What is the interview process for Software Engineering Manager at MakeMyTrip?

The Software Engineering Manager (Director of Engineering) interview at MakeMyTrip is a comprehensive process designed to assess leadership capabilities, technical depth, strategic thinking, and people management skills. Candidates are evaluated on their ability to lead engineering teams, drive technical excellence, foster a positive engineering culture, and contribute to the company's overall business objectives.

How many interview rounds does MakeMyTrip have for Software Engineering Manager?

MakeMyTrip has 4 interview rounds for the Software Engineering Manager position: HR Screening, Technical & System Design Interview, Managerial & Leadership Interview, Executive / Final Round.

Software Engineering Manager (Director of Engineering) at MakeMyTrip - Interview Guide

Evaluation

What they measure.

Leadership and people management skills
Technical vision and strategy
Execution and delivery capabilities
Cross-functional collaboration and stakeholder management
Cultural fit and alignment with MakeMyTrip's values

Preparation

How to prepare.

Tips

Deeply understand MakeMyTrip's business, products, and market position.
Review your past experiences and prepare specific examples using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) for behavioral questions.
Brush up on system design principles, scalability, and distributed systems.
Familiarize yourself with modern software development methodologies, CI/CD, and DevOps practices.
Think about your leadership philosophy, team building strategies, and how you foster a positive engineering culture.
Prepare to discuss your approach to managing technical debt, innovation, and performance.
Understand the company's values and be ready to articulate how you align with them.
Research common interview questions for engineering managers and directors.
Prepare thoughtful 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 & Self-Assessment

Weeks 1-2: MakeMyTrip business & product analysis, career history review, STAR story preparation.

Weeks 1-2: Deep dive into MakeMyTrip's business model, products (web and mobile), recent news, and competitive landscape. Understand their technology stack and engineering challenges. Review your career history, identifying key leadership achievements and challenges. Prepare STAR stories for common leadership and technical scenarios.

Questions

Commonly asked.

Describe your leadership style and how you motivate engineering teams.
How do you balance the need for speed and innovation with maintaining system stability and quality?
Tell me about a time you had to manage a significant technical challenge or failure. What did you learn?
How do you approach performance management and career development for your engineers?
Describe your experience with building and scaling engineering teams.
How do you foster a culture of collaboration and knowledge sharing within your team and across departments?
What are your strategies for managing technical debt?
How do you stay current with technology trends and ensure your team does the same?
Tell me about a time you had to influence stakeholders or other teams to adopt your technical vision.
How do you handle conflict within your team or with other departments?
What are your thoughts on the future of travel technology and MakeMyTrip's role in it?
Describe a time you had to make a difficult decision that impacted your team. What was the outcome?
How do you prioritize work for your team when faced with competing demands?
What metrics do you use to measure the success of your team and your own performance as a manager?
How do you ensure effective communication with both technical and non-technical stakeholders?

Locations

Regional differences.

Fig · Regions — 02 locations

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Location

Gurugram, India

Interview focus

Understanding of the Indian tech landscape and talent pool.Familiarity with local market dynamics and competitive hiring practices.Ability to adapt leadership style to diverse cultural backgrounds within the team.Experience with scaling engineering operations in a high-growth environment, potentially with a focus on mobile-first strategies relevant to the Indian market.

Common questions

How do you handle conflicts within your team, especially between senior and junior engineers?
Describe a time you had to make a difficult trade-off between technical debt and feature delivery. What was your decision-making process?
How do you foster innovation and encourage experimentation within your team?
What are your strategies for attracting and retaining top engineering talent in the current market?
How do you measure the success of your engineering teams and individual engineers?
Describe your experience with cloud-native architectures and microservices. How have you led teams in adopting these technologies?
How do you ensure the quality and reliability of software delivered by your teams?
What is your approach to performance management and career development for your engineers?
How do you stay updated with the latest technology trends and ensure your team does as well?
Tell me about a time you had to manage a project with significant technical challenges or unforeseen obstacles.

