candidates with physical security background: PPF, RTSP vs ONVIF, OSDP vs Wiegand, low voltage, fire alarm integration +- This is often the weakest area for candidates; cover basics unless the resume shows depth + +**Culture Fit / Wrap-up** +- Home lab, hobbies, what drew them to Verkada + +### Question Selection Guidelines + +- **Go deep** on the candidate's area of expertise. If they're a networking person, spend the most time there with advanced follow-ups. If they're IAM-heavy, drill into SAML/SCIM/hybrid identity. +- **Cover basics** on the other areas. Once basic knowledge is confirmed, move on. Don't spend 10 minutes on storage if the candidate clearly knows it. +- **Network questions are always required**, regardless of the candidate's stated expertise. +- **Keep it conversational.** Use scenario-based questions. Avoid rapid-fire lists. +- **Be Verkada-relevant.** Frame questions around Verkada's products where natural (camera bandwidth, AC integration, badge sync, hybrid cloud). +- **Respect the 30-minute window.** Aim for 12-18 total questions across all categories. The opener, networking, and the candidate's expertise area should take the most time. +- **Generate original questions** based on the specific resume. Don't just copy the guide word for word. If the resume mentions specific technologies, vendors, or project types, write questions that probe those directly. + +## Step 4: Link in Daily Note + +After creating the meeting note, add it to the corresponding daily note (`~/notes/dn_YYMMDD.md`) under the `## for verkada` section: + +```markdown +## for verkada +- [[mt/YYMMDD-candidate-name-tech-screen|Candidate Name - Peer Tech Screen]] +``` + +If the daily note doesn't exist, create it following the existing format (see `dn_*.md` files for reference). + +## Step 5: Summarize for the Interviewer + +After creating the meeting note, give the interviewer a concise summary: + +1. **Who the candidate is** (one sentence: current role, years of experience, key certs) +2. **Area of expertise** and how deep to go +3. **Interview strategy** (where to spend time, what to surface-check, where the gaps likely are) + +Keep it brief. The interviewer has reviewed the resume already; they need the strategy, not a recap. + +## Style Notes + +- Skip the fluff. No "Here's your interview prep!" preamble. Go straight to the meeting note and strategy summary. +- Don't use em-dashes in the meeting note. +- Checkboxes only on questions, not on section headings. diff --git a/prep-tech-screen/references/peer-tech-screen-guide.md b/prep-tech-screen/references/peer-tech-screen-guide.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c85a86f --- /dev/null +++ b/prep-tech-screen/references/peer-tech-screen-guide.md @@ -0,0 +1,346 @@ + +**Peer Technical Interview** + +# **Overview** + +The goal of this stage of the interview is to verify that the candidate has the right blend of technical expertise to perform the job appropriately. Depending on the candidates background, try to go deep on topics that are/were relevant in their career. For other topics, verify what level of basic (or advanced) understanding exists. + +**Goal** +Verify how the candidate handles questions, that they are able to articulate technical concepts appropriately and that there is enough technical knowledge across various subjects. The ideal candidate has a broad understanding of multiple basic concepts, and ideally the candidate can go deep on at least one of the subjects. Based on their experience, tailor questions to areas they should be more comfortable with (e.g. if the candidate has a strong networking background, go deeper there, if they have stronger IAM experience, go deep there). Basic networking should be verified for basic knowledge. + +Utilize the sections below (Outlined) as guidance. Try to keep things conversational rather than grilling question after question. Use scenario based questioning when possible. + +**Scoring** +The candidate does need to be asked and/or answer every question right, but using best judgment, is there a basic foundation of how devices communicate across networks/Internet? Once it’s clear there is basic or advanced knowledge, feel free to move onto another topic. + +**Culture and Other Interview Topics:** +While the technical assessment is the main driver of this interview, leave time to have a more conversational interview with the candidate. Ask the candidate about hobbies, home lab, previous company labs, etc. Ask yourself: + +* Would I want to mentor this candidate? +* Will this candidate fit well into the Verkada culture? +* Would I want to have coffee/drink with this person in a social setting? + +## **Preparing Candidate** + +* “With any of these scenarios, go into as much detail as you can.” + +* “Verkada is a hybrid cloud solution that involves many different technologies. Few people are masters in all of these concepts, our goal is to see if there’s foundational knowledge