[FirstHopSystems]

Figuring out the basic concepts they are familiar with might be a good start. If they have the capability to learn from other more experienced engineers.

Having the means to figure out what domain a challenge/problem is in would be another plus.

EDIT: Defining a Junior engineer might be a good place to start.

[joshu]

Yeah. We have three engineering folks: My cofounder, who has 8 years experience (and a CS PhD), myself, with 13 years experience, and one more with 16 years experience. We've all built significant projects outside of a job, we've all lead teams and been responsible for products, etc. So I guess that's fairly senior.

More junior would be folks with just a few years experience, or haven't built or led major projects. Even more junior would be right out of school.