# Manager
**Role:** Software Engineering Manager · **Level:** Grade 11
**Company:** [Cisco](https://scaleengineer.com/companies/cisco)
**Difficulty:** High
**Salary:** US$170000 - US$220000
**Experience:** 8 - 15
**Timeline:** ~14 days
This interview process is for a Software Engineering Manager (Grade 11) at Cisco, focusing on assessing leadership, technical acumen, people management skills, and strategic thinking.
Canonical: https://scaleengineer.com/interviews/cisco/grade-11-software-engineering-manager
---
## Overall evaluation

- Leadership and People Management
- Technical Acumen and Strategy
- Business and Strategic Alignment
- Behavioral and Cultural Fit

## Questions asked

- Describe your leadership style and how you motivate your team.
- 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 provide feedback to your engineers?
- What is your experience with hiring and onboarding new team members?
- Describe a challenging project you led. What were the key challenges, and how did you overcome them?
- How do you balance the need for innovation with the delivery of reliable products?
- How do you foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement within your team?
- What are your thoughts on technical debt and how do you manage it?
- How do you ensure effective communication and collaboration within your team and with other departments?
- Describe a time you had to make a difficult decision that impacted your team. What was the outcome?
- How do you stay updated with the latest technology trends and encourage your team to do the same?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses as a manager?
- Why are you interested in this role at Cisco?
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

## Preparation tips

### lists

- Thoroughly review Cisco's mission, values, and recent product developments.
- Understand the specific challenges and opportunities for the team you would be managing.
- Prepare STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) examples for common leadership and technical scenarios.
- Research common interview questions for engineering managers.
- Practice articulating your leadership philosophy and management style.
- Be ready to discuss your experience with agile methodologies and DevOps practices.
- Prepare questions to ask the interviewers about the team, the role, and Cisco's future.

### studyPlan

- {"title":"Company and Self-Assessment","longDescription":"Weeks 1-2: Deep dive into Cisco's business, products, and culture. Understand the organizational structure and the specific challenges of the engineering department. Review your own career achievements and identify key examples that align with the role requirements. Focus on leadership principles and people management theories.","shortDescription":"Weeks 1-2: Cisco's business, culture, your achievements, leadership principles."}
- {"title":"Technical Acumen","longDescription":"Weeks 3-4: Focus on technical leadership. Review software architecture, system design, scalability, and performance best practices. Prepare to discuss your experience in guiding technical decisions, managing technical debt, and fostering innovation within engineering teams. Brush up on common programming languages and development methodologies relevant to Cisco.","shortDescription":"Weeks 3-4: Technical leadership, architecture, system design, development methodologies."}
- {"title":"People Management and Behavioral Skills","longDescription":"Weeks 5-6: Concentrate on people management and behavioral aspects. Prepare STAR method stories for scenarios related to team building, conflict resolution, performance management, hiring, and career development. Understand how to motivate and inspire teams, especially in challenging or distributed environments. Practice articulating your management philosophy.","shortDescription":"Weeks 5-6: People management, behavioral questions, STAR method, team motivation."}
- {"title":"Final Preparation and Mock Interviews","longDescription":"Week 7: Final preparation. Conduct mock interviews with peers or mentors. Refine your answers and ensure they are concise and impactful. Prepare insightful questions to ask the interviewers. Review all previous study materials and ensure you are confident in your responses.","shortDescription":"Week 7: Mock interviews, refining answers, preparing questions."}

## Location differences

- {"location":"Remote/Hybrid Focus","differences":{"tips":["Highlight experience with remote or hybrid team leadership.","Be prepared to discuss specific tools and platforms used for collaboration.","Showcase your ability to build trust and rapport virtually.","Emphasize your understanding of asynchronous communication best practices."],"interviewFocus":["Remote team management strategies","Cross-cultural communication and collaboration","Building team cohesion in distributed environments","Leveraging technology for remote productivity"],"commonQuestions":["How do you handle underperforming team members in a remote setting?","Describe a time you had to adapt your leadership style for a geographically distributed team.","What are the key challenges and benefits of managing a hybrid engineering team?","How do you foster innovation and collaboration in a remote or hybrid environment?","What tools and strategies do you use to ensure effective communication across different time zones?"]}}
- {"location":"On-site/Office Focus","differences":{"tips":["Be ready to discuss specific technologies and architectural patterns.","Prepare examples of technical leadership and mentorship.","Demonstrate a strong understanding of software development lifecycle and best practices.","Articulate your vision for technical excellence."],"interviewFocus":["Deep technical understanding and architectural vision","Problem-solving and decision-making in complex technical scenarios","Technical roadmap planning and execution","Mentoring and developing technical talent"],"commonQuestions":["Describe a complex technical challenge your team faced and how you guided them through it.","How do you balance technical debt reduction with new feature development?","Tell me about a time you had to make a difficult technical decision that impacted the product roadmap.","How do you stay current with emerging technologies and encourage your team to do the same?","What is your approach to architectural reviews and ensuring scalability and reliability?"]}}

## Round 1: Leadership and People Management Assessment
**Type:** Hiring Manager Interview · **Difficulty:** High · **Duration:** 45 min
Assesses leadership, people management, and cultural fit.
This initial round with the hiring manager or a senior engineering manager focuses on assessing your overall leadership capabilities, people management philosophy, and alignment with Cisco's culture. Expect behavioral questions designed to understand your past experiences in leading teams, resolving conflicts, managing performance, and fostering a positive work environment. They will also gauge your understanding of the role and your motivation for joining Cisco.
**Interviewers look for:** A clear understanding of management principles; Empathy and ability to connect with people; Examples of successful team leadership; A proactive and problem-solving mindset
**Evaluation criteria:** Leadership potential; People management skills; Communication clarity; Problem-solving approach
**Common rejection reasons:** Lack of clear leadership vision; Inability to articulate management philosophy; Poor examples of conflict resolution; Difficulty in demonstrating people development skills
## Questions

- Describe your approach to building and motivating a high-performing engineering team.
- Tell me about a time you had to deliver difficult feedback to a team member. How did you handle it?
- How do you foster a culture of innovation and psychological safety within your team?
- Describe a situation where you had to manage a significant change within your team. What was your strategy?

