# Software Engineering Manager
**Role:** Software Engineering Manager · **Level:** P2
**Company:** [Riot Games](https://scaleengineer.com/companies/riot-games)
**Difficulty:** High
**Salary:** US$160000 - US$220000
**Experience:** 5 - 10
**Timeline:** ~14 days
This interview process is designed to assess candidates for a Software Engineering Manager (P2 level) position at Riot Games. It evaluates leadership potential, technical acumen, people management skills, and strategic thinking relevant to game development.
Canonical: https://scaleengineer.com/interviews/riot-games/p2-software-engineering-manager
---
## Overall evaluation

- Leadership & People Management
- Technical Acumen & Problem Solving
- Communication & Collaboration
- Cultural Fit & Drive

## Questions asked

- Describe your leadership style and how you adapt it to different situations.
- How do you foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement within your team?
- Tell me about a time you had to manage a project with significant technical challenges or risks.
- How do you balance the need for rapid iteration with maintaining code quality and stability?
- What is your approach to hiring and retaining top engineering talent?
- Describe a situation where you had to deal with underperformance on your team.
- How do you ensure effective communication and collaboration between your team and other departments (e.g., design, art, production)?
- What are your thoughts on technical debt and how do you manage it?
- How do you stay motivated and engaged when facing difficult projects or setbacks?
- What are your career aspirations, and how does this role align with them?

## Preparation tips

### lists

- Deeply understand Riot Games' mission, values, and current projects.
- Review your past experiences and prepare specific examples using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) for behavioral questions.
- Brush up on software engineering best practices, including agile methodologies, CI/CD, testing strategies, and architectural patterns.
- Think about your leadership philosophy and how you develop and motivate engineering teams.
- Prepare questions to ask the interviewers about the team, the role, and Riot's engineering culture.
- Familiarize yourself with common challenges in game development and how you would address them.
- Practice articulating complex technical concepts clearly and concisely.

### studyPlan

- {"title":"Company & Self-Assessment","longDescription":"Weeks 1-2: Focus on Riot Games' culture, values, and recent game releases. Understand their approach to game development and player engagement. Review your career history and identify key leadership achievements and challenges. Prepare STAR method examples for common leadership scenarios.","shortDescription":"Weeks 1-2: Riot culture, values, career history, STAR examples."}
- {"title":"People Management Skills","longDescription":"Weeks 3-4: Deep dive into people management principles. Study topics like performance reviews, conflict resolution, coaching, mentoring, and building high-performing teams. Read articles and books on effective engineering leadership.","shortDescription":"Weeks 3-4: People management principles, team building, leadership development."}
- {"title":"Technical Foundations","longDescription":"Weeks 5-6: Refresh your knowledge of software engineering best practices. Focus on areas relevant to game development, such as scalable architectures, performance optimization, testing strategies, and modern development workflows (CI/CD).","shortDescription":"Weeks 5-6: Software engineering best practices, architecture, performance, CI/CD."}
- {"title":"Interview Simulation & Strategy","longDescription":"Weeks 7-8: Practice articulating your leadership philosophy and technical approach. Prepare to discuss strategic thinking, problem-solving, and how you handle ambiguity. Simulate interview scenarios and practice answering common management questions.","shortDescription":"Weeks 7-8: Leadership philosophy, strategic thinking, problem-solving, interview practice."}

