Engineering Manager Interview: 10 Most Common Questions, and How to CRUSH Them!

Are you an engineer who's ready to climb the ladder into engineering management?

Or perhaps you're an experienced engineering manager who's looking for your next opportunity?

Even for experienced managers, those interview rooms can feel like a whole different ballgame.

The technical skills are a given, which is why management interviews dig deep into your leadership and people skills.

If you're feeling a little lost on what to expect in your next engineering manager interview, don't worry, you've come to the right place.

Hey everyone and welcome to my channel. I'm Doug Howard and I help engineering managers level up their leadership skills and advance their careers. So make sure you hit that subscribe button.

Today we're tackling the 10 most common questions you'll face in interviews for engineering manager positions. I'm also going to show you how to deliver perfect answers to those questions so that you can land the offer. All right, let's dive into those interview questions.

Remember, hiring managers are looking for leaders who can not only handle the technical side, but also guide, motivate, and empower their teams. So let's break down each question and let's craft winning answers to each question too.

Question #1 - Tell me about a time you had to deal with a difficult team member

Starting with question one, which is tell me about a time you had to deal with a difficult team member.

Now, the reason why this question is important is because the hiring manager wants to see your conflict resolution skills and your ability to navigate challenging situations. Now the hiring manager is looking for three specific things in your answer to this question. They want to know how you address the issue. What is your process for addressing issues like this? They also want to see how do you communicate during these types of situations? And they want to make sure you're able to drive a positive outcome in these situations.

The reason I'm telling you all this is because you want to avoid bad mouthing a former colleague in this answer, even if they were legitimately wrong or legitimately a poor performer or something like that. You don't want to bad mouth a former colleague because the interviewer does not want to hear that. So don't dwell on the negativity side of the situation.

Instead, when you're crafting your response, you want to consider these key elements. First, you want to briefly describe the situation and the specific challenge with the team member. When you're describing this, highlight your communication methods and make sure you focus on showing how you understood the root cause of the issue versus jumping to conclusions. Next, you want to explain the steps you took to address the challenge and how you maintained clear communication throughout the process. Last but not least, you want to emphasize the positive outcome that you achieved by focusing on the solutions and growth for both yourself and the team member from that experience.

Here's an example of how you can deliver the perfect answer to this question. You could say something like this. I once had a team member who was struggling to meet deadlines, but instead of getting frustrated with them, I scheduled a one on one meeting to understand the root cause of the issue. Through some open discussion and open communication, we actually discovered that they felt very overloaded with their tasks, and they also felt like they lacked the experience that they needed in a few areas. What we did was we worked together to restructure their workload, and I provided them with some additional training in the areas that they felt like they weren't experienced in. From there, not only did they meet the next deadline, but they also exceeded expectations, thanks to the newfound skill set.

Now, quick sidebar on this, if you're looking for more inspiration on how to craft your perfect answer to this interview question, you should check out my episode called How To Motivate An Underperforming Direct Report In One Conversation. In this episode, I explained the tactics I used to influence a struggling direct report to take ownership of improving their performance in one conversation. I'll include a link to that episode in the description below.

Question #2 - How do you handle a situation where you disagree with a senior engineer's approach?

Interview question number two is, how do you handle a situation where you disagree with a senior engineer's approach?

Now the reason why this question is important is because the interviewer wants to see your ability to value expertise in senior engineers while still fostering collaboration and achieving project goals. What the hiring manager is actually looking for in your response is a balance between respecting someone else's expertise while still advocating for your vision.

The reason I'm sharing all this is because you want to avoid being dismissive of the senior engineer's experience when you give your answer. You want to make sure you don't come across as arrogant or unwilling to listen to other people's ideas.

When crafting your response consider these key elements. Acknowledge the developer's expertise and experience. Briefly explain your perspective and the reasoning behind your approach. Highlight your communication skills by explaining how you would discuss the situation with the senior engineer. Finally, focus on finding a collaborative solution that leverages both of your perspectives as well as the benefits of the project.

Here's how you can deliver the perfect answer to that question. You can say something like this. I always prioritize open communication first, so I'd start by discussing my concerns and then ask for the other person's rationale behind their approach. This is important because by understanding their perspective, we can often work together to find a middle ground or create an even better solution. For example, on a recent project with my team, a senior engineer proposed a complex solution that I thought seemed overly complicated. So I started by explaining my concerns about timelines and I suggested a more streamlined approach, but after a healthy discussion with them, we actually landed on a hybrid solution that addressed both of our concerns and delivered excellent results. In fact, it was better results than we would have got with either of our ideas independently.

