Scale Engineer

Software Engineering Manager

Software Engineering ManagerM70High

The Software Engineering Manager (M70) interview at Atlassian is a comprehensive process designed to assess a candidate's leadership capabilities, technical acumen, people management skills, and strategic thinking. It evaluates their ability to lead teams, drive technical excellence, foster a positive engineering culture, and contribute to Atlassian's overall product vision and business goals.

Rounds·4

Timeline·~14d

Experience·8 - 15 yrs

Comp band·US$180000 - US$250000

Interview time·210 min

Evaluation

What they measure.

  • Leadership effectiveness
  • Team building and development
  • Technical depth and strategic thinking
  • Communication and influence
  • Problem-solving and decision-making
  • Alignment with Atlassian values

Preparation

How to prepare.

Tips

  1. Deeply understand Atlassian's mission, values, and products.
  2. Review common leadership frameworks (e.g., Situational Leadership, servant leadership).
  3. Prepare STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) examples for behavioral questions.
  4. Brush up on software development lifecycle, agile methodologies, and modern engineering practices.
  5. Think about your career journey and key leadership experiences.
  6. Understand the challenges and opportunities of managing engineering teams at scale.
  7. Research common interview questions for engineering managers.
  8. Practice articulating your leadership philosophy and management style.
  9. Be ready to discuss your approach to hiring, performance management, and career development.
  10. Prepare thoughtful questions to ask the interviewers.

Study plan

Fig · Study plan — 04 phases

01 / 04
01

Phase 01 of 04

Company & Self-Assessment

Weeks 1-2: Atlassian culture, values, business. Personal leadership experiences (STAR stories).

Weeks 1-2: Focus on understanding Atlassian's culture, values, and business. Review your own leadership experiences and identify key achievements and challenges. Prepare STAR stories related to team building, conflict resolution, and strategic decision-making. Familiarize yourself with Atlassian's product suite and target markets.

Questions

Commonly asked.

  • Tell me about a time you had to lead a team through a significant change or challenge.
  • How do you foster a culture of innovation and continuous improvement within your team?
  • Describe your approach to hiring and retaining top engineering talent.
  • How do you handle underperforming team members?
  • Walk me through a complex technical problem you solved as a leader.
  • How do you balance competing priorities and ensure timely delivery of projects?
  • Describe a time you had to influence stakeholders or senior leadership to adopt your technical vision.
  • How do you measure the success of your team and your own effectiveness as a manager?
  • What is your philosophy on mentorship and career development for engineers?
  • How do you ensure your team adheres to best practices in software development and quality assurance?
  • Tell me about a time you failed. What did you learn from it?
  • How do you manage technical debt and ensure the long-term health of a codebase?
  • Describe your experience with agile methodologies and how you adapt them to your team's needs.
  • How do you foster collaboration between your team and other departments (e.g., Product, Design, QA)?
  • What are your strategies for building psychological safety within a team?

Locations

Regional differences.

Fig · Regions — 03 locations

01 / 03

Location

Remote/Distributed Teams

Interview focus

Remote team management strategiesCross-cultural communicationBuilding trust and psychological safety in a distributed environment

Common questions

  • How do you handle underperforming team members in a remote setting?
  • Describe a time you had to adapt your leadership style for a distributed team.
  • What are your strategies for fostering collaboration and team cohesion across different time zones?

Tips

  • Highlight experience with remote or hybrid team leadership.
  • Be prepared to discuss tools and techniques for effective remote collaboration.
  • Emphasize your ability to build strong relationships without physical proximity.

Rounds

Round-by-round.

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

DSA

Coding questions at Atlassian.

Frequently reported on Atlassian loops

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Other guides

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