Google Engineering Manager Interview Guide

The interview guide we’ve put together is broadly focused on the Engineering Manager interview (L6) at Google; but if you’re interviewing for a different seniority level – you can expect a few additional rounds. 

The seniority levels for EMs at Google are - EM, Senior EM and Director of Engineering. Senior EM maps to L7, and Director of Engineering maps to L8. 

In terms of people management expectations, as a Senior EM (L7) at Google - you will be managing other EMs, as well as a few ICs (usually Staff level, whom you’d need to execute on cross-team initiatives). The increased level means you either get a broader scope (in terms of breadth of topics covered); or a deeper complex scope (in terms of either the complexity of the space, or the impact you’re expected to drive home). Finally, the expectation is that with increased seniority you abstract out your work through scalable mechanisms - it’s increasingly important that you know how and when to delegate, and create structures that allow you to scale your impact through guiding principles rather than individual participation. This necessarily translates to a difference in how you’re evaluated in interviews - which I’ve covered in a bit more depth in the next section.

Before getting into that though, it’s also worth understanding what the Director of Engineering role at Google looks like, and how it's distinct from an EM or Senior EM role. 

In terms of the main scope - an Engineering Director basically establishes the long term backbone of the company. In terms of people management expectations - as a Director of Engineering (L8) at Google, you’ll be managing mostly Sr EMs, occasionally some EMs, and a few ICs - usually at the Staff or Senior Staff level. You’d be accountable for the engineering success of a full org. To get a semblance of scale, a Director of Engineering at Google would manage something like the implementation of the AI models in search. Or potentially the ranking of the “Hotel Ads” ecosystem on Maps. Or the entire UX of Gmail. And so on. It’s a large scope, it’s always business critical - so you live or die by the execution of your directs, and it’s crucial to be able to set an Engineering strategy that enables the growth of your space, alongside guiding principles and mechanisms that empower people to drive value in a way that aligns with this. And you’re empowered to achieve this – you would typically have a broad network within the company, and the ability and authority to resolve most issues with little or no escalation. Naturally, skills such as delegation, influencing power stakeholders and leadership, farsightedness and vision, and effective organizational design become incredibly important in such a role, and Google’s interviews adapt to assess this. I’ve covered this in a deep-dive section further down.

If you’re interviewing for a Senior Engineering Manager role at Google, you will face an additional question type (sometimes integrated within the people management interview), focused on “Manager of Manager” interviews. The questions in this “manager of managers” type interview test how well you approach the challenge of managing a mix of ICs and People Managers, where you no longer directly influence what each person in your team / org is working on. You’re expected to surface how you drive influence through leadership, develop leaders through scalable mechanisms, resolve inevitable conflict in a constructive way, and set priorities for your space in a way that is aligned with the broader organization’s goals. 

In addition, there’s also an expectation that you demonstrate “next level” skills within the traditional scope of Engineering managers. For instance - if the default expectation is to align technical strategy - you’ll now be expected to do that for a greater or more complex scope; or with more challenging stakeholders, or in a way that is future proof. If the default expectation of an EM is to grow their reports - as a Sr. EM you’d be expected to show how you’ve coached ICs into managerial or specialized roles, the sort of guidance you provided but also how you leverage your influence to create opportunities aligning with these goals. From a prioritization standpoint, can you think beyond the scope of a team - but to a collection of teams - and can you make hard calls to sunset teams or initiatives, or merge them when you see synergies.

A couple of questions that try to discern whether you have the skills to cut it at this level, to give you an idea:

• How do your 1-1s change when you’re talking to one of your people manager reports vs an IC report?
• Your direct report is having a challenge with one of their direct reports. How are you going to react?
• Your skip level has reached out to you to discuss feedback regarding their manager (who reports into you). What would you do next?
• Tell me about a time you felt your direct report didn’t correctly assess the performance of one of their reports.
• You have to deploy a team to design and build a replacement for an existing service, while a team maintains the current one. How would you go about this?
• You’re seeing disintegrating dynamics between two teams, how would you go about figuring an approach?

There are four additional interview types you can expect to face for Director of Engineering roles at Google, in addition to what you’d normally see for Google EM candidates.

The first is the Manager of Manager interviews – which is something you’d also encounter in Sr. EM roles. I’ve covered it in depth in the section above, so I won’t repeat the advice here – but the important thing to note is that in this context you’d be expected to field scenarios for managing Sr. EMs. How you’d create opportunities for them to grow beyond their current roles. How you’d coach them in their own strategic thinking and technical vision. And so on.

The second is the Organizational Design interview. This is often called  For Director of Engineering, you can expect to face Manager of Manager Interviews and Organization Design Interview as additional interviews. The Manager of Manager Interview is similar to the one for Senior EM Interview. Let’s talk about Organization Design Interviews.

Organization Design Interview: In this round, you can expect questions and scenarios that evaluate your experience in scaling a team and its capacity. You should be prepared to discuss your approach to team growth, including hiring strategies, onboarding processes, and ensuring the team's ability to meet increasing demands.

Creating a leadership structure for different situations is another key aspect of this interview. You may be asked about how you design and implement leadership roles within your team or organization. Consider how you define roles and responsibilities, distribute decision-making authority, and foster collaboration among leaders. You may be expected to share examples of how you have successfully led or participated in reorganizations.

You can also expect questions about your experience in leading capacity planning initiatives, including determining resource needs, forecasting future requirements, and making data-driven decisions to optimize team efficiency and productivity. Be prepared to share examples of how you have identified weaknesses within your organization and implemented strategies to address them. Consider your approaches to process improvements, skill gaps, communication breakdowns, or any other organizational challenges you have encountered.

In addition to the core topics, there may be a bonus question or discussion on succession planning. Succession planning involves identifying and developing potential leaders within your team or organization. Be prepared to discuss your approach to identifying high-potential individuals, providing them with growth opportunities, and building a pipeline of future leaders.

During the Team Matching phase, the focus is on assessing the fit between you and the rest of the team. This is an opportunity for the EM to evaluate whether you have the potential to be successful within the team dynamic. Be clear and communicate the type of work that excites you. The interviewer will highly value you if you have genuine interest and curiosity about learning new things. By showing enthusiasm and a willingness to explore new areas, you can highlight your adaptability and openness to growth. Additionally, it is important to approach the Team Matching process with a positive and respectful attitude, as being collaborative and supportive of others is crucial for team success.

The team matching process varies depending on the role you are applying for. In some cases, team matching interviews take place before the phone interview or onsite rounds to ensure the candidate is a good fit. This process was introduced in 2022; previously all team matching used to be done post-onsite interviews; and once the HC had already evaluated your application. In some cases, team matching continues to occur after the hiring committee has completed their evaluation.

Having a clear idea about Google interview questions for the engineering manager post will help pass through interview rounds. EM interview covers testing your leadership, previous track record, and technical skills. Below are a few more interview tips to follow are-

• Google recruiters would want to know your thought process and decision-making process. So ensure to explain it clearly throughout the interview. 
• Recruiters would ask open-ended questions to see how you engage with a problem and what method you choose for solving it. Ask for clarification, if needed with such questions. 
• Google prefers employees who continuously improve on existing products. So feel free to think out loud about improving the proposed solution. 
• Practice writing your code on paper or a whiteboard. Prepare well in advance and try your codes to deliver it bug-free. 

Get more tips on How to Approach Coding Problems Successfully

Responsibilities of an Engineering Manager at Google

The responsibilities of an EM at Google across roles can broadly be seen as-

• Set and communicate team priorities that support the broader organization's goals. Prioritize feature development that aligns with the company's strategic objectives.
• Set clear expectations with individuals based on their level and role and aligned to the broader organization's goals. For example, meet regularly with individuals to discuss performance and development and provide feedback and coaching.
• Develop the mid-term technical vision and roadmap within the scope of your (often multiple) team(s). Evolve the roadmap to meet anticipated future requirements and infrastructure needs.
• Design, guide and vet systems designs within the scope of the broader area, and write product or system development code to solve ambiguous problems. For instance, lead architectural discussions and provide guidance to ensure scalable and robust system designs.
• Review code developed by other engineers and provide feedback to ensure best practices (e.g., style guidelines, checking code in, accuracy, testability, and efficiency).
• Lead a team of Engineers and tech leads to transform the technical vision to reality.

It's important to note that the responsibilities may vary depending on the level of seniority, the specific practice area, the specific industry, and the specific project.

Skills and Qualifications needed for EMs at Google

Here are some skills and qualifications that will help you excel in your EM interviews at Google.

• Emphasize your experience with software development in one or more programming languages (e.g., Python, C, C++, Java, JavaScript). Showcase specific projects or accomplishments that illustrate your coding skills in action.
• Showcase your experience in a technical leadership role, overseeing strategic projects, and having at least 2 years of experience in a people management or team leadership role. Provide examples of how you effectively navigated challenges and motivated your team to achieve goals.
• Demonstrate your experience with Google-scale infrastructure, Google Cloud Platform, and open-source systems.

Recently, Google was looking for an EM for their Smart Home Services team, for which they were specifically seeking someone familiar with IoT and home automation. You can be on the lookout for preferred qualifications like these.

Review Google interview questions for the engineering manager post to gain insights. The best you can do is undergo mock interviews, which are available on the Prepfully website. This will further help you practice and prepare for the interview.