Scale Engineer

Software Engineering Manager

Software Engineering ManagerM80High

The Software Engineering Manager (M80) interview at Atlassian is a comprehensive process designed to assess leadership potential, technical acumen, people management skills, and strategic thinking. Candidates are evaluated on their ability to lead teams, drive technical excellence, foster a positive culture, and contribute to Atlassian's mission.

Rounds·4

Timeline·~4d

Experience·8 - 15 yrs

Comp band·US$180000 - US$250000

Interview time·195 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 products, values, and mission.
  2. Prepare specific examples using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) for behavioral questions.
  3. Review common software engineering management challenges and best practices.
  4. Familiarize yourself with Atlassian's leadership principles.
  5. Practice articulating your leadership philosophy and management style.
  6. Research current trends in software development and team management.
  7. Be ready to discuss your experience with scaling teams and managing technical debt.
  8. Prepare questions to ask the interviewers about the role, team, and company culture.

Study plan

Fig · Study plan — 04 phases

01 / 04
01

Phase 01 of 04

Company and Management Fundamentals

Weeks 1-2: Atlassian overview, products, values. Management frameworks (Agile, DevOps).

Weeks 1-2: Focus on Atlassian's history, products (Jira, Confluence, Trello, Bitbucket), company values, and recent news. Understand their business model and market position. Review common software engineering management frameworks and best practices, including Agile methodologies, DevOps, and CI/CD.

Questions

Commonly asked.

  • Describe your leadership philosophy and how you foster a positive team culture.
  • Tell me about a time you had to manage a conflict within your team. How did you resolve it?
  • How do you approach performance management and career development for your engineers?
  • Describe a challenging technical decision you made as a manager. What was the outcome?
  • How do you balance the needs of your team with the strategic goals of the company?
  • Tell me about a time you had to deliver difficult feedback to an engineer. How did you approach it?
  • How do you stay current with technology trends and ensure your team is adopting best practices?
  • Describe a situation where you had to lead your team through a significant change or challenge.
  • How do you prioritize work and manage competing demands for your team's resources?
  • What are your strategies for attracting and retaining top engineering talent?

Locations

Regional differences.

Fig · Regions — 03 locations

01 / 03

Location

Remote

Interview focus

Remote team management strategiesCross-cultural communicationBuilding trust and engagement in a distributed workforce

Common questions

  • How do you handle underperforming engineers in a remote setting?
  • Describe a time you had to adapt your leadership style for a distributed team.
  • What tools and strategies do you use to foster collaboration and communication in a remote environment?

Tips

  • Highlight experience with asynchronous communication tools.
  • Provide examples of successful remote team initiatives.
  • Demonstrate understanding of time zone challenges and solutions.

Rounds

Round-by-round.

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

DSA

Coding questions at Atlassian.

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Other guides

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