The ultimate guide to engineering manager interviews. Developed by FAANG engineers, prep faster with proven strategies, real-world questions, and a structured approach. Get interview-ready in hours.

Engineers working as individual contributors may want to switch to management roles in the middle of their careers. A significant part of this transition will involve preparing for the engineering manager (EM) interview. This course is meant for folks preparing for an EM interview, enabling them to systematically cover the often-asked questions and strategies to come up with good answers.
The course begins with education about the EM role and the interview process for this role. It then covers the patterns and strategies to answer typical management questions in a story-like fashion. These involve people management, project and cross-functional management, and behavioral questions.
The course has been prepared by experienced engineering managers and directors for top-tier tech companies with years of experience giving and taking interviews for this role. This course will help you to persuasively present your own management experience during the interview and get your dream offer.

Acing the Engineering Manager Interview

The management interview is the core of the EM loop. This is not to say that other interviews aren't important. However, this one determines whether or not a company will consider you for a management position and what level of compensation they will offer. Management interviews span multiple areas of an engineering manager’s job responsibilities. 

- **People management:** This is the process of hiring, leading, and developing team members to support the organization's overall mission.
- **Project management:** This is the application of processes, methods, skills, knowledge, and experience to achieve specific project objectives within certain parameters.
- **Cross-functional management (CFM):** This is the management of business processes that span traditional functional boundaries. It's concerned with coordinating and synchronizing the activities of various units in order to achieve superordinate cross-functional goals and policy deployment.
- **Managing up (senior management):** This is the highest level of management in an organization. Senior management is in charge of the day-to-day operations of that organization.

 


Let's look at the management interview, which is the last and most important interview in the EM loop.

Introduction

The EM Interview Loop

Management Interview Patterns and Strategies

People Management Questions

Project and Cross-functional Management

Behavioral Questions

EM Loop: The Management Interview