## Location differences

- {"location":"Los Angeles, USA","differences":{"tips":["Research Riot's current game titles and recent announcements to understand their technical landscape.","Be prepared to discuss your experience with game engines (e.g., Unreal Engine) or similar complex software development environments.","Highlight any experience you have working with creative teams and understanding their workflows.","Emphasize your ability to communicate technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.","Showcase your passion for gaming and understanding of what makes a great player experience."],"interviewFocus":["Understanding of Riot's specific development cycles and challenges in game production.","Ability to manage cross-functional teams (art, design, QA) in addition to engineering.","Experience with live service games and managing ongoing development and player feedback.","Cultural fit with Riot's collaborative and player-focused environment."],"commonQuestions":["How would you handle a conflict between two senior engineers on your team?","Describe a time you had to deliver difficult feedback to a direct report. What was the outcome?","How do you foster a culture of innovation and psychological safety within your team?","In a fast-paced environment like game development, how do you prioritize competing demands and ensure timely delivery?","What are your strategies for mentoring and developing engineers at different career stages?","How do you stay current with emerging technologies and assess their potential application in game development?","Describe your experience with agile methodologies and how you adapt them to a creative and iterative process.","How do you manage technical debt and ensure the long-term health of a codebase?","Tell me about a time you had to make a significant technical decision with incomplete information.","How do you balance the needs of the business with the technical vision of your team?"]}}
- {"location":"Dublin, Ireland","differences":{"tips":["Be ready to discuss your experience with remote work tools and best practices.","Highlight your ability to build strong relationships and trust across distances.","Showcase your understanding of asynchronous communication and collaboration.","Prepare examples of how you've successfully managed projects with distributed teams.","Demonstrate your adaptability to different working styles and cultural backgrounds."],"interviewFocus":["Experience managing distributed teams and fostering remote collaboration.","Understanding of scaling engineering teams and processes.","Ability to navigate different time zones and cultural nuances in team management.","Experience with global product launches and support."],"commonQuestions":["How do you manage remote or distributed engineering teams?","Describe your approach to performance management and career progression for engineers.","How do you ensure code quality and maintainability across a large project?","What are your strategies for onboarding new engineers to a team and project?","How do you handle situations where a project is falling behind schedule?","Tell me about a time you had to influence stakeholders or leadership to adopt a new technical approach.","How do you foster collaboration and knowledge sharing within a geographically dispersed team?","What metrics do you use to track team performance and project health?","Describe your experience with CI/CD pipelines and automated testing in a production environment.","How do you balance innovation with the need for stability and reliability in a live product?"]}}

## Round 1: HR Screening
**Type:** HR Screen · **Difficulty:** Medium · **Duration:** 45 min
Initial screening with HR to assess background, motivation, and cultural fit.
This initial round is conducted by a member of our Talent Acquisition team. The primary goal is to understand your background, career aspirations, and motivation for applying to Riot Games. We'll discuss your experience in people management, your understanding of the Software Engineering Manager role, and assess your cultural fit with Riot's values. This is also an opportunity for you to learn more about the role and the company.
**Interviewers look for:** Enthusiasm for Riot Games and the role.; Clear communication and professional demeanor.; Basic understanding of management principles.; Alignment with company values.
**Evaluation criteria:** Communication skills.; Understanding of HR processes and people management.; Cultural fit assessment.; Initial alignment with role expectations.
**Common rejection reasons:** Lack of clear communication.; Inability to provide specific examples of leadership.; Poor understanding of team dynamics or conflict resolution.; Failure to demonstrate strategic thinking.; Not aligning with Riot's core values.
## Questions

- Tell me about your experience as a manager.
- Why are you interested in working at Riot Games?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses as a leader?
- How do you handle conflict within a team?

## Preparation tips

- Research Riot Games' mission, values, and recent projects.
- Be ready to articulate why you are interested in this specific role and company.
- Prepare to discuss your management philosophy and key leadership experiences.
- Have questions ready about the role, team, and company culture.

## Round 2: Technical Deep Dive
**Type:** Technical Interview · **Difficulty:** High · **Duration:** 60 min
Assesses technical leadership, system design, and problem-solving skills.
This technical interview focuses on your ability to lead engineering efforts from a technical perspective. You'll be asked to discuss your experience with software architecture, system design, and technical decision-making. We'll explore how you guide your teams through complex technical challenges, manage technical debt, and ensure the quality and scalability of the software. Expect questions that require you to think through trade-offs and justify your technical approaches.
**Interviewers look for:** Strong technical judgment.; Ability to think critically and solve complex problems.; Experience in leading technical initiatives.; Understanding of scalable and maintainable software design.; Familiarity with modern development practices.
**Evaluation criteria:** Technical leadership and decision-making.; Understanding of software architecture and design principles.; Problem-solving and analytical skills.; Ability to guide technical direction.; Experience with development methodologies.
**Common rejection reasons:** Inability to articulate technical decisions or strategies.; Lack of depth in understanding software architecture or development processes.; Poor problem-solving approach.; Difficulty in explaining technical concepts clearly.; Not demonstrating leadership in technical decision-making.
## Questions

- Design a system for real-time player matchmaking in a competitive online game.
- How would you approach optimizing the performance of a CPU-bound game system?
- Describe a complex technical problem you solved as a manager. What was your role?
- How do you ensure code quality and maintainability in a large, evolving codebase?

