Scale Engineer

Principal Engineer

Software EngineerP60Very High

The Principal Engineer (P60) interview at Atlassian is a rigorous process designed to assess deep technical expertise, leadership capabilities, and strategic thinking. Candidates are expected to demonstrate a strong understanding of software architecture, system design, scalability, and the ability to mentor and guide other engineers. The interview process typically involves multiple rounds, including technical deep dives, system design challenges, and behavioral assessments focused on leadership and collaboration.

Rounds·4

Timeline·~4d

Experience·10 - 15 yrs

Comp band·US$180000 - US$250000

Interview time·255 min

Evaluation

What they measure.

  • Technical Depth and Breadth
  • System Design and Architecture
  • Problem-Solving Skills
  • Leadership and Mentorship
  • Communication and Collaboration
  • Strategic Thinking
  • Cultural Fit and Values Alignment

Preparation

How to prepare.

Tips

  1. Deeply understand Atlassian's products and their technical architecture.
  2. Review fundamental computer science concepts, data structures, and algorithms.
  3. Practice system design problems, focusing on scalability, reliability, and trade-offs.
  4. Prepare to discuss your past projects in detail, highlighting your contributions and impact.
  5. Brush up on leadership principles and behavioral interview techniques (STAR method).
  6. Research common challenges and solutions in distributed systems, cloud computing, and relevant technologies.
  7. Understand Atlassian's company culture and values.

Study plan

Fig · Study plan — 04 phases

01 / 04
01

Phase 01 of 04

System Design

Weeks 1-2: System Design fundamentals and practice.

Weeks 1-2: Focus on System Design. Study distributed systems concepts, microservices architecture, databases (SQL/NoSQL), caching strategies, message queues, and load balancing. Practice designing large-scale systems like social media feeds, e-commerce platforms, or real-time collaboration tools. Review common design patterns and architectural styles. Consider resources like 'Designing Data-Intensive Applications' by Martin Kleppmann.

Questions

Commonly asked.

  • Describe a time you had to make a significant technical decision with incomplete information. What was your process, and what was the outcome?
  • How do you mentor and grow engineers on your team? Provide specific examples.
  • Walk me through the architecture of a complex system you designed or significantly contributed to. What were the key challenges and trade-offs?
  • Tell me about a time you failed on a project. What did you learn from it?
  • How do you balance delivering new features with maintaining system health and addressing technical debt?
  • Describe a situation where you had a technical disagreement with a colleague or manager. How did you resolve it?
  • How do you approach designing for scalability and resilience in a distributed environment?
  • What are your thoughts on the current state of cloud computing and its impact on software development?
  • How do you foster a culture of innovation and psychological safety within a team?
  • Imagine you need to design a real-time notification system for millions of users. What would be your approach?
  • How do you handle ambiguity and changing requirements in a fast-paced environment?
  • What are your strategies for ensuring code quality and maintainability in a large codebase?

Locations

Regional differences.

Fig · Regions — 03 locations

01 / 03

Location

Sydney, Australia

Interview focus

Deep technical expertise in specific domains relevant to Atlassian's products (e.g., distributed systems, cloud computing, data engineering, front-end architecture).Proven ability to lead technical initiatives and drive complex projects to completion.Strategic thinking and ability to influence technical direction at an organizational level.Mentorship and people development skills.Strong communication and stakeholder management abilities.Experience with agile methodologies and DevOps practices.Understanding of Atlassian's product suite and their technical underpinnings.

Common questions

  • Describe a complex system you designed and the trade-offs you made.
  • How do you approach mentoring junior engineers?
  • Tell me about a time you had to influence a team to adopt a new technology or approach.
  • Discuss a challenging technical problem you solved and your thought process.
  • How do you ensure the scalability and reliability of large-scale systems?
  • What are your strategies for managing technical debt?
  • How do you stay current with emerging technologies and industry trends?
  • Describe a situation where you had to disagree with a technical decision made by a senior leader. How did you handle it?
  • How do you foster a culture of innovation and continuous improvement within a team?
  • Walk me through your process for diagnosing and resolving production issues in a distributed system.

Tips

  • For Sydney/APAC roles: Emphasize experience with large-scale, distributed systems and cloud-native architectures. Highlight contributions to open-source projects if applicable. Showcase experience with Atlassian's core technologies (e.g., Java, Go, JavaScript, AWS/Azure).
  • For US/EMEA roles: Focus on experience with high-growth environments, rapid iteration, and building products for a global user base. Demonstrate strong understanding of cloud infrastructure (AWS, GCP, Azure) and microservices architectures. Highlight experience with data-intensive applications and machine learning if relevant to the specific team.
  • Be prepared to discuss your contributions to technical strategy and architectural decisions.
  • Quantify your impact whenever possible using metrics.
  • Showcase your ability to think about the 'why' behind technical decisions, not just the 'how'.

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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