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

This question could be phrased in many ways. It could be a generic question, such as, “What do you think of 1:1s?” or a specific one, such as, “Do you address project-related topics in your 1:1s?”




 
The idea behind 1:1s is to set a designated time to meet with each team member so you can get to know them better. A successful 1:1 helps solidify the trust between the manager and their report, while also helping them voice and align their goals with that of the team. An attentive manager tries to get to know their report and finds out what their career goals are. They should aim to give them constructive feedback and provide them with the tools and opportunities they need to achieve those goals.

# What is the interviewer looking for?
- How well you prioritize 1:1s. How often are they scheduled? If your team consists of less than 10 people, then you should ideally be taking out time to meet them weekly. If it's more than 10 people, then biweekly meetings are a good standard. 
- What the general aim is for your 1:1s. Do you use them to get project updates only, or are you utilizing the time to build a trusting relationship with your team? 
- Are you doing your homework before 1:1s, or are you just showing up?
- Are you getting feedback from other partners on your report to discuss in the meeting?
- Are you encouraging the other person to bring topics to the table, or is it just about what the manager wants to talk about?

# What a good answer looks like

“For me, 1:1s are incredibly important to build a relationship that goes beyond that of just a report and their manager. I want my team to know they can trust me with their career goals and what they expect from the project we’re working on. When your team trusts you, it functions like a well-oiled machine. They should ideally be comfortable talking to me about anything. So, during our 1:1s, I don’t encourage talking about the engineering project we’re working on directly. Instead, I focus more on establishing a human connection with the people I work with daily.

I try to schedule weekly 1:1s, and how they are structured depends on the person and how long they’ve been with the team. I try to set an agenda beforehand and encourage them to suggest any topics they feel like discussing so that I can do my homework. The topics of the 1:1 could be specific to the person I’m meeting with. For example, finding out if they're having any issues with a cross-functional partner and if there's anything I can do to help them. Another approach is to take a team-wide perspective and ask their opinion on anything pertinent to the team’s functioning. It could be how they feel about the way we’re restructuring on-calls, etc.

The way I choose to manage my time when scheduling 1:1s is that I try to schedule them all in one day, except for maybe one or two senior members. This way, I am able to cross-check things across the team. If I’m getting any particular signal from them, I can consolidate that into a summary and share it with whoever my partner is in executing the team goals. That way, we can address it together.” 






Let's learn how to structure one-to-one meetings.

Introduction

The EM Interview Loop

Management Interview Patterns and Strategies

People Management Questions

Project and Cross-functional Management

Behavioral Questions

How Do You Structure Your 1:1s?