in any of the areas.” + +* “You’re not expected to know all of these subjects, it’s ok if you’re not familiar with a concept or specific question.” + +# **Candidate Scoring** + +**(copy/paste and send to HM after interview):** + +Candidate Name: +Current/Previous Employer: +Area(s) of Expertise: + +| Subject | Basic | Advanced | Notes | +| :---- | :---- | :---- | :---- | +| **Networking (Required)** | **No Knowedge** | **No Knowedge** | | +| **Storage** | **No Knowedge** | **No Knowedge** | | +| **Cloud** | **No Knowedge** | **No Knowedge** | | +| **Identity & Access** | **No Knowedge** | **No Knowedge** | | +| **Physical Security** | **No Knowedge** | **No Knowedge** | | +| **Other** | **No Knowedge** | **No Knowedge** | | + +**![][image1]![][image2]** +**Additional Notes:** + +**Recommendation:** + +**Definitely Not** + +**Recommendation Notes:** + +# **Basic Networking** + +**Scenario Question:** + +* ***You plug your computer into a fresh new network and it needs to get an IP and talk out to the internet (www.verkada.com), explain how that happens.*** +* ***Customer wants to cloud backup 10 cameras on a remote site. What things need to be taken into consideration?*** +* ***Customer wants to segment Verkada traffic on their physical network \- talk through it*** + + + +Minimum Concepts: + +* Layer 1 +* DHCP +* DNS +* Gateway/Router/Subnet/NAT + +Additional Concepts: + +* What is PoE? + * Power over Ethernet (there are multiple specs) +* Explain the differences between a Router and a Switch? + * Switch connects multiple devices to make a network + * Router connects multiple switches to form a larger network and/or a router routes traffic beyond your network/switch to a wider network (aka Internet) +* Explain what a firewall does? + * A firewall is a network security devices that monitors and secures/filters traffic to and from a network or the Internet + * Different firewalls with varying technology can simply filter traffic based on IP address and ports while others can recognize protocols or even run inline anti-virus/IPS/etc. +* How can you determine if your web connection is secure or not? + * Verify HTTPS/TLS in a browser + * Look for a signing certificate +* How does a web proxy work? + * Intermediary that sits between a device and web sites. It can be configured explicitly or implicitly + * PBR/WCCP/PAC + * Popular before NAT as a means to share Internet access + * Early proxies focus on caching to improve performance + * Modern proxies filter web traffic and analyze traffic + * SSL decryption, DLP, Anti Malware +* What does a VPN do and how does it work? + * Virtual Private Network + * Encrypts traffic + * Provides connectivity back into an internal network from a remote network + * Split vs Full tunnel +* Concepts around Bandwidth + * How can you check the speed of an Internet connection? + * What bitrate do you think modern video is (SQ/HD/4K)? + * Ballparks are fine, but SQ might be 100-400 Kbps, HD at 1-2 Mbps, 4K at 3+ Mbps + * There is wide variance, see if they ask questions about compression/codecs/formats/etc. + * There’s no specific right or wrong answer, but just confirm they have a basic grasp on how video quality and bandwidth are related +* What is a VLAN and why would you use one? + +## **Advanced Networking** + +***You plug your computer into a fresh new network and it needs to get an IP and talk out to the internet, explain how that happens.*** + +\*Use answers from the candidate to dig deeper into specific protocols to understand depth of knowledge + +Here is what we are looking for at L1 and follow up questions. +**Layer 1** + +- Good Cable + - How might we test if a cable is good? +- Good port + - MAC table? +- Ethernet \- copper + - Limitations of ethernet? +- POE + + Here is what we are looking for at L2 and follow up questions. +**Layer 2** + +- Device MAC address is used to communicate @ L2 + - What is a mac address? + - How can we look up a vendor via mac? +- How do we get an IP address using L2? + - DORA + - Discover, Offer, Request, Ack + - What will be the Destination IP of those messages? + - Unicast or broadcast? + - What other network parameters are given in DHCP process? + - Default Gateway + - DNS + - Subnet mask + +Here is what we are looking for at L3 and follow up questions. +**Layer 3** + +- Talking to nodes on the same network \- direct +- Go to talk to nodes outside of the broadcast domain, go to Default Gateway. +- What if DHCP server is on another network? What would you need? + +***So we now we have an IP and want to go to [www.verkada.com](http://www.verkada.com), explain how that happens*** + +- DNS + - How is your computer going to translate [www.verkada.com](http://www.verkada.com) to an IP address + - What are the ways + - Cache + - Hosts file + - Local DNS + - Top level DNS servers +- NAT/PAT + - Route through default gateway to edge router + - Multiple clients using the same public IP? + - How to keep track of