# N
**Role:** Software Engineering Manager · **Level:** Director
**Company:** [Expedia](https://scaleengineer.com/companies/expedia)
**Difficulty:** High
**Salary:** US$180000 - US$250000
**Experience:** 10 - 15
**Timeline:** ~4 days
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.
Canonical: https://scaleengineer.com/interviews/expedia/director-software-engineering-manager
---
## Overall evaluation

- Leadership and Strategy
- Team Management and Execution
- Technical Acumen
- Communication and Collaboration

## Questions 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.

## Preparation tips

### lists

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

### studyPlan

- {"title":"Company and Industry Research","longDescription":"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.","shortDescription":"Weeks 1-2: Research Expedia's business, products, strategy, and values. Understand the travel industry."}
- {"title":"Leadership and Management Skills","longDescription":"Weeks 3-4: Focus on leadership and management principles. Review concepts like agile methodologies, project management, performance management, hiring best practices, conflict resolution, and team building. Prepare specific examples from your past experience that demonstrate these skills, using the STAR method.","shortDescription":"Weeks 3-4: Study leadership and management principles. Prepare STAR method examples for behavioral questions."}
- {"title":"Technical Foundations","longDescription":"Weeks 5-6: Brush up on technical concepts relevant to a Director-level role. This includes system design, architecture, scalability, cloud computing (AWS, Azure, GCP), microservices, CI/CD, and data management. Be prepared to discuss technical challenges you've faced and how you guided your teams through them.","shortDescription":"Weeks 5-6: Review system design, architecture, scalability, cloud, and modern development practices. Prepare for technical discussions."}
- {"title":"Mock Interviews and Final Preparation","longDescription":"Week 7: Practice mock interviews, focusing on both behavioral and technical scenarios. Refine your answers and ensure they are concise and impactful. Prepare thoughtful questions to ask the interviewers, demonstrating your engagement and interest.","shortDescription":"Week 7: Conduct mock interviews. Refine answers and prepare questions for interviewers."}

## Location differences

- {"location":"London","differences":{"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."],"interviewFocus":["Understanding of local market dynamics and talent pool.","Adaptability to regional work culture and regulations.","Experience with distributed teams if applicable to the location."],"commonQuestions":["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?"]}}
- {"location":"San Francisco Bay Area","differences":{"tips":["Be ready to discuss specific technical architectures and design patterns.","Prepare examples of successful project delivery and team leadership.","Emphasize your experience with scaling systems and managing complex projects."],"interviewFocus":["Deep technical expertise and understanding of scalable systems.","Proven track record of building and leading high-performing engineering teams.","Strategic thinking and ability to align technology with business goals.","Experience with agile methodologies and DevOps practices."],"commonQuestions":["How do you approach hiring top engineering talent in a competitive market like the Bay Area?","Describe a major technical challenge you faced and how you led your team to overcome it.","How do you mentor and develop high-performing engineers?","What is your philosophy on performance management and career growth for your team members?","How do you stay updated with the latest technology trends and ensure your team is leveraging them effectively?"]}}
- {"location":"Chicago","differences":{"tips":["Showcase your ability to influence and collaborate across different departments.","Be prepared to discuss your vision for engineering leadership at Expedia.","Highlight your understanding of the travel industry and its challenges."],"interviewFocus":["Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.","Ability to drive results and deliver on business objectives.","Understanding of product development lifecycle and customer focus.","Cultural alignment with Expedia's values."],"commonQuestions":["How do you foster a culture of continuous improvement within your team?","Describe a time you had to manage a project with ambiguous requirements. How did you proceed?","What are your key principles for effective communication with stakeholders and executive leadership?","How do you delegate tasks and empower your team members?","What are your thoughts on the future of travel technology and Expedia's role in it?"]}}

## Round 1: Recruiter Screen
**Type:** HR Screening · **Difficulty:** Medium · **Duration:** 30 min
Initial screening call with HR to assess basic qualifications and cultural fit.
This initial screening call with a recruiter is designed to assess your overall fit for the role and Expedia. The recruiter will discuss your background, career aspirations, and motivation for applying. They will also cover salary expectations, logistical details, and provide an overview of the interview process. This is an opportunity for you to learn more about the company and the position.
**Interviewers look for:** Clear and concise communication.; Positive attitude and energy.; Basic understanding of the role and Expedia.; Alignment with company values.
**Evaluation criteria:** Communication skills.; Enthusiasm for the role and company.; Basic understanding of the role's requirements.; Cultural alignment.
**Common rejection reasons:** Lack of clear communication.; Inability to articulate past experiences effectively.; Not demonstrating a genuine interest in Expedia or the role.; Poor cultural fit.
## Questions

- Can you walk me through your resume and highlight your most relevant experience for this role?
- Why are you interested in joining Expedia?
- What are your salary expectations for this position?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses as a leader?

