Scale Engineer

Software Engineering Manager

Software Engineering ManagerL7Hard

Asana is looking for experienced Software Engineering Managers (L7) 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 innovation.

Rounds·5

Timeline·~14d

Experience·8 - 15 yrs

Comp band·US$180000 - US$250000

Interview time·255 min

Evaluation

What they measure.

  • Leadership and people management skills.
  • Technical depth and architectural understanding.
  • Strategic thinking and business acumen.
  • Communication and collaboration abilities.
  • Problem-solving and decision-making capabilities.
  • Cultural fit and alignment with Asana's values.

Preparation

How to prepare.

Tips

  1. Deeply understand Asana's mission, values, and product.
  2. Review your past experiences and prepare specific examples using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result).
  3. Familiarize yourself with common software engineering management challenges and best practices.
  4. Practice articulating your leadership philosophy and management style.
  5. Prepare questions to ask the interviewers about the team, role, and Asana's culture.
  6. Understand Asana's approach to engineering, including their tech stack and development processes.
  7. Research the specific challenges and opportunities for an L7 Engineering Manager at Asana.

Study plan

Fig · Study plan — 05 phases

01 / 05
01

Phase 01 of 05

Company & Self-Assessment

Weeks 1-2: Asana research, career history review, STAR story outlining.

Weeks 1-2: Focus on Asana's company mission, values, product suite, and recent news. Understand their business model and target audience. Review your career history, identifying key leadership achievements and challenges. Begin outlining STAR stories for common management scenarios (e.g., conflict resolution, performance management, project delivery).

Questions

Commonly asked.

  • Tell me about a time you had to manage a significant technical challenge or failure. What was your role, and what did you learn?
  • How do you foster a culture of innovation and continuous improvement within your team?
  • Describe your approach to setting team goals and ensuring alignment with company objectives.
  • How do you handle underperformance on your team? Walk me through a specific example.
  • What is your philosophy on career development for engineers? How do you support their growth?
  • Tell me about a time you had to make a difficult decision that impacted your team. How did you approach it, and what was the outcome?
  • How do you balance the need for speed and feature delivery with maintaining code quality and managing technical debt?
  • Describe a situation where you had to influence stakeholders or other teams to adopt your team's technical direction.
  • What are the key qualities you look for when hiring engineers for your team?
  • How do you ensure effective communication and collaboration within your team and with other departments?
  • Tell me about a time you had to manage a conflict within your team. What was your approach?
  • What are your strategies for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within your engineering team?
  • How do you stay current with technology trends and ensure your team is leveraging appropriate tools and practices?
  • Describe a time you had to lead your team through a period of significant change or uncertainty.

Locations

Regional differences.

Fig · Regions — 02 locations

01 / 02

Location

Remote/Hybrid

Interview focus

Adaptability to remote/hybrid work environments.Cross-cultural communication and collaboration.Understanding of local tech market trends and talent pools.

Common questions

  • How do you handle performance issues with a direct report in a remote setting?
  • Describe a time you had to manage a project with significant ambiguity. How did you bring clarity to your team?
  • What are your strategies for fostering psychological safety within a distributed team?
  • How do you balance technical debt reduction with new feature development in a fast-paced environment?
  • Tell me about a time you had to influence stakeholders outside of your direct reporting line to adopt a new technical approach.

Tips

  • Highlight experience with distributed team management and asynchronous communication tools.
  • Be prepared to discuss your approach to building inclusive and collaborative environments across different time zones.
  • Research Asana's presence and engineering culture in the specific region.

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

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Other guides

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