Scale Engineer

Software Engineering Manager

Software Engineering ManagerL2Medium to Hard

This interview process is designed to assess candidates for a Software Engineering Manager (L2) position at Groupon. It evaluates technical leadership, people management skills, strategic thinking, and cultural fit.

Rounds·5

Timeline·~14d

Experience·5 - 10 yrs

Comp band·US$140000 - US$180000

Interview time·240 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 Groupon's mission, values, and recent news.
  2. Understand the responsibilities of an L2 Software Engineering Manager.
  3. Prepare STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) examples for behavioral questions.
  4. Brush up on core software engineering principles and best practices.
  5. Think about your leadership philosophy and how you develop teams.
  6. Consider common challenges in managing engineering teams and how you've overcome them.
  7. Be ready to discuss your experience with agile methodologies and project management.
  8. 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: Groupon's business, SEM role, STAR method basics.

Weeks 1-2: Deep dive into Groupon's business, products, and engineering culture. Understand the company's strategic goals and how engineering contributes. Review common L2 SEM responsibilities and expectations. Start preparing STAR examples for core behavioral competencies like leadership, conflict resolution, and team building.

Questions

Commonly asked.

  • Tell me about a time you had to manage a difficult stakeholder. How did you handle it?
  • Describe your approach to setting technical direction for a team.
  • How do you foster a culture of psychological safety within your team?
  • Walk me through a challenging project you managed from inception to completion.
  • How do you balance delivering on short-term goals with investing in long-term technical health?
  • What are your strategies for attracting and retaining top engineering talent?
  • Describe a time you had to make a significant technical decision with incomplete information.
  • How do you measure the success of your team?
  • Tell me about a time you failed. What did you learn from it?
  • How do you handle underperforming engineers?
  • What is your experience with Agile methodologies?
  • How do you prioritize competing demands on your team's resources?
  • Describe your leadership philosophy.
  • How do you stay current with technology trends?
  • What are your thoughts on code reviews and quality assurance?

Locations

Regional differences.

Fig · Regions — 02 locations

01 / 02

Location

Remote/Hybrid

Interview focus

Remote team managementCross-time zone collaborationHybrid work environment strategiesCommunication 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 working across different time zones.
  • What strategies do you use to foster team cohesion and collaboration in a hybrid work environment?

Tips

  • Highlight experience with remote management tools and techniques.
  • Provide specific examples of successfully managing distributed teams.
  • 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 Groupon.

Frequently reported on Groupon loops

View all at Groupon

Other guides

More at Groupon.