Scale Engineer

Software Engineering Manager

Software Engineering ManagerSVPVery High

Expedia is looking for a seasoned Software Engineering Manager at the SVP level to lead and inspire a team of talented engineers. This role is critical in driving technical strategy, fostering innovation, and ensuring the successful delivery of high-quality software solutions that impact millions of travelers worldwide. The ideal candidate will possess a strong blend of technical expertise, leadership acumen, and a deep understanding of the travel industry.

Rounds·5

Timeline·~6d

Experience·15 - 20 yrs

Comp band·US$280000 - US$350000

Interview time·315 min

Evaluation

What they measure.

  • Leadership and People Management: Ability to inspire, mentor, and grow engineering talent. Experience in performance management, conflict resolution, and building high-performing teams.
  • Technical Acumen: Deep understanding of software development principles, architecture, scalability, and emerging technologies. Ability to guide technical decisions and ensure code quality.
  • Strategic Thinking: Capacity to align technology initiatives with business goals. Ability to define and execute a long-term technical vision.
  • Execution and Delivery: Proven track record of successfully delivering complex software projects on time and within scope. Focus on operational excellence and continuous improvement.
  • Communication and Collaboration: Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Ability to effectively communicate with technical and non-technical stakeholders, including executive leadership.

Preparation

How to prepare.

Tips

  1. Deeply understand Expedia's mission, values, and business strategy, particularly in the travel tech domain.
  2. Review your past projects and identify key leadership challenges, technical decisions, and their outcomes. Prepare to discuss these using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result).
  3. Familiarize yourself with modern software engineering best practices, including Agile methodologies, CI/CD, cloud computing (AWS, Azure, GCP), microservices architecture, and data-driven decision-making.
  4. Think about your leadership philosophy and how you foster a positive and productive team culture.
  5. Prepare to discuss your approach to managing technical debt, ensuring system reliability, and driving innovation.
  6. Research current trends in the travel industry and how technology is shaping it.
  7. Be ready to articulate your vision for a high-performing engineering team and how you would align it with Expedia's strategic objectives.

Study plan

Fig · Study plan — 03 phases

01 / 03
01

Phase 01 of 03

Company & Industry Immersion

Weeks 1-2: Expedia business & strategy, travel tech trends, career review.

Weeks 1-2: Deep dive into Expedia's business, products, and technology stack. Understand the company's strategic goals and recent performance. Research the travel tech industry landscape, key competitors, and emerging trends. Review your career history and identify key leadership experiences and technical achievements relevant to an SVP role.

Questions

Commonly asked.

  • Describe your leadership philosophy and how you build and motivate high-performing engineering teams.
  • Tell me about a time you had to make a significant technical decision that had a major impact on the business. What was your process, and what was the outcome?
  • How do you balance the need for rapid feature development with maintaining system stability and managing technical debt?
  • What is your approach to fostering innovation and encouraging experimentation within an engineering organization?
  • Describe a situation where you had to manage a significant organizational change or navigate a challenging business environment. How did you lead your team through it?
  • How do you ensure alignment between engineering efforts and overall business objectives?
  • What are your strategies for attracting, developing, and retaining top engineering talent?
  • Tell me about a time you had to influence senior leadership or stakeholders to adopt a new technical strategy or approach.
  • How do you measure the success of your engineering teams and the impact of their work?
  • What are your thoughts on the future of travel technology, and how would you position Expedia to capitalize on emerging trends?

Locations

Regional differences.

Fig · Regions — 03 locations

01 / 03

Location

Seattle, USA

Interview focus

Understanding of local market dynamics and talent pool.Adaptability to regional business priorities and regulatory environments.Experience with specific technologies prevalent in the region.

Common questions

  • How do you handle a major production incident impacting a critical customer-facing feature in a distributed system?
  • Describe a time you had to make a difficult trade-off between technical debt and feature delivery. What was your process and outcome?
  • How do you foster a culture of psychological safety and continuous learning within your engineering teams?
  • In a global team setting, how do you ensure alignment on technical standards and best practices across different time zones and cultures?
  • What are your strategies for identifying and nurturing high-potential engineers for future leadership roles?

Tips

  • Research Expedia's presence and recent initiatives in the specific region.
  • Be prepared to discuss how you've managed teams with diverse cultural backgrounds.
  • Highlight any experience with local technology communities or partnerships.

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

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Other guides

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