Scale Engineer

Software Engineering Manager

Software Engineering ManagerManagerHigh

This interview process is designed to assess candidates for a Software Engineering Manager role at Cohesity. It evaluates technical leadership, people management skills, strategic thinking, and cultural fit.

Rounds·4

Timeline·~14d

Experience·8 - 15 yrs

Comp band·US$180000 - US$250000

Interview time·195 min

Evaluation

What they measure.

  • Technical depth and breadth
  • Problem-solving abilities
  • System design and architecture understanding
  • Ability to mentor and grow engineers

Preparation

How to prepare.

Tips

  1. Review Cohesity's mission, values, and products.
  2. Prepare examples using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) for behavioral questions.
  3. Brush up on software development lifecycle, agile methodologies, and project management principles.
  4. Think about your leadership philosophy and how you develop and mentor engineers.
  5. Be ready to discuss your experience with scaling teams and managing complex projects.
  6. Understand common challenges in software engineering management and how you've overcome them.
  7. 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 & Role Immersion

Weeks 1-2: Cohesity tech/product, company strategy, career reflection, cultural alignment.

Weeks 1-2: Deep dive into Cohesity's technology stack, product offerings, and competitive landscape. Understand the company's strategic goals and how engineering contributes to them. Review your own career achievements and identify key projects and leadership experiences that align with the SEM role. Focus on understanding Cohesity's culture and values.

Questions

Commonly asked.

  • Tell me about a time you had to manage a difficult stakeholder relationship. How did you handle it?
  • Describe your approach to hiring and building a high-performing engineering team.
  • How do you balance the need for innovation with the pressure to deliver on existing commitments?
  • Walk me through a complex technical challenge your team faced and how you led them to a solution.
  • How do you foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement within your team?
  • What are your strategies for managing underperforming engineers?
  • Describe a time you had to make a difficult decision that impacted your team. What was the outcome?
  • How do you stay current with technology trends and ensure your team is leveraging the right tools and practices?
  • What is your experience with budget management and resource allocation?
  • How do you delegate tasks effectively and empower your team members?
  • Tell me about a time you failed. What did you learn from it?
  • How do you handle conflict within your team?
  • What are your thoughts on technical debt and how do you manage it?
  • How do you ensure the quality and reliability of the software your team produces?
  • What are your career aspirations, and how does this role fit into them?

Locations

Regional differences.

Fig · Regions — 02 locations

01 / 02

Location

Remote/Hybrid

Interview focus

Adaptability to remote/hybrid management challengesCross-cultural communication and collaborationBuilding trust and engagement in distributed teams

Common questions

  • How do you handle underperforming engineers in a remote setting?
  • Describe a time you had to manage a conflict between team members across different time zones.
  • What are your strategies for fostering team cohesion and collaboration in a hybrid work environment?

Tips

  • Highlight experience with distributed team management tools and methodologies.
  • Provide specific examples of successful remote team leadership.
  • Emphasize your understanding of asynchronous communication best practices.

Rounds

Round-by-round.

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

DSA

Coding questions at Cohesity.

Frequently reported on Cohesity loops

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