Question #3 - How do you motivate your team?

Interview question number three is how do you motivate your team?

This might be obvious, but this question is super important because they want to see your leadership style and they want to see your ability to inspire and engage your team. So what the hiring manager is looking for in your response is they want to see a focus on creating positive work environment and they want to see a focus on you creating clear goals and opportunities for growth within your team.

Now, there's a slight trap here in this answer though. You want to avoid saying things where it sounds like you're relying solely on extrinsic motivators like rewards, bonuses, salaries, dangling carrots, and things like that, because you don't know what this company is like, you might not be able to offer those things to your team. You might not have an infinite budget or anything like that. So they don't want to hear how you can reward them with salary increases. They want to hear how you can tap into intrinsic motivation through, the power of recognition and appreciation and things like that.

When crafting your response to this question, consider these key elements. Start by explaining your leadership style and how it fosters motivation in other people. Then highlight your methods for setting clear goals with people, but make sure you're emphasizing how these are goals that are challenging, yet achievable, in that sweet spot. Next you want to emphasize that you're providing regular feedback, recognition, and opportunities for professional development throughout your team. Then if you can share an example of how you successfully motivated your team in the past.

Here's an example for how you can deliver the perfect answer to this question. I believe in creating a culture of ownership and empowerment on my teams. I do this by setting clear goals that are challenging yet achievable. I also do this by providing regular feedback and recognition to celebrate everyone's successes throughout the team. One more thing I do, I also encourage open communication and I offer opportunities for professional development too. In my previous role, I implemented a mentorship program to accomplish this. I did this by pairing senior engineers with junior team members. This not only boosted team morale, but it also accelerated skill development for our junior engineers.

Now, quick sidebar on this. If you want to deliver an answer that clearly demonstrates your leadership skills and your ability to understand, motivate and influence all types of people, you should check out my episode called The Science Behind Motivating Employees In The Workplace. I'll include a link to that episode in the description below.

Question #4 - Describe your experience with performance reviews

Interview question number four is describe your experience with performance reviews.

This question is important because the hiring manager wants to see your ability to provide constructive feedback as well as identify areas for improvement and help your team members grow. Now what the hiring manager is really looking for in your answer is they want to see a focus on clear communication and a focus on both strengths and weaknesses as well as a commitment to employee development.

The hiring manager is looking for three things from you and your response. First, they want to know that you're a clear communicator. They also want to see that you have a focus on both strengths and weaknesses throughout your team versus ignoring weaknesses or not paying attention to strengths. They also want to see that you have a commitment to employee development. When you're giving your answer, you want to make sure that you're not too focused solely on the negative feedback part of the story, but you also want to make it clear that you don't shy away from having difficult conversations with your team either.

So here's how you can deliver the perfect answer. When you're crafting your response, focus on these key elements. Start by explaining your approach to performance reviews. You can do this by emphasizing clear communication and a two way dialogue. Next, highlight your methods for providing constructive feedback, and do this in a way that focuses on both strengths and areas for improvement for the other person. Then share how you create a safe space for open communication and how you encourage discussions about development goals throughout your team. Lastly, if you can, briefly describe a situation where you use the performance review to help a team member grow,

Here's an example of how you can answer this question perfectly. To me, performance reviews are a highly valuable tool for employee development. I use a clear and very objective framework to provide constructive feedback that focuses on both strengths and areas of improvement for the other person. I also make sure that I create a safe space for open communication so that the other person on my team feels comfortable with asking questions and discussing their goals honestly. In my previous role, I had a team member who I had to give negative feedback on their time management skills. But instead of focusing on the negative stuff, we worked together to identify where they were wasting time and we worked together to develop strategies to increase their efficiency. They not only improve their time management, but they also reported feeling more productive and confident.

Question #5 - How do you set clear goals and expectations?

Interview question number five. How do you set clear goals and expectations?

This question is important because the hiring manager wants to see your ability to define success, communicate objectives, and hold your team members accountable. Now, what the hiring manager is actually looking for from you is a structured approach to goal setting. They also want to see a structured approach to clearly communicating with your team, and they want to make sure you have a focus on aligning company goals with team goals and individual goals. When you're giving your answer to this question, make sure you're not vague and make sure you're not ambiguous in your goals. You also want to make sure you're not setting unrealistic or unmeasurable expectations with your team, too.

When crafting the perfect response to this answer, consider these key elements. Start by explaining your preferred goal setting framework. Maybe it's SMART goals or something like that. But you want to make sure you're explaining the framework you use for goal setting. Next, you want to highlight how you foster ownership and buy in from your team by involving your team in the goal setting process whenever possible. Then make sure you emphasize clear communication of goals and expectations through regular check ins and progress updates with your team. And of course, last but not least, make sure you can share an example of how you set and communicated clear goals that led to a successful project outcome.

Here's an example for how you can deliver the perfect answer to this interview question. I'm a big believer in setting SMART goals and I like to involve my team in the goal setting process whenever possible. I do this on purpose because in my experience, when you include your team in the goal setting process, it fosters a sense of ownership and buy in throughout the team. Once the goals are established, I make sure there's clear communication through regular check ins and progress updates through one on ones with my team. For instance, during a recent project launch, I collaborated with my team to define the KPIs to track our progress and ensure alignment with the company objectives.

Question 6 - Walk me through your experience with delegating tasks.

Interview question six, walk me through your experience with delegating tasks.

The hiring manager is asking this question because they want to see your ability to assess skills, distribute workload effectively, and empower your team. But what they're really looking from you is strategic delegation based on skill sets. They also want to see that you trust your team's capabilities and that you provide the necessary support to them to effectively delegate and empower your team. The reason I'm saying this is because you want to make sure you're avoiding saying things in your answer that make it sound like you micromanage tasks after delegating them. You want to make sure that you're not making it sound like you dump all your work on the most experienced team member either, which is something that a lot of engineering managers do.

When crafting your response, consider these key elements. Start by explaining your approach to delegation, and you can do this by emphasizing how you assess skill sets and workload capacity. Then you want to highlight how you provide clear instructions and set expectations while still empowering your team to take ownership. Then you want to emphasize your commitment to providing support and fostering a learning environment for your team. As always, share a specific example of how you successfully delegated a task resulting in both skill development and positive outcomes for the other person on your team.

Here's an example. I use delegation as a powerful tool for employee development. I carefully assess skill sets and workload capacity whenever I'm delegating tasks throughout my team. When I'm ready to delegate something, I make sure I start by providing clear instructions and clear expectations to the other person on my team. But at the same time, I also make sure that I'm empowering them to take ownership and make independent decisions. I let my team know that I'm always available for support and guidance. I do this because I want to foster a learning environment on my team where people want more things to be delegated to them.

In my previous role, I delegated a complex task to a junior engineer who expressed a lot of interest in expanding their skillset. To make sure that I was able to effectively delegate this task and responsibility to them, I provided them with the necessary resources and mentorship that they needed. Not only did they deliver exceptional results, but they also told me how they gained a lot of valuable experience in the process

On the topic of delegation, if you want to show your hiring manager that you're a master at delegating, check out my episode called Effective Delegation Strategies for Engineering Managers. You're going to learn a simple five step framework for delegating anything, and you can explain this framework when you answer this question in your next interview. I'll include a link to this episode in the description below.

Question #7 - How do you stay up to date with the latest technologies?

Interview question number seven. How do you stay up to date with the latest technologies?

This question is important because the hiring manager wants to see your commitment to continuous learning, but they also want to see your ability to adapt to a dynamic tech landscape. The main thing the hiring manager is looking for in your response is they want to see that you have a proactive approach to learning, and they also want to see that you have a focus on staying relevant in your field, as well as the ability to translate new knowledge into practical application.

When crafting your response, consider these key elements. Start by explaining your methods for staying up to date, such as reading industry publications, attending conferences, and participating in online communities. Highlight your utilization of internal resources like mentorship programs or knowledge sharing sessions. Then, share a specific example of how you learned about a new technology, how you explored its potential application, and how you implemented it to benefit your team, your company, or your project.

Here's an example of how you can answer this question. I'm passionate about staying ahead of the curve in my field. That's why I dedicate a lot of time to reading industry publications like X, Y, and Z. It's also why I spend a lot of time attending conferences like X, Y, and Z. I also participate in online communities like X, Y, and Z. In addition, I also leverage internal resources like mentorship programs and knowledge sharing sessions with my team. Recently, I learned about a new technology that could significantly improve our development processes at my current job. I started by researching it thoroughly, then I presented my findings to the team, and now we're currently exploring its potential application in our next project.

Question #8 - Tell me about a time you had to manage a project with tight deadlines

Interview question eight. Tell me about a time you had to manage a project with tight deadlines.

The hiring manager is asking this question because they want to see your ability to prioritize tasks, manage resources effectively, and adapt under pressure. The hiring manager is going to listen closely to your response and they're going to look to gauge your ability to communicate clearly, to solve problems effectively, and focus on delivering results all under time constraints. Because of this, you want to make sure that you're not dwelling on negative aspects or blaming other people for missed deadlines in the stories or examples you share. Make sure you're not downplaying the importance of clear communication either in your answer.

When crafting your response, consider these key elements. Start by explaining your strategies for managing tight deadlines, and you want to have a big emphasis on clear communication and task prioritization. Next, highlight your methods for effective resource allocation and your methods for addressing potential roadblocks. Then last but not least, share a specific example of a project with a tight deadline. Explain how you used clear communication and proactive problem solving to deliver that project on time.

Here's an example of how to deliver the perfect answer to this question. In my experience, clear communication is the key to managing tight deadlines. So I start by breaking down projects into manageable tasks. I define the timelines for each step. Then I make sure that I keep my team informed of any changes. I also empower my team to communicate any roadblocks or potential delays. During a recent project with a tight deadline, a critical dependency was delayed. But instead of panicking, I proactively communicated this to stakeholders, and I adjusted our workflow accordingly, and then I ensured the team was aware of this through the revised timeline. I proactively communicated this to our stakeholders, I adjusted the workflow accordingly, and then I ensured that our entire team was aware of the revised timeline. Through open communication like this and through open collaboration, we did deliver the project on time and within budget.

Question #9 - How do you measure your success as a leader?

Interview question number nine. How do you measure your success as a leader?

The hiring manager is looking for an insight into you and your core values as a leader. What they really want to know is, what is your definition of success and how do you track your progress as a leader? Now, what the hiring manager is actually looking for in your response is they want to hear a major focus in you on team performance, growth, and development, along with other measurable outcomes. When giving your answer, don't define success solely by individual achievements, but don't be vague about how you measure impact either.

When crafting your response, consider these key elements. Start by explaining your definition of success as a leader. When you do this, focus on team development and growth in your definition of success. Then highlight your methods for measuring success, including both quantitative metrics like productivity as well as qualitative factors like team morale. Then share a specific example of how you use leadership to achieve positive outcomes for your team using both metrics and qualitative factors.

Here's an example of how to deliver the perfect answer. I measure my success as a leader by the growth and the development of my team. I track key metrics like team productivity, employee satisfaction, and skill development. However, I also value intangible factors like team morale and positive work environment. In my previous role, I implemented a new training program that resulted in a 20 percent increase in team productivity. But more importantly than that, I saw a significant improvement in employee engagement and a decrease in turnover rates.

Question 10 - Do you have any questions for me?

Interview question number 10. Do you have any questions for me?

This question gives you the chance to show initiative, assess the company culture, and to determine if this role is a good fit for you. Here's what the hiring manager is looking for in your response. They want to see if you have prepared questions that demonstrate your genuine interest in the role and in the company. So make sure you don't ask generic questions that could easily be found on the company website. Don't ask questions solely about the salary or the benefits either, because you can always follow up with HR with questions like that after the interview.

Here's how you can deliver the perfect answer to this. Instead, come to the interview prepared with insightful questions that demonstrate your interest in the specific role, as well as demonstrate your interest in the company culture and the opportunities for growth.

Here's an example. I'm particularly interested in learning more about your company culture and how you support your engineering managers in their professional development. For example, do you have any leadership development programs that are offered to new managers?

I want to emphasize something really important here. When the interviewer opens it up for you to ask questions, make sure you're asking the right questions because the questions you ask them can actually dictate whether or not you get an offer. Many people make the mistake of wasting this opportunity and they waste it by asking something generic or by not asking anything at all, because they're exhausted and they want to get out of the interview.

This is a huge miss because you can use strategic questions to make an impactful impression, drive the conversation in your favor, gain insights about the organization, and show the interview what you're all about so that you can leave your next interview confidently expecting an offer.

If you want to learn a simple framework for how to do this, check out my episode called Eight Questions You Must Ask In Every Interview.

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