Tips

Emphasize experience with scaling teams and products in a fast-paced, competitive market.
Highlight any experience working with or managing teams in India or similar emerging markets.
Be prepared to discuss strategies for building a strong engineering culture that resonates with local talent.
Showcase your understanding of MakeMyTrip's business and its position in the travel industry.

Rounds

Round-by-round.

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

Med

HR Screening · 45 min · HR Recruiter / Talent Acquisition Specialist

This initial screening round is conducted by an HR representative to assess your overall fit for the role and MakeMyTrip. They will review your resume, discuss your career aspirations, and gauge your motivation for applying. Expect questions about your background, why you're interested in MakeMyTrip, and your understanding of the Software Engineering Manager role. This is also an opportunity for you to ask initial questions about the company and the interview process.

What they look for

Clear and concise communicationPositive attitude and energyGenuine interest in MakeMyTripBasic alignment with company valuesUnderstanding of the role's responsibilities

Evaluation

Communication skills
Cultural fit
Basic understanding of the role and company
Enthusiasm and motivation

Sample questions

Tell me about yourself and your career progression.
BehavioralCareer
Why are you interested in MakeMyTrip?
MotivationCompany Fit
What are your strengths and weaknesses as a leader?
BehavioralLeadership
What are your salary expectations?
Compensation
What do you know about the Software Engineering Manager role here?
Role Understanding

Prep for this round

01Be prepared to talk about your resume and career journey.
02Research MakeMyTrip's mission, values, and recent achievements.
03Practice articulating why you are interested in this specific role and company.
04Prepare questions to ask the recruiter about the role, team, and company culture.

Common rejection reasons

×Lack of clear communication
×Inability to provide specific examples of leadership
×Poor understanding of technical concepts relevant to management
×Negative attitude or lack of enthusiasm
×Failure to demonstrate alignment with company values

High

Technical & System Design · 60 min · Senior Engineering Manager / Principal Engineer

This round focuses on your technical leadership and system design capabilities. You'll be asked to discuss complex technical challenges, design scalable systems, and articulate your approach to technical decision-making. Expect questions related to distributed systems, microservices, database design, API design, performance optimization, and architectural trade-offs. The interviewer will assess your ability to guide a team through technical challenges and make sound architectural choices.

What they look for

Strong grasp of software architecture and design patternsAbility to think critically and solve complex technical problemsExperience with scaling systems and handling high trafficUnderstanding of trade-offs in technical decisionsLeadership potential in technical decision-making

Evaluation

Technical depth and breadth
System design and architecture skills
Problem-solving approach
Ability to lead technical discussions
Understanding of scalability and performance

Sample questions

Design a scalable hotel booking system for MakeMyTrip.
System DesignScalabilityE-commerce
How would you design a real-time notification service for flight updates?
System DesignReal-timeMessaging
Discuss the trade-offs between monolithic and microservices architectures.
ArchitectureMicroservices
How do you approach performance optimization for a high-traffic website?
PerformanceOptimization
Describe a challenging technical problem you solved as a manager and your role in it.
Problem SolvingLeadershipTechnical

Prep for this round

01Review system design principles, common architectural patterns, and scalability techniques.
02Practice designing systems relevant to MakeMyTrip's domain (e.g., booking systems, recommendation engines, search).
03Be prepared to discuss trade-offs and justify your design choices.
04Understand concepts like CAP theorem, eventual consistency, caching strategies, and database choices.
05Think about how you would lead a team through a complex technical project.

Common rejection reasons

×Inability to articulate technical vision
×Lack of depth in system design
×Poor problem-solving approach
×Difficulty in explaining technical decisions
×Not demonstrating leadership in technical contexts

High

Managerial & Leadership · 60 min · Director of Engineering / VP of Engineering

This round focuses on your people management, leadership, and strategic thinking abilities. You'll be asked about your experience in building and managing engineering teams, developing talent, handling performance issues, and fostering a strong engineering culture. The interviewer will also assess your strategic thinking, your ability to align team goals with business objectives, and your execution capabilities. Expect behavioral questions that require you to draw upon your past experiences.

