Scale Engineer

Software Engineering Manager

Software Engineering ManagerL6High

This interview process is designed to assess candidates for the Software Engineering Manager (L6) role at Notion. It evaluates technical leadership, people management skills, strategic thinking, and cultural fit within Notion's collaborative and fast-paced environment.

Rounds·5

Timeline·~14d

Experience·6 - 10 yrs

Comp band·US$180000 - US$250000

Interview time·255 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. Deeply understand Notion's mission, values, and product.
  2. Review common software engineering management challenges and best practices.
  3. Prepare specific examples using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) for behavioral questions.
  4. Familiarize yourself with system design principles and how to lead a team through design discussions.
  5. Practice articulating your leadership philosophy and management style.
  6. Research common interview questions for engineering managers at L6 level.
  7. Understand Notion's engineering culture and how your experience aligns with it.

Study plan

Fig · Study plan — 04 phases

01 / 04
01

Phase 01 of 04

Foundation & Notion Immersion

Weeks 1-2: Notion product & culture, core SWE principles, system design basics, STAR method prep.

Weeks 1-2: Deep dive into Notion's product, company culture, and values. Review core software engineering principles, data structures, algorithms, and system design fundamentals. Focus on understanding scalability, reliability, and performance trade-offs. Begin preparing STAR method examples for common management scenarios.

Questions

Commonly asked.

  • Tell me about a time you had to manage a difficult stakeholder. How did you handle it?
  • Describe your approach to building and scaling an engineering team.
  • How do you foster a culture of psychological safety and inclusion within your team?
  • Walk me through a complex technical challenge your team faced and how you led them to a solution.
  • How do you balance technical debt with delivering new features?
  • What is your philosophy on performance reviews and career development for engineers?
  • Describe a time you had to make a difficult decision that impacted your team. What was the outcome?
  • How do you stay updated with the latest technologies and engineering best practices?
  • Tell me about a time you failed as a manager. What did you learn from it?
  • How would you design a system for [specific problem relevant to Notion's product]?
  • What are your strategies for motivating a team during challenging times?
  • How do you delegate tasks effectively and ensure accountability?
  • Describe your experience with agile methodologies and how you adapt them to your team's needs.
  • How do you handle underperforming team members?
  • What are your thoughts on the current state of [relevant technology area] and how would you leverage it at Notion?

Locations

Regional differences.

Fig · Regions — 02 locations

01 / 02

Location

Remote

Interview focus

Remote team management strategiesCross-cultural communicationTools for distributed collaboration

Common questions

  • How do you handle performance issues with remote team members?
  • Describe a time you had to adapt your management style for a distributed team.
  • What tools and strategies do you use to foster collaboration in a remote setting?

Tips

  • Highlight experience with asynchronous communication and collaboration tools.
  • Be prepared to discuss strategies for building team cohesion remotely.
  • Showcase your understanding of time zone management and its impact on team dynamics.

Rounds

Round-by-round.

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

DSA

Coding questions at Notion.

Frequently reported on Notion loops

View all at Notion

Other guides

More at Notion.