Ctrl+Alt+Brew: The EUC Interview with a Windows Focus

December 15, 2024

Ctrl+Alt+Brew: The EUC Interview with a Windows Focus

When it comes to interviewing a capable candidate for a EUC engineer role, it's not a simple as understanding the technical skillset. The candidate needs to have a deep understanding of the core components and how this relate to one another. The questions below are designed to add a depth of thought to the interview process in order to unearth deep understanding of technology and expose soft skills that are needed in this role.

These questions are not for HR interviewer but a technical engineer that understands all the components in depth as well or better than the interviewee. The questions serve as a starting point to understand the skill set and the level of the engineer. Not knowing an answer is not the show stopper but will demostrate the skillset of the engineer and the placement on the team (junior vs senior). Also, these are not all encompassing of all the components within the platform but highlight some of the core components that should be understood or would require training upon onboarding.

Technical Skills Assessment

Microsoft Intune

Explain how Microsoft Intune handles device compliance and what policies you would configure to ensure security and compliance for a fleet of corporate devices.
How would you approach the deployment of Win32 applications via Intune, and what are the key considerations for troubleshooting failed installations?
Can you describe the differences between Intune User Configuration and Device Configuration? When would you use one over the other?
Walk me through the process of creating a custom configuration profile in Intune. What are some common use cases?
How would you handle device enrollment issues where certain devices fail to register with Intune?
What is the purpose of Compliance Policies in Intune, and how do they differ from Configuration Profiles?

Microsoft Configuration Manager

How do you manage software updates in Microsoft Configuration Manager, and how would you integrate it with Windows Server Update Services (WSUS)?
Explain the process of deploying an operating system image using Microsoft Configuration Manager. What steps are required to create, capture, and deploy an image?
How do you troubleshoot issues related to Microsoft Configuration Manager client health? What logs would you check first?
What strategies do you use to maintain Microsoft Configuration Manager site server performance and ensure scalability?
How do collections differ from device groups in Microsoft Configuration Manager? Provide an example use case for each.
What is the purpose of a cloud management gateway (CMG)? What is it used for? What are the limitations?
What is the purpsoe of comanagemnet? What is it used for? What are the limitations? Is a CMG required for comanagement?

Follow-up, if a CMG is not required, what is?

File Services, DFS, and Storage

How would you design and manage a Distributed File System (DFS) to ensure high availability and fault tolerance?
Explain how DFS Replication works and how you would resolve replication conflicts.
How do you handle storage allocation and capacity planning in an enterprise environment?
What experience do you have with file share permissions? How do you balance security and usability?
Can you explain how NTFS and Share permissions interact, and how conflicts are resolved?
What is Access-Based Enumeration (ABE), and how does it improve security and usability in a file services environment?

PowerShell, SQL, and KQL

Write a PowerShell script to list all installed applications on a remote machine.
How would you use PowerShell to automate user creation and licensing assignments in Microsoft 365?
Describe a situation where you used SQL queries to generate a report or troubleshoot a system issue.
Explain the key differences between SQL and KQL (Kusto Query Language). When would you use each?
Provide an example of a KQL query you’ve written to generate security event reports from Microsoft Sentinel or Log Analytics.

Reporting and Power BI

How would you design a Power BI report to track device compliance across an organization?
Describe your experience creating Power BI dashboards that integrate data from multiple sources.
What steps would you take to optimize the performance of Power BI reports and dashboards?
Have you used Power BI to create interactive reports? Provide an example of a dynamic feature you implemented.

Microsoft 365 Tenant Security

How would you enforce best practices for Microsoft 365 tenant security? List at least five key actions you would take.
What security measures would you put in place to protect against insider threats within Microsoft 365?
How do Conditional Access policies work, and how would you design policies for high-risk users or administrators?
Explain how you would approach auditing Microsoft 365 activity and generating reports for management.
What is the role of Secure Score in Microsoft 365, and how would you prioritize security improvements based on its recommendations?

Conceptual and Situational Questions

Group Policy vs Intune Device Configuration vs Cloud Policy vs Edge Management Service

Explain the key differences between Group Policy, Intune Device Configuration (User vs System), Cloud Policy, and Edge Management Service. How do they interact with each other?
How do you decide whether to apply a policy via Group Policy, Intune Device Configuration, or Cloud Policy? Provide a practical example.
When managing Windows devices in a hybrid environment (on-premises and Azure AD joined), which policy management tool would you use and why?
How would you address a situation where Group Policy conflicts with an Intune Device Configuration Profile?
Explain how Edge Management Service can be used to manage browser settings across an organization. How does it differ from Group Policy or Intune?