## Preparation tips

- Review common software architecture patterns and principles.
- Practice system design problems, focusing on scalability, reliability, and performance.
- Be prepared to discuss your experience with specific technologies relevant to game development (e.g., C++, C#, networking, graphics, game engines).
- Think about how you delegate technical tasks and mentor engineers on technical growth.
- Prepare examples of significant technical challenges you've overcome.

## Round 3: People Management Focus
**Type:** People Management Interview · **Difficulty:** High · **Duration:** 60 min
Evaluates people management skills, including coaching, conflict resolution, and team building.
This round focuses on your people management capabilities. We'll delve into your experience with coaching, mentoring, performance management, and fostering a healthy team culture. You'll be asked to share specific examples of how you've handled challenging people situations, supported your team's growth, and built high-performing teams. The interviewer will be looking for your ability to lead, inspire, and develop engineers effectively.
**Interviewers look for:** Empathy and strong interpersonal skills.; Proven ability to develop and motivate individuals.; Effective conflict resolution strategies.; Experience in fostering a collaborative and inclusive environment.; Understanding of career pathing for engineers.
**Evaluation criteria:** People management skills (coaching, mentoring, performance management).; Conflict resolution and team building.; Ability to foster a positive team culture.; Delegation and empowerment.; Understanding of career development for engineers.
**Common rejection reasons:** Inability to demonstrate effective people management strategies.; Lack of clear examples of coaching and mentoring.; Poor conflict resolution skills.; Difficulty in managing performance or career development.; Not showing empathy or understanding of team dynamics.
## Questions

- Describe a time you had to give difficult feedback to a direct report. How did you approach it, and what was the outcome?
- How do you identify and develop high-potential engineers on your team?
- Tell me about a time you had to resolve a conflict between team members. What was your strategy?
- How do you foster a culture of psychological safety and inclusivity on your team?

## Preparation tips

- Prepare detailed examples of how you've coached engineers, managed performance issues, and resolved team conflicts.
- Think about your philosophy on building team culture and psychological safety.
- Consider how you approach career development and provide growth opportunities for your team members.
- Be ready to discuss how you delegate tasks and empower your team.
- Reflect on how you handle feedback, both giving and receiving.

## Round 4: Leadership & Strategy
**Type:** Managerial/Leadership Interview · **Difficulty:** High · **Duration:** 60 min
Assesses strategic thinking, leadership vision, and alignment with business goals.
In this final round, you'll meet with a senior leader to discuss your strategic thinking, leadership vision, and ability to align engineering efforts with broader business goals. We'll explore how you prioritize initiatives, manage roadmaps, and collaborate with other departments. This is an opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of the product lifecycle and your capacity to lead at a higher level within Riot Games.
**Interviewers look for:** Ability to think long-term and set a clear vision.; Understanding of how engineering contributes to business success.; Strong collaboration and communication skills with peers and leadership.; Experience in managing product roadmaps and priorities.; Ability to influence and drive change.
**Evaluation criteria:** Strategic thinking and planning.; Alignment with business objectives.; Cross-functional collaboration.; Roadmap management and prioritization.; Leadership and influence across departments.
**Common rejection reasons:** Lack of strategic vision.; Inability to align technical execution with business goals.; Poor communication with stakeholders.; Difficulty in prioritizing and managing roadmaps.; Not demonstrating leadership beyond the immediate team.
## Questions

- How do you balance delivering new features with maintaining the stability and performance of a live game?
- Describe a time you had to influence stakeholders to adopt a new technical strategy or approach.
- What is your process for creating and managing a product roadmap?
- How do you ensure your team's work aligns with the company's overall strategic goals?

## Preparation tips

- Think about your long-term vision for an engineering team and how it contributes to company success.
- Prepare examples of how you've influenced product strategy or roadmap decisions.
- Consider how you manage competing priorities and communicate trade-offs to stakeholders.
- Be ready to discuss your experience working with product management, design, and other cross-functional teams.
- Understand the challenges and opportunities facing Riot Games from a strategic perspective.