## Preparation tips

- Be prepared to talk about your resume and career history.
- Clearly articulate why you are interested in this specific role at Expedia.
- Have a good understanding of your salary expectations.
- Prepare questions about the role, team, and company culture.

## Round 2: System Design Interview
**Type:** Technical Interview (System Design) · **Difficulty:** High · **Duration:** 60 min
Assess system design and architectural capabilities through a practical problem.
This round focuses on your technical expertise and ability to design and architect complex systems. You will be presented with a problem statement, and you'll need to discuss your approach to designing a solution, considering factors like scalability, performance, reliability, and maintainability. The interviewer will probe your design choices and assess your understanding of trade-offs.
**Interviewers look for:** Ability to design scalable and robust systems.; Sound technical judgment.; Clear communication of technical concepts.; Experience with modern software development practices.
**Evaluation criteria:** System design and architecture skills.; Problem-solving abilities.; Technical leadership and decision-making.; Understanding of scalability, performance, and reliability.
**Common rejection reasons:** Inability to articulate technical solutions clearly.; Lack of depth in system design or architectural thinking.; Poor problem-solving approach.; Not demonstrating leadership in technical decision-making.
## Questions

- Design a ride-sharing service like Uber or Lyft.
- Design a URL shortening service like Bitly.
- Design a system to handle real-time analytics for a large e-commerce platform.
- How would you design a notification system for millions of users?

## Preparation tips

- Review system design principles and common patterns (e.g., load balancing, caching, databases, APIs).
- Practice designing systems for scale and high availability.
- Be prepared to discuss trade-offs in your design decisions.
- Familiarize yourself with cloud technologies and distributed systems.

## Round 3: Leadership and Management Interview
**Type:** Managerial/Behavioral Interview · **Difficulty:** High · **Duration:** 60 min
Evaluate leadership, management, and strategic thinking through behavioral questions.
This interview focuses on your leadership, management, and strategic capabilities. You'll be asked behavioral questions about your past experiences managing teams, projects, and stakeholders. The interviewer will want to understand how you handle challenges, motivate your team, drive results, and contribute to the broader business strategy. Expect questions about your leadership philosophy, conflict resolution, and how you foster a positive team environment.
**Interviewers look for:** Proven ability to lead and mentor engineering teams.; Experience in driving projects to successful completion.; Strategic thinking and alignment with business goals.; Effective people management and conflict resolution skills.
**Evaluation criteria:** Leadership and people management skills.; Project management and execution.; Strategic thinking and business acumen.; Problem-solving and decision-making in a team context.; Conflict resolution and stakeholder management.
**Common rejection reasons:** Lack of clear examples demonstrating leadership.; Inability to articulate how they managed teams and projects.; Not showing strategic thinking or business impact.; Poor conflict resolution or people management skills.
## Questions

- Describe a time you had to manage a difficult team member. How did you handle it?
- Tell me about a project that failed. What were the key learnings?
- How do you prioritize work for your team when faced with competing demands?
- Describe your approach to performance management and career development for your engineers.
- How do you foster innovation within your team?

## Preparation tips

- Prepare specific examples using the STAR method for common leadership scenarios.
- Think about your leadership philosophy and how you develop talent.
- Be ready to discuss your experience with project planning, execution, and delivery.
- Consider how you align technical work with business objectives.

## Round 4: Executive Leadership Interview
**Type:** Executive Interview · **Difficulty:** High · **Duration:** 45 min
Final discussion with a senior executive focusing on strategic vision and business alignment.
This final round is with a senior executive, often a VP or SVP of Engineering. The focus is on your strategic thinking, business acumen, and overall leadership potential. You'll discuss your vision for engineering at Expedia, how you align technology with business goals, and your approach to leading at a higher level. This is also an opportunity for you to ask high-level questions about the company's direction.
**Interviewers look for:** A clear vision for engineering leadership.; Ability to think strategically and connect technology to business outcomes.; Strong communication and influencing skills.; Alignment with Expedia's executive leadership principles.
**Evaluation criteria:** Strategic vision and long-term planning.; Business acumen and understanding of market dynamics.; Executive presence and communication.; Cultural alignment and leadership potential.; Ability to influence and drive change at an organizational level.
**Common rejection reasons:** Lack of strategic vision.; Inability to connect technical strategy with business goals.; Poor communication with senior leadership.; Not demonstrating a strong cultural fit at the executive level.
## Questions

- What is your vision for the future of engineering at Expedia?
- How would you balance innovation with operational excellence?
- Describe a time you had to influence senior leadership on a technical or strategic decision.
- What are the biggest challenges facing the travel technology industry today, and how should Expedia address them?

## Preparation tips

- Develop a clear vision for engineering leadership at Expedia.
- Be prepared to discuss your strategic priorities and how they align with business objectives.
- Think about how you would contribute to Expedia's long-term success.
- Practice articulating your thoughts concisely and persuasively.