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


In the management interview, your interviewer is trying to assess if you have experience with management problem-solving and how well you solved those problems. These are not engineering problems, of course. Some sample problems that cover most engineering management areas are:

1. Hiring a team member
2. Firing a team member
3. Handling a poor performer
4. Handling a situation where something went wrong (missing a deadline)
5. Handling conflict
6. Project management
7. Cross-functional communication (with the product, UX, QA, and other engineering teams)
8. Organization design and reorganization
9. Organizational change management
10. Performance management
11. Challenging the status quo




Let’s review what kind of questions are asked in the management interview.

Introduction

The EM Interview Loop

Management Interview Patterns and Strategies

People Management Questions

Project and Cross-functional Management

Behavioral Questions

Problem Patterns