## Preparation tips

- Prepare STAR method examples for leadership and people management scenarios.
- Clearly articulate your management style and philosophy.
- Research Cisco's values and be ready to discuss how you embody them.
- Practice answering questions about conflict resolution and team motivation.

## Round 2: Technical Strategy and Architecture
**Type:** Technical and Architectural Interview · **Difficulty:** High · **Duration:** 60 min
Evaluates technical depth, architectural vision, and strategic thinking.
This round focuses on your technical leadership and strategic thinking. You'll be expected to discuss your experience with software architecture, system design, scalability, and performance. Be prepared to dive deep into technical challenges, discuss trade-offs, and articulate how you guide your team's technical direction. This might involve discussing past projects, architectural reviews, or hypothetical technical scenarios.
**Interviewers look for:** A strong grasp of software architecture and design patterns; Ability to guide technical direction and make sound decisions; Understanding of scalability, reliability, and performance; Experience in managing technical debt and driving technical excellence
**Evaluation criteria:** Technical depth and breadth; Architectural thinking; Problem-solving skills; Strategic technical planning
**Common rejection reasons:** Lack of strategic technical vision; Inability to articulate architectural decisions; Poor understanding of scalability and performance; Difficulty in managing technical debt
## Questions

- Describe a complex system you designed or significantly contributed to. What were the key architectural decisions and trade-offs?
- How do you approach balancing the need for new features with maintaining and improving the existing codebase (technical debt)?
- Imagine you need to design a scalable real-time data processing pipeline. What would be your approach?
- How do you ensure the quality, reliability, and performance of the software your team delivers?

## Preparation tips

- Review common system design principles and patterns.
- Prepare examples of technical challenges you've solved and decisions you've made.
- Understand how to balance feature development with technical debt.
- Be ready to discuss your experience with cloud technologies and distributed systems.

## Round 3: Business Acumen and Cross-functional Collaboration
**Type:** Cross-functional and Strategic Interview · **Difficulty:** High · **Duration:** 45 min
Evaluates strategic thinking, business acumen, and cross-functional collaboration.
This round assesses your ability to think strategically, collaborate with cross-functional teams, and understand the business impact of engineering decisions. You'll discuss how you align your team's work with broader business goals, manage stakeholders, and contribute to product strategy. Expect questions about your experience working with product managers, understanding customer needs, and driving initiatives that have a business impact.
**Interviewers look for:** Ability to connect team's work to business objectives; Experience working with product management, design, and other engineering teams; Strong communication and influencing skills; A proactive approach to identifying and solving business problems
**Evaluation criteria:** Strategic thinking and business acumen; Cross-functional collaboration; Stakeholder management; Communication and influence
**Common rejection reasons:** Inability to align with business goals; Poor stakeholder management; Lack of strategic thinking beyond the team; Weak communication with cross-functional partners
## Questions

- How do you partner with Product Management to define and prioritize the roadmap?
- Describe a time you had to influence stakeholders outside of your direct team to adopt a particular technical approach or strategy.
- How do you ensure your team's work is aligned with the company's overall business objectives?
- What is your experience in managing technical risks and communicating them to business stakeholders?

## Preparation tips

- Understand Cisco's business model and market position.
- Prepare examples of successful collaboration with product management and other departments.
- Think about how engineering decisions impact business outcomes.
- Practice articulating your strategic vision for a team or product area.

## Round 4: Executive Leadership and Vision
**Type:** Senior Leadership Interview · **Difficulty:** High · **Duration:** 45 min
Assesses leadership vision, long-term potential, and cultural alignment with senior leadership.
This final round is typically with a senior leader (Director or VP) who will assess your overall leadership potential, strategic thinking, and cultural fit within Cisco at a higher level. They will want to understand your long-term career aspirations and how they align with Cisco's vision. Be prepared to discuss your leadership philosophy at scale and your vision for the future of engineering at Cisco.
**Interviewers look for:** A strong, forward-looking leadership vision; Alignment with Cisco's core values and long-term strategy; Potential for growth within the organization; Ability to inspire and lead at a broader level
**Evaluation criteria:** Leadership vision and potential; Cultural alignment; Career aspirations; Overall fit for the organization
**Common rejection reasons:** Lack of alignment with senior leadership; Poor articulation of career goals; Inability to demonstrate cultural fit at a higher level; Concerns about overall leadership potential
## Questions

- What is your long-term vision for an engineering team, and how would you foster that vision at Cisco?
- How do you see your role evolving as you grow within Cisco?
- What are the most critical qualities of a successful engineering leader in today's technology landscape?
- What are your thoughts on the future of [relevant technology area for Cisco] and how should engineering teams prepare?

## Preparation tips

- Research the interviewer's background and areas of focus.
- Articulate your long-term career goals and how this role fits into them.
- Be ready to discuss your vision for engineering leadership and innovation.
- Reinforce your understanding of Cisco's strategic direction.