40+ Engineering Manager Interview Questions + Answer Techniques

1.4 Tell me about a time when you failed or made a mistake

Big Tech companies and emerging startups alike ask this question because they're looking for engineering managers who aren't afraid of failure and are constantly learning.

Owning up to mistakes and learning from them are valuable traits for any hire. It demonstrates a growth mindset, which every engineering manager should have. This is a great question to test for them.

How to answer:

• Use the SPSIL framework (Situation, Problem, Solution, Impact, Lessons) to structure your answer.
• Talk about a real failure that mattered.
• A mistake is not the same as a failure.
• Show that you're someone who takes responsibility and stays positive.
• Talk about how the failure made you better at your job.

What interviewers are assessing:

• Your willingness to take ownership of your mistakes and failures
• Ability to reflect on the lessons learned from the experience
• Approach to addressing the consequences of your mistake and mitigating its impact
• Evidence of resilience and adaptability in bouncing back from failure

For more tips on how to answer this question, plus five different example answers, see 5 ways to answer "Tell me about a time you failed".

1.5 Tell me about the high-level system design of a specific project you have worked on

Engineering managers at top companies need to have a strong understanding of system design and experience in building scalable, complex systems.

Companies ask this question instead of more traditional 'Design X' system design questions because it gets the candidate to talk about past experiences and thus is a more effective way to evaluate your expertise and way of working.

It also allows you to get into how you think beyond the initial build and account for the entire lifecycle when working on a system design. Talk about incremental scaling, modular upgrades, and smooth migrations rather than one-off solutions that are not robust enough to withstand change.

How to answer:

• Start by providing context about the problem you were solving and the goals of the project.
• Outline the key components of the system and how they interact to achieve the desired functionality.
• Explain why you made certain design choices and what the trade-offs were.
• Talk about how you collaborated with members of your team or cross-functionally.
• Talk about the challenges you faced and be open about any failures.
• Talk about what you learned and how you will apply that to future projects.

What interviewers are assessing:

• How well you articulate the problem you were solving
• Understanding of key system design principles
• Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly
• Evidence of good collaboration skills

1.6 Tell me about a time you scaled a system

Engineering managers need to create products that can be used by billions of users. But it's not just at big companies that scaling systems is important. Even a small start-up in a hurry to create an MVP will want to scale it sooner or later.

Interviewers ask this question to assess if the candidate knows how to make systems that will work reliably on a vast scale, maintaining performance under heavy loads and being as cost-efficient as possible.

How to answer:

• Provide context about the system you scaled, including its initial architecture and usage patterns.
• Describe the challenges you faced as the system grew and the need for scalability arose.
• Explain the scalability bottlenecks you identified and the strategies you employed to address them.
• Discuss the architectural changes or technologies you implemented to improve scalability.
• Try to quantify the impact of your scalability efforts in terms of performance improvements or cost savings.
• Reflect on what you learned and how you might approach scaling future systems differently.

What interviewers are assessing:

• Your understanding of scalability principles and techniques
• Ability to identify scalability bottlenecks and propose solutions
• Experience in implementing scalable architectures and technologies
• Evidence of considering performance, reliability, and cost-efficiency in scaling decisions
• Collaboration skills in coordinating efforts across teams to achieve scalability goals

 1.7 As a manager, how do you handle trade-offs?

Handling trade-offs is a crucial part of an engineering manager's job. In fact, it's a pretty much constant part of the job: Short-term gain vs long-term benefit? Make it simple or make it scalable?

Pranav (ex-Meta EM) told us that interviewers want to see a candidate who is confident in dealing with ambiguity and making difficult decisions in a logical and structured way. You should be able to weigh scalability, performance, cost, and complexity. 

“I expect a thoughtful discussion on why one design was chosen over another, and how to balance 'move fast now' versus 'pay down later,’” Mathew says. He also says he wants to hear candidates discuss technical debt, in particular, how to address running down that debt. 

How to answer:

• Emphasize decision-making based on data, stakeholder input, and strategic objectives.
• Explain the rationale behind your choices.
• Explain how you communicated trade-offs to the team and stakeholders.
• Reflect on lessons learned and continuous improvement in decision-making.

What interviewers are assessing:

• How methodical/structured their approach is
• Look for examples demonstrating tough decision-making skills.
• Confidence in dealing with ambiguity
• Assess their understanding of the business impact of different choices.
• Determine their ability to align decisions with overall company goals.

Click here to learn more about how to answer tech project/program management questions.

1.8 How would you prioritize the following tasks?

Prioritizing tasks is a key part of an engineering manager's day-to-day. This question is a good way of seeing how the candidate goes about such a crucial part of their job. The interviewer may list some example tasks and ask the candidate to order them in terms of priority and explain their reasoning.

This question also allows you to show your decision-making skills. “I expect a good EM to have a structured approach to decisions: being data-driven, considering trade-offs, and making structured arguments to support their stance,” Mathew says. 

Show that you can be speedy but thorough, avoiding analysis paralysis when deciding, and that you can justify tough calls with data and organizational values/principles.