Skill Level Assessment: From Basic to Advanced

What is Active Directory, and why is it important in an enterprise environment?
Explain how Group Policy works and how it can be used to manage user and computer configurations.
What is the difference between NTFS permissions and Share permissions?
How would you create a PowerShell script to create a user in Active Directory?
Explain the purpose and benefits of Access-Based Enumeration (ABE) in file services.
How would you diagnose a device that is non-compliant in Microsoft Intune?
Describe the steps to create and deploy an application using Microsoft Configuration Manager.
How would you design a policy to secure Windows 11 devices using Intune Device Configuration?
Write a PowerShell script to gather system information on multiple remote devices.
How would you resolve conflicting Group Policy and Intune Device Configuration settings on a device?
Explain the differences between using operating system deployment (OSD) vs using AutoPilot? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each?

What are some of the security controls that you need to have in place for successful deployments?
What are some of the network requirements that need to be in place?

Behavioral Questions

Tell me about a time you had to troubleshoot a critical system outage related to Intune, Microsoft Configuration Manager, or file services. How did you resolve it?
Describe a time when you had to implement a new process or tool to improve device management. What steps did you take, and what was the result?

Interviewee Questions

This is your opportunity to ask us questions about the company, the team, or the role. Here are a few examples to get you started:

Can you tell me about the team I’d be working with and the company’s work culture?
What does a typical day look like for someone in this role?
How does the company support professional development and ongoing learning?
What are some key challenges the team is currently facing, and how would my role help address them?
Can you share more about the company’s approach to work-life balance and remote work policies?

AI and Modern Management: Sample Interview Questions (2025)

In this section, we provide sample forward-looking interview questions that reflect the themes discussed above. These questions focus on AI-enhanced productivity and modern management scenarios that EUC engineers should be prepared to handle:

AI Assistants in the Enterprise: How would you integrate an AI assistant like Microsoft 365 Copilot or Windows Copilot into your organization’s EUC environment while ensuring data privacy and security compliance?
What the interviewer is looking for: Awareness of AI governance – e.g. setting up policies to prevent sensitive data leakage via Copilot, training users on best practices, and perhaps leveraging AI usage reports. Also, understanding the productivity benefits (automation of routine tasks, faster content creation) and how to balance those with oversight.
Managing Cloud PCs in a Hybrid Setup: What factors would you consider when deploying Microsoft Cloud PC (Windows 365) for a workforce that also uses on-premises PCs and laptops?
What the interviewer is looking for: Knowledge of hybrid Azure AD join vs. Azure AD join for Cloud PCs, networking (e.g. connecting Cloud PCs to on-prem networks via vNet integration), licensing and cost management, and user experience (e.g. ensuring sufficient bandwidth, peripheral compatibility). Mention how you’d use Intune to manage Cloud PCs alongside physical PCs in one console, and enforce consistent security policies on both.
Automation and AI Agents: How do you approach compliance and control when using automated AI agents in endpoint management (for example, Intune’s Vulnerability Remediation Agent or other self-healing scripts)?
What the interviewer is looking for: An understanding of AI-driven automation in IT. You should discuss setting clear policies for what automated agents are allowed to do (e.g. auto-install patches, reboot devices off-hours), monitoring the agent’s actions through logs or dashboards, and having fallback procedures if the AI suggests an incorrect remediation. It’s great to mention that the first Security Copilot agent in Intune went live in 2025 to auto-fix vulnerabilities – showing you stay current – and then talk about how you’d govern such tools (perhaps requiring approvals for certain actions, or gradually rolling it out in audit mode).
Zero Trust Enforcement: In a Zero Trust model, how would you ensure that only trusted users and devices can access sensitive applications?
What the interviewer is looking for: Practical steps: requiring MFA for all users, using Conditional Access policies that check device compliance and user risk level, leveraging device attestation (TPM, device compliance status from Intune) and perhaps continuous access evaluation. Also, an understanding that Zero Trust is an ongoing effort – you might mention conducting periodic access reviews or using tools like Defender for Endpoint to feed risk signals into access decisions.
Unified Endpoint Management Strategy: Can you describe your approach to managing a mixed environment of Windows, macOS, mobile devices, and IoT endpoints through a unified platform?
What the interviewer is looking for: Experience or strategy with UEM. For example, using Intune’s cross-platform capabilities (mentioning specific support for macOS, iOS, Android), leveraging device compliance across all OS types, and integrating other solutions if needed (like using Microsoft’s Azure AD for identity across platforms, or integrating an alternative MDM for a platform if Intune doesn’t meet a niche requirement). The interviewer wants to see you avoid siloed management – you should talk about one strategy/policy set applied consistently, role-based access for IT admins in the UEM tool, and consolidated reporting.
AI’s Impact on EUC Roles: With increasing automation and AI in EUC, how do you see the role of an EUC Engineer evolving over the next 2-3 years?
What the interviewer is looking for: Forward-thinking. A great answer might be: EUC Engineers will spend less time on “hands-on” device fiddling and more time on policy creation, automation design, and analytics. They’ll coordinate closely with security (as endpoints are frontlines for cyber defense) and with user experience teams (to improve productivity). Also, mention that EUC Engineers will likely oversee AI tools that support end-users (like virtual assistants, chatbot helpdesks), which requires understanding both IT infrastructure and user workflows. This shows you’re adapting to change rather than fearing it.

Answer Guide for Interviewers

This section provides guidance for interviewers on how to evaluate candidates' responses. Each section includes key points to listen for and follow-up questions to probe deeper.

Microsoft Intune

Look for a clear understanding of device compliance, including key policies like password requirements, encryption, and conditional access.
For deployment of Win32 apps, strong candidates will mention the use of Intune Win32 App Packaging Tool and log analysis for troubleshooting.
Differentiating Intune User vs. Device Configuration should include use cases for user-centric settings (like app availability) vs. device-wide settings (like Wi-Fi profiles).

Microsoft Configuration Manager

Candidates should mention the use of ADRs (Automatic Deployment Rules) for managing updates and the role of WSUS in update synchronization.
Look for a systematic approach to OS imaging, mentioning task sequences and driver injections.
Troubleshooting should highlight log analysis (like CAS.log and LocationServices.log) and client health checks.
Understanding the differences between a CMG for direct client communications vs the SCP (service connection point) for comanagement capabilities. Although a CMG is not directly needed for comanagement, it plays a part for the over the internet communication.

File Services, DFS, and Storage

Strong candidates will explain the role of referral servers and site costing in DFS.
Look for clear, practical steps for handling replication conflicts, such as use of DFSRdiag.
Candidates should clearly articulate ABE (Access-Based Enumeration) and its impact on security.

PowerShell, SQL, and KQL

PowerShell Skills Assessment for Intune Remediations. Candidates should demonstrate proficiency in the following key areas of PowerShell scripting, with a specific focus on supporting Intune Remediation and Compliance checks:

Error Handling and Script Reliability

Try, Catch, and Finally Blocks: Candidates should be able to structure scripts with robust error handling using try, catch, and finally blocks. This ensures graceful error management and clean execution, even in the event of failure.
Error Logging: Use of Write-Output for logging and reporting status, as opposed to Write-Host, to ensure output can be captured by Intune for reporting purposes.

Reusability and Modularity

Modular Design: Demonstrate how to create reusable PowerShell modules (.psm1 files) to avoid redundancy and promote maintainability.
Functions and Scope: Structure scripts with clearly defined functions and avoid global variables where possible to minimize cross-scope issues.

Intune-Specific Compliance and Remediation

Detection and Remediation Scripts: Candidates must understand the difference between detection scripts and remediation scripts in Intune. Detection scripts should exit with exit 1 when an issue is found (triggering remediation) and exit 0 when no issue is found (no remediation required).
Output and Return Values: Ensure detection scripts provide clear, single-line Write-Output responses (within a 2048-character limit) to support Intune compliance reporting.
Exit Codes: Adhere to the required exit codes:

exit 0: Issue not present (compliant)
exit 1: Issue detected (non-compliant, triggers remediation)

Configuration and Customization

Configuration Data: Use JSON files or embedded JSON data as a source of dynamic configuration. This allows scripts to be adaptable for multiple use cases without requiring hardcoded values.
Parameterization: Scripts should accept parameters for customization, allowing the same script to be reused across different Intune assignments.

Security and Privacy Compliance

Privacy Best Practices: Avoid collecting, processing, or outputting sensitive information (e.g., user credentials, PII) in both detection and remediation scripts.
Data Handling: Candidates should demonstrate how to handle sensitive data securely (e.g., using secure strings) and follow least-privilege principles.

Output and Reporting

Write-Output for Logs and Reports: Unlike Write-Host, Write-Output allows messages to be captured and reported within Intune.
Character Limits: Ensure script outputs stay within the 2048-character limit to avoid data truncation.

General Scripting Best Practices

Efficiency and Performance: Use native PowerShell commands and avoid legacy tools (like cscript.exe or VBS).
Cross-Platform Awareness: Be aware of differences in Windows vs. non-Windows PowerShell implementations, particularly when using cross-platform commands.
Error-Resistant Design: Use conditions, exit codes, and return values that are clear, meaningful, and explicitly declared.

For SQL, ask for query examples involving joins, where clauses, and aggregation.
Strong KQL examples should highlight data aggregation, parsing, and visualization for incident response or reporting.

Behavioral Questions

Look for responses that demonstrate critical thinking, initiative, and technical acumen.
Ask follow-ups like, "What would you do differently next time?" or "What lessons did you learn?" to gauge growth mindset.

Reference Material

High-level architecture for Microsoft Intune | Microsoft Learn