Cummins runs distinctly different loops for its two major hiring channels. In India, campus hiring for the Graduate Engineer Trainee (GET) program at CTAI Pune uses a single technical interview conducted over Google Meet, with results delivered back to the college's placement cell rather than to candidates directly, followed by long delays (often several months) between selection and an actual offer letter or onboarding date. In North America, service-technician and manufacturing hires typically go through a recruiter phone screen, a longer virtual interview with two master technicians (~1.5 hours on the tech side, or two supervisors for the TAP/manufacturing programs), and then salary negotiation handled through the recruiter. Corporate/professional pipelines (ITDP, IT roles) mix a HireVue video assessment with group interviews of ~6 candidates and multi-week silences between stages.
These 5 writeups cover mechanical engineering, manufacturing, service technician and other roles, India campus + US service techs. All of them were posted under a forum handle, so we could not verify the authors’ identities.
1Technical interview (Google Meet)TechnicalA single technical interview run over Google Meet as part of an on-campus placement drive. The list of selected students was sent to the college's Training and Placement cell rather than to candidates individually, so students first heard the outcome through their college TPO.Covered: Domain knowledge, Past projects, Resume deep-dive
2Post-selection: Long onboarding waitFinalSelected candidates commonly wait several months with no offer letter, no BGV kick-off and no joining date. Onboarding is split into multiple batches (August, September, October) driven by business need, and the point-of-contact recruiter often changes or leaves during the wait. Candidates report escalating through the college T&P cell or reaching Cummins employees on LinkedIn to get status.Covered: Offer timing
Diesel Service Technician (Distribution Business Unit)
1Recruiter phone screenPhone screenInitial screen with the Cummins recruiter to walk through prior dealer experience (Freightliner/International/Volvo/Mack), current certifications and location or relocation preferences.Covered: Resume deep-dive, Cummins certifications, Shift availability
2Virtual technical interview with two master techsPanelAbout a 90-minute virtual panel with two Cummins master technicians. Focused on gauging real hands-on knowledge of on-highway diesel engines and diagnostics rather than trick questions. In the Kearny NJ shop the same-day loop also included the shop manager.Covered: Domain knowledge, Diesel engines, Diagnostics, Past projects
3Salary negotiation and offerHiring managerThe recruiter took the panel's feedback back to management, negotiated a number, and then called with an offer letter. Techs report offers at grade T04 with base pay in the mid-$30s per hour plus sign-on and, where applicable, full relocation (realtor, movers, temporary housing).Covered: Compensation, Grade level
Technician Apprenticeship Program (TAP) - Power Generation, Mobile AL
1Intro interviewPhone screenA short introductory conversation with the recruiter about the applicant's background and interest in a power-generation career at Cummins.Covered: Background, Interest in power generation
2~2 hour supervisor panelPanelThe very next day, a nearly two-hour interview with two Cummins supervisors covering technical fit and behavioural questions. TAP intakes are small (roughly 16 seats per cohort in this location), so the wait after this round can stretch multiple weeks while the panel compares candidates.Covered: Domain knowledge, Behavioral, Safety procedures
1Group interview (6 candidates)Group exerciseA single group interview with six candidates run by a Talent Acquisition Partner. The candidate was told to expect a decision within ten working days, but in practice waited longer than that before chasing the recruiter for a status update.Covered: Behavioral, STAR stories, Past projects
1HireVue video assessmentOnline assessmentA HireVue one-way video assessment is used as an early screen, with mostly behavioural prompts (why Cummins, why manufacturing, tell-me-about-a-time questions).Covered: Behavioral, STAR stories, Motivation
2First live interviewHiring managerA conversational interview covering the candidate's background and motivation for a Cummins manufacturing role. Passing it moves the candidate into a dedicated technical stage.Covered: Resume deep-dive, Behavioral, Domain knowledge
3Technical interviewTechnicalA follow-up technical interview specific to the manufacturing placement, described by the candidate as their first-ever technical round with little publicly available guidance on scope.Covered: Domain knowledge, Past projects
What Cummins is hiring for now
1,207 open roles in our index. Advertised pay floors run $42k to $50k (median $45k, from 105 postings that state pay).
Cummins runs distinctly different loops for its two major hiring channels. In India, campus hiring for the Graduate Engineer Trainee (GET) program at CTAI Pune uses a single technical interview conducted over Google Meet, with results delivered back to the college's placement cell rather than to candidates directly, followed by long delays (often several months) between selection and an actual offer letter or onboarding date. In North America, service-technician and manufacturing hires typically go through a recruiter phone screen, a longer virtual interview with two master technicians (~1.5 hours on the tech side, or two supervisors for the TAP/manufacturing programs), and then salary negotiation handled through the recruiter. Corporate/professional pipelines (ITDP, IT roles) mix a HireVue video assessment with group interviews of ~6 candidates and multi-week silences between stages.
What topics does Cummins test in interviews?
Commonly reported topics include Domain knowledge, Past projects, Behavioral, STAR stories, Resume deep-dive, Safety procedures.
These guides summarize public, first-hand interview experiences shared by candidates. They describe the shape of each loop and the topics that came up, not a leaked question bank, and every experience links back to its original source. Processes change often. Treat this as directional prep, not a script.
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