How to answer:

• Begin by evaluating the urgency and importance of each task.
• Consider the impact of each task on the team's goals and objectives.
• Take into account any dependencies between tasks and their potential impact on other workstreams.
• Assess the resources required for each task, including time, manpower, and budget.
• Prioritize tasks that align closely with the team's strategic priorities and overarching objectives.
• Justify your prioritization decisions with clear reasoning and rationale.
• Remain flexible and open to adjusting priorities based on changing circumstances or new information.

What interviewers are assessing:

• Your systematic approach to prioritization, considering factors such as urgency, impact, dependencies, and alignment with strategic objectives
• How well you communicate your reasoning
• Flexibility and adaptability in adjusting priorities based on changing circumstances or new information
• Approach to balancing short-term needs with long-term goals in task prioritization

Click here to learn more about how to answer questions about prioritization and other aspects of project/program management.

1.9 How do you deal with an engineer who isn't being a team player?

This is another common people management question that we've seen come up many times in interviews for companies such as Google and Meta. Occasionally, it takes the form "How would you deal with too much competitiveness within your team?"

The question tests your capability to understand people’s different perspectives and ways of working. It also probes into whether you can set clear expectations, give honest feedback, and hold people accountable.

How to answer:

• If possible, talk about a past experience and use the SPSIL framework to structure your answer.
• Show that your first step would be trying to understand the reasons driving the behavior.
• Explain how you would offer support and guidance to help the engineer understand the importance of collaboration and how their actions affect team dynamics.
• Mention strategies such as team-building activities, clear communication channels, and regular feedback sessions to promote teamwork.
• Describe how you would monitor the engineer's progress.
• Demonstrate that you'd be prepared to escalate the issue and fire the engineer if necessary for the good of the team.

What interviewers are assessing:

• Your approach to addressing issues of teamwork and collaboration within the team
• Ability to identify the root cause of the engineer's behavior and address it effectively
• Strategies for fostering a collaborative team culture and promoting teamwork
• Evidence of providing constructive feedback and coaching to the engineer
• Approach to handling conflicts or tensions within the team
• Reflection on how you balance individual performance with team dynamics

2. Engineering manager interview questions (categorized)↑

Now that we’ve seen the 9 most important questions asked in engineering manager interviews, let's look at a more comprehensive list of questions.

As we’ve established, as an EM, you’ll mostly be evaluated on your soft skills. Hence, we focus on behavioral and hypothetical questions in four categories:

• Culture fit and motivation
• Leadership
• People management
• Project/program management

Note: these are not the only types of questions you’ll get in your EM interviews. You can also expect system design, coding/code review, and other technical questions to assess your knowledge. 

2.1 Culture fit and motivation

These are general questions that test whether a candidate's motivations and traits align with the company's way of doing things.

2.2 Leadership

Leadership is about how you influence and impact both people and projects. This can include influencing teams that don’t directly report to you, working toward company goals without explicit instruction, showing empathy, and leading by example.

To dive deep into the topic, check out our leadership interview primer.

2.3 People management

People management questions explore how you build, lead, and motivate your team. 

You’ll get questions around your strategies involving how you hire and train team members, and how you provide feedback and run performance discussions. You might also get questions about how you cultivate a culture of innovation and constant development, internal mobility, and support work-life balance.

To dive deep into the topic, check out our people management primer.

2.4 Project/program management 

Project/program management questions explore how you deal with complex and ambiguous situations in order to deliver results. You’ll be asked about your planning and organizational skills and tools, as well as your communication, prioritization, and risk management strategies.

To dive deep into the topic, check out our project management primer.

3. Techniques for answering engineering manager interview questions↑

After reading the questions, you’ll notice that they come in different question formats:

• Stories: “give me an example …”’ / “tell me about a time when …” 
• Skillsets: - “how do you …” / “what’s your approach to …” 
• Scenarios: “assume you have …” / “how would you deal with …”

Each format required a different answer structure.

To help you find the best framework for any given question, we’ll cover the top answer techniques from top EM coach, Mark. He’s coached hundreds of leadership candidates in his 30+ years in tech, and these are the very same techniques he’s shared with candidates over the years.

3.1 How to answer ‘story’ questions

Behavioral questions typically come in story question formats, like “Tell me about a time when...” 

“When asking such questions, interviewers are looking for your ‘interesting' experiences. These are often cross-functional, messy (involving subjectivity), time-consuming, with imperfect (but improved) outcomes,” Mark says.

