Engineering Manager Interview Guide

Core Competencies Tested

• Team Growth: How do you grow ICs from L3->L4->L5? What does a growth plan look like?
• Project Prioritization: Framework for deciding what the team works on. ROI vs urgency vs strategic alignment.
• Performance Reviews: How do you calibrate ratings? Handling underperformance with a PIP?
• Hiring: How do you run a hiring loop? What signals matter at each level?
• Org Design: When to split a team? How to structure around mission vs function?
• Conflict Resolution: Two ICs disagree on architecture. How do you mediate?

The "Tell me about your leadership philosophy" Answer

Don't recite platitudes. Use a real example: "I believe in servant leadership - my job is to unblock and grow the team. At my last company, I inherited a team with high attrition. I instituted weekly 1:1s, created a formal mentorship program, and within 6 months attrition dropped from 25% to 8%."