# Software Engineering Manager
**Role:** Software Engineering Manager · **Level:** L2
**Company:** [Rokt](https://scaleengineer.com/companies/rokt)
**Difficulty:** Medium to Hard
**Salary:** US$170000 - US$220000
**Experience:** 5 - 10
**Timeline:** ~14 days
This interview process is designed to assess candidates for a Software Engineering Manager (L2) position at Rokt. It evaluates technical leadership, people management skills, strategic thinking, and cultural fit.
Canonical: https://scaleengineer.com/interviews/rokt/l2-software-engineering-manager
---
## Overall evaluation

- Technical and Leadership Capabilities
- Company and Role Alignment

## Questions asked

- Tell me about a time you had to manage a difficult stakeholder. How did you handle it?
- Describe your approach to mentoring and developing engineers on your team.
- How do you balance the need for speed with the need for quality in software development?
- Walk me through a challenging project you led. What were the key challenges, and how did you overcome them?
- How do you foster a culture of innovation within your team?
- What is your experience with performance management and addressing underperformance?
- How do you stay updated on new technologies and ensure your team does as well?
- Describe a time you had to make a difficult decision that impacted your team. What was the outcome?
- How do you prioritize tasks and manage competing demands for your team's resources?
- What are your thoughts on the current state of e-commerce technology?
- How would you handle a situation where two senior engineers on your team have a significant disagreement?
- What are your strategies for building and maintaining a high-performing team?
- Tell me about a time you failed. What did you learn from it?
- How do you ensure psychological safety within your team?
- What are your expectations for this role at Rokt?

## Preparation tips

### lists

- Research Rokt's products, services, and company culture thoroughly.
- Understand the challenges and opportunities in the e-commerce and marketing technology space.
- Prepare specific examples using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) for behavioral questions.
- Review common software engineering management best practices, including agile methodologies, team building, and performance management.
- Think about your leadership philosophy and how it aligns with Rokt's values.
- Be ready to discuss your technical background and how you stay current with technology trends.
- Prepare thoughtful questions to ask the interviewers about the role, team, and company.

### studyPlan

- {"title":"Company Research & Behavioral Preparation","longDescription":"Week 1-2: Deep dive into Rokt's business model, products, recent news, and company culture. Understand the competitive landscape. Review the job description and identify key responsibilities and required skills. Begin preparing STAR method examples for common leadership and behavioral questions.","shortDescription":"Weeks 1-2: Research Rokt, understand business, prepare STAR examