Scale Engineer

Software Engineering Manager

Software Engineering ManagerL6High

Asana is looking for experienced Software Engineering Managers (L6) to lead and mentor high-performing engineering teams. This role involves a blend of technical leadership, people management, and strategic thinking to drive product development and foster a collaborative engineering culture.

Rounds·5

Timeline·~14d

Experience·7 - 10 yrs

Comp band·US$180000 - US$250000

Interview time·270 min

Evaluation

What they measure.

  • Technical depth and breadth relevant to Asana's stack
  • Ability to make sound technical decisions and guide architectural discussions
  • Understanding of software development lifecycle and best practices

Preparation

How to prepare.

Tips

  1. Thoroughly research Asana's mission, values, products, and recent news.
  2. Understand the specific challenges and opportunities for an Engineering Manager at Asana.
  3. Prepare specific examples using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) for behavioral questions.
  4. Review common software engineering principles and practices, even if you're not coding directly.
  5. Familiarize yourself with Asana's engineering blog and public technical talks.
  6. Think about your leadership philosophy and how it aligns with Asana's culture.

Study plan

Fig · Study plan — 04 phases

01 / 04
01

Phase 01 of 04

Company & Product Immersion

Weeks 1-2: Research Asana's culture, product, and engineering practices. Understand EM challenges.

Weeks 1-2: Deep dive into Asana's company culture, mission, values, and product suite. Understand their target audience and competitive landscape. Review Asana's engineering blog and any available technical talks to grasp their technology stack and engineering practices. Familiarize yourself with common challenges faced by engineering managers in scaling organizations.

Questions

Commonly asked.

  • Tell me about a time you had to manage a difficult stakeholder relationship. How did you handle it?
  • Describe your approach to setting team goals and ensuring alignment with broader company objectives.
  • How do you foster a culture of psychological safety and continuous learning within your team?
  • Walk me through a challenging project you managed from inception to delivery. What were the key challenges and how did you overcome them?
  • How do you identify and develop high-potential engineers on your team?
  • Describe a time you had to make a difficult decision that impacted your team. What was your process?
  • How do you balance the need for speed with the importance of code quality and technical debt?
  • What is your experience with performance management, including addressing underperformance?
  • How do you stay technically relevant as a manager?
  • Tell me about a time you failed. What did you learn from it?

Locations

Regional differences.

Fig · Regions — 02 locations

01 / 02

Location

Remote/Hybrid

Interview focus

Adaptability to remote/hybrid management stylesCross-time zone collaboration strategiesBuilding inclusive remote team cultures

Common questions

  • How do you handle underperforming engineers in a remote setting?
  • Describe a time you had to manage a conflict between engineers on different time zones.
  • What are your strategies for fostering team cohesion and culture in a hybrid work environment?

Tips

  • Highlight experience with distributed teams and asynchronous communication.
  • Be prepared to discuss tools and techniques for remote team engagement.
  • Emphasize your ability to build trust and psychological safety across distances.

Rounds

Round-by-round.

Expand a step for evaluation criteria, sample questions, and prep notes.

DSA

Coding questions at Asana.

Frequently reported on Asana loops

View all at Asana

Other guides

More at Asana.