Here are his tips on answering story questions:

• Build an inventory. Collect your set of stories and have them ready to use in the interview. Each story may be multi-purpose. For example, a story on resolving conflict might also be applicable to answer a question dealing with a toxic co-worker.
• Consider an intro. You are being asked to share an experience, but you can also provide a short summary of the broader topic being asked about. You’re not required to do this, but if you do, keep it to ~15 seconds maximum. 
• Structure and script. Make your stories easy to follow by outlining them. You can use the popular STAR method, or IGotAnOffer’s SPSIL(Situation, Problem, Solution, Impact, Lesson) method. Write your story down, highlighting the interesting, messy parts. Find a good balance of breadth and depth. Too many domain specifics are noise, and you’ll lose the interviewer’s attention. Too little details, and the story won’t seem real or interesting. 
• Highlight your lessons learned. Using the SPSIL method ensures you won’t miss talking about what you’ve learned. Highlighting this in every answer shows confidence through humility, a growth mindset, and your continuous improvement as a leader.
• Practice a lot. Practice in the mirror, try recording yourself, or practice with a friend or colleague. You want to tell the story, not read it. Each story should be around 3 minutes long.

If the question you get calls for something you haven’t experienced yet, let your interviewer know and have a hypothetical answer ready instead. You can offer to talk through how you would approach it, almost like a mini design problem.

3.2 How to answer ‘skillset’ questions

Interviewers ask skillset questions to get a sense of your leadership toolbelt: principles, values, best practices, habits, etc. 

“These are more about breadth than depth, though you want to provide enough details to show that you apply them vs. just having heard or read about them,” Mark says.

Here are his tips on answering skillset questions:

• Highlight three tools. You probably use so many tools, but you can’t include them all in a single answer. When answering, introduce the three tools, and then talk through each. This shows you have a breadth of skills, not just one. It also signals concise communication: you know how to limit your response to a few highlights.
• Reference best practices and illustrate with anecdotes, but avoid stories. Mention leadership best practices if appropriate and in a way that is real, i.e., connect them to your approaches instead of just quoting from a reference. One way to do this is to use short anecdotes or examples. But don’t change your response to a full-blown story about a particular situation.

3.3 How to answer ‘scenario’ questions

Some companies like to see how you would handle a hypothetical situation, often challenging and open-ended. There are usually no solutions per se, and your goal should not be to “solve” the scenario. 

Mark says a good way to think about hypothetical questions is to approach them as mini-design problems, testing your problem-solving skills.

Here are his tips for answering scenario questions:

• Scope and sequence. Scenario questions are intentionally vague, so refine the scope first. And then based on that, lay out a possible sequence of steps you might try to work through the scenario. This helps you demonstrate awareness of a situation’s complexity and how you would plan in the face of ambiguity or a new situation.
• Reference your tools and experience. Use your leadership “tools” as well as the experiences you have had being led by others. This signals a willingness to think creatively on the fly and shows that you are incorporating all of your experiences, not just your immediate leadership tools.

Learn more about these tips and more in Mark’s insightful article on grokking the engineering manager leadership interview.

4. How to prepare for engineering manager interviews↑

We've coached more than 20,000 people for interviews since 2018. There are essentially three activities you can do to practice for interviews. Here’s what we've learned about each of them.

4.1 Learn by yourself

Learning by yourself is an essential first step. We recommend kickstarting your prep with the questions in this guide. And then go through the following resources when you’re ready to dive deep:

• Engineering manager interview prep guide
• Leadership primer
• People management primer
• Project management primer
• Behavioral interviews

If you’re interviewing for a specific company, check out our company guides to familiarize yourself with their entire interview process for the role:

• Meta engineering manager interview guide
• Google engineering manager interview guide
• Apple engineering manager interview guide
• Amazon SDM interview guide
• Netflix engineering manager interview guide
• Microsoft engineering manager interview guide
• Uber engineering manager interview guide
• DoorDash engineering manager interview guide

While engineering manager interviews put a heavier emphasis on behavioral and leadership questions, they also assess your technical depth. Here are a few resources to refresh your knowledge:

• System design interview 
• Coding interview 
• Code review interview (Google)
• Project retrospective (Meta)

We also recommend watching mock interview videos at our IGotAnOffer Engineering YouTube channel so you can see what an excellent answer looks like.

Once you’re in command of the different subject matters, you’ll want to practice answering questions. But by yourself, you can’t simulate thinking on your feet or the pressure of performing in front of a stranger. Plus, there are no unexpected follow-up questions and no feedback.

That’s why many candidates try to practice with friends or peers.

4.2 Practice with peers

If you have friends or peers who can do mock interviews with you, that's an option worth trying. It’s free, but be warned, you may come up against the following problems:

• It’s hard to know if the feedback you get is accurate
• They’re unlikely to have insider knowledge of interviews at your target company
• On peer platforms, people often waste your time by not showing up

For those reasons, many candidates skip peer mock interviews and go straight to mock interviews with an expert. 

4.3 Practice with experienced engineering manager interviewers

In our experience, practicing real interviews with experts who can give you company-specific feedback makes a huge difference.

Find an engineering manager interview coach so you can:

• Test yourself under real interview conditions
• Get accurate feedback from a real expert
• Build your confidence
• Get company-specific insights
• Learn how to tell the right stories, better.
• Save time by focusing your preparation

Landing a job at a big tech company often results in a $50,000 per year or more increase in total compensation. In our experience, three or four coaching sessions worth ~$500 make a significant difference in your ability to land the job. That’s an ROI of 100x!