connections? +- TCP vs UDP + - 3 way handshake: SYN \- SYN ACK \- ACK + - Gracefully end the connection” FIN (ACK) \- FIN ACK \- ACK +- SSL/TLS + - What is encryption and why do you need it? + - How would you know connection is secure? + + - Client Hello, what is sent? + - Supported TLS versions + - Supported ciphers + - Client random + - Server Hello, what is sent? + - Server certificate + - Chosen cipher + - server random + - Key exchange, why? + - Generate a master secret that only the client and server know to decrypt the data exchange + - Besides setting up encryption what is also be done with TLS certificates? + - Authentication + - Possibly authorization (client certificate) + +- How does a firewall work? + - How do we filter? +- HTTPS + - HTTP methods + - Rest api + - HTTP codes + - 2XX \- Success + - 3XX \- Redirection + - 4XX \- Client error + - 5XX \- Server error + +# **Basic Storage** + +**Scenario Question:** + +* If using a local storage server to store backups/recordings/etc, explain options to increase storage + +**Tech Questions:** + +* Explain the differences between hard drive and flash storage? +* What is RAID? +* What is a NAS and how does it work? +* What is the relationship between KB, MB, GB, TB? +* How large would you expect a photo (JPEG/HEIC) taken from a modern iPhone/Android phone to be? + * Same for video? +* What is a partition in terms of storage? + +## **Advanced Storage** + +**Scenario Questions:** + +**Tech Questions:** + +* How do you properly architect a storage system? + * Capacity + * IOPS + * Fabric + * Application + * Uptime Requirements + * Redundancy +* Explain HCI and its advantages and disadvantages +* Explain Scale-Up vs Scale-Out +* What type of storage would you recommend for video storage? Why? +* Explain storage protocols and how they are utilized? + * FC + * iSCSI + * CIFS/NFS + * SMB + * HDFS + * S3 +* Explain a write to disk in an enterprise storage system +* What replication technologies are you familiar with? How does it work? + +# **Basic Cloud** + +**Scenario Questions:** + +* ***Explain what cloud managed is to a non technical user*** + +**Tech Questions:** + +* Name some public cloud providers? + * Azure, AWS, GCP, OCI +* What does Hybrid Cloud mean? +* In modern cloud solutions, explain the concepts of: + * Compute + * EC2/VMs/Containers + * Storage + * S3 + * Archive + * Glacier + +## **Advanced Cloud** + +**Scenario Questions:** + +**Tech Questions:** + +* Containers +* Kubernetes +* Serverless +* Availability Zones +* + + + + +# **Basic Authentication, Identity** + +**Scenario Questions:** + +* **A small but growing business has been managing their users by using local users and passwords. Explain the advantages to moving to a directory services model.** + +**Tech Questions:** + +* What’s the difference between authentication and authorization? + * Authenticate \= Verify who a user is + * Authorize \= Verify what a user/device has access to +* What is an IDP + * Active Directory (or LDAP)? + * Name some cloud IDPs + * Okta, Entra ID, Ping, Jumpcloud, Google +* What is MFA? + * How does MFA typically deploy in a modern enterprise? + * At the IDP layer +* What is Single Sign-On +* What is Zero Trust? + +## **Advanced Authentication, Identity** + +**Scenario Questions:** + +* + +**Tech Questions:** + +* What are SAML and SCIM + * How are they different? +* What is NAC +* Explain the difference between SP and IDP initiated +* What is hybrid identity and provide some examples + * Looking for examples like local AD syncing to Okta or “AD Connect”, etc. Can they walk through understanding the source of truth and why companies use hybrid identity? + +# **Basic Physical Security Questions** + +**Scenario Questions:** + +* + +**Tech Questions:** + +* How are modern IP cameras powered? +* What is an NVR? +* Which companies are in this space? +* What’s the difference between digital and optical zoom +* How do you spec how many HDDs are needed for an NVR? +* Fail secure vs fail open? + +## **Advanced Physical Security Questions** + +**Scenario Questions:** + +* **You need to design an AC system for max redundancy. What are some top things that come to mind when comes to design?** + * **Network failover, UPS, batteries in the panel, etc** + +**Tech Questions:** + +* Explain how modern motion detection works? +* Explain the difference between H.264 and H.265 +* Describe the importance of PPF +* What’s the difference between RTSP and ONVIF +* OSDP vs Weigand +* What’s the difference between high-frequency and low-frequency cards? +* What is a REX, DPI, and maglock? +* How does an AC system know if a door was forced open vs held open? +* How do you integrate a fire alarm system with access control? + +Low Voltage Questions: + +* What's the difference between POE, POE+, POE++ +* What's the difference between AC and DC Power +* Explain how Volts, Watts and Amperes are different + +[image1]: + +[image2]: \ No newline at end of file