What they look for

Proven ability to hire, mentor, and retain talentExperience in fostering a positive and productive team cultureSkills in managing performance and addressing underperformanceStrategic vision for team growth and technical directionAbility to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams

Evaluation

People management and leadership skills
Team building and development
Conflict resolution
Strategic thinking and planning
Execution and delivery

Sample questions

Describe a time you had to manage a conflict within your team. How did you resolve it?
BehavioralConflict ResolutionPeople Management
How do you approach performance management and career development for your engineers?
People ManagementCareer Development
Tell me about a time you had to make a difficult decision that impacted your team. What was the outcome?
BehavioralDecision MakingLeadership
How do you foster a culture of innovation and psychological safety within your team?
CultureInnovationLeadership
What is your strategy for hiring and retaining top engineering talent?
HiringRetentionPeople Management
How do you align your team's roadmap with the company's strategic goals?
StrategyAlignmentRoadmap

Prep for this round

01Prepare specific examples of how you've managed teams, mentored engineers, and handled difficult situations.
02Think about your philosophy on team structure, hiring, and performance management.
03Be ready to discuss how you set goals, track progress, and ensure delivery.
04Consider how you foster innovation and collaboration.
05Understand MakeMyTrip's organizational structure and how your role fits in.

Common rejection reasons

×Inability to provide concrete examples of people management
×Lack of strategic thinking
×Poor conflict resolution skills
×Difficulty in managing underperformance
×Not demonstrating empathy or understanding of team dynamics

High

Executive / Final Round · 60 min · Senior Director / VP / CTO

This is typically the final round, often with a senior leader like a VP of Engineering or CTO. The focus is on your strategic thinking, business acumen, and ability to operate at a senior leadership level. You'll discuss your vision for engineering at MakeMyTrip, how you'd contribute to the company's overall strategy, and how you handle high-level stakeholder management. This is also your chance to demonstrate your understanding of the business and ask strategic questions.

What they look for

Ability to think at a strategic level and contribute to broader company objectivesStrong communication and influencing skills with senior leadershipUnderstanding of business metrics and impactAlignment with MakeMyTrip's long-term visionLeadership potential to operate at a Director level

Evaluation

Strategic vision and alignment with business goals
Executive presence and communication
Stakeholder management
Business acumen
Cultural alignment at the executive level

Sample questions

What is your vision for the engineering organization at MakeMyTrip over the next 3-5 years?
VisionStrategyLeadership
How would you partner with Product Management and other business units to drive growth?
CollaborationBusiness AcumenStrategy
Describe a time you had to influence senior leadership on a critical technical or strategic decision.
InfluenceStakeholder ManagementLeadership
What are the biggest challenges facing MakeMyTrip from an engineering perspective, and how would you address them?
Problem SolvingStrategyBusiness Understanding
How do you ensure that engineering initiatives are aligned with overall business objectives?
AlignmentStrategyBusiness Acumen

Prep for this round

01Understand MakeMyTrip's long-term business strategy and challenges.
02Think about how engineering can be a strategic partner to the business.
03Prepare to discuss your vision for the engineering organization.
04Be ready to articulate how you measure success beyond just technical metrics.
05Practice communicating complex ideas concisely and effectively.

Common rejection reasons

×Lack of strategic vision for the department
×Inability to influence senior stakeholders
×Poor understanding of business impact
×Failure to demonstrate alignment with executive leadership
×Not asking insightful questions about the business strategy

DSA

Coding questions at MakeMyTrip.

Frequently reported on MakeMyTrip loops

View all at MakeMyTrip

Software Engineering Manager

What they measure.

How to prepare.

Company & Self-Assessment

Technical & Process Deep Dive

Leadership & People Management

Mock Interviews & Final Preparation

Commonly asked.

Regional differences.

Gurugram, India

Remote / Global

Round-by-round.

Coding questions at MakeMyTrip.

More at MakeMyTrip.