Scale Engineer

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Software Engineering ManagerDirectorHigh

The interview process for a Software Engineering Manager at Director level at Expedia is a comprehensive evaluation designed to assess leadership capabilities, technical depth, strategic thinking, and cultural fit. It typically involves multiple rounds, including HR screening, technical interviews, behavioral interviews, and a final executive interview. The goal is to identify candidates who can effectively lead engineering teams, drive technical innovation, and contribute to Expedia's overall business objectives.

Rounds·4

Timeline·~4d

Experience·10 - 15 yrs

Comp band·US$180000 - US$250000

Interview time·195 min

Evaluation

What they measure.

  • Leadership presence and ability to inspire teams.
  • Strategic thinking and business acumen.
  • Technical depth and understanding of software development principles.
  • Problem-solving and decision-making skills.
  • Communication and interpersonal skills.
  • Cultural fit and alignment with Expedia's values.

Preparation

How to prepare.

Tips

  1. Thoroughly research Expedia's mission, values, products, and recent news.
  2. Understand the company's technology stack and engineering culture.
  3. Prepare specific examples using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) for behavioral questions.
  4. Review common software engineering management principles and best practices.
  5. Practice articulating your leadership philosophy and management style.
  6. Be ready to discuss your experience with scaling teams and systems.
  7. Prepare questions to ask the interviewers about the role, team, and company.

Study plan

Fig · Study plan — 04 phases

01 / 04
01

Phase 01 of 04

Company and Industry Research

Weeks 1-2: Research Expedia's business, products, strategy, and values. Understand the travel industry.

Weeks 1-2: Deep dive into Expedia's business, products, and recent performance. Understand the competitive landscape in the travel industry. Review Expedia's engineering blog and public statements on technology. Focus on understanding the company's strategic goals and how engineering contributes to them. Familiarize yourself with Expedia's core values and culture.

Questions

Commonly asked.

  • Describe your experience leading engineering teams through significant growth or change.
  • How do you foster a culture of psychological safety and inclusivity within your teams?
  • Tell me about a time you had to make a difficult trade-off between speed and quality. What was the outcome?
  • What are your strategies for managing underperforming engineers?
  • How do you ensure alignment between engineering efforts and business objectives?
  • Describe your approach to technical roadmap planning and execution.
  • How do you stay current with emerging technologies and assess their potential impact on the business?
  • What is your experience with managing budgets and resource allocation for engineering projects?
  • How do you handle disagreements with senior stakeholders or product management?
  • What are your key metrics for measuring team success and productivity?
  • Tell me about a time you failed. What did you learn from it?
  • How do you empower your team leads and senior engineers?
  • What are your thoughts on the current state of the travel technology industry?
  • How would you build and scale a new engineering team from scratch?
  • Describe a situation where you had to influence a decision at a higher level.

Locations

Regional differences.

Fig · Regions — 03 locations

01 / 03

Location

London

Interview focus

Understanding of local market dynamics and talent pool.Adaptability to regional work culture and regulations.Experience with distributed teams if applicable to the location.

Common questions

  • How do you handle a conflict between two senior engineers on your team?
  • Describe a time you had to make a difficult decision that impacted your team negatively. How did you handle it?
  • What are your strategies for fostering innovation within an engineering team?
  • How do you balance technical debt with delivering new features?
  • In a remote or hybrid work environment, how do you ensure team cohesion and productivity?

Tips

  • Research Expedia's presence and recent developments in the specific region.
  • Be prepared to discuss your experience managing teams in similar cultural contexts.
  • Highlight any experience with international collaboration or managing remote teams.

Rounds

Round-by-round.

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

DSA

Coding questions at Expedia.

Frequently reported on Expedia loops

View all at Expedia

Other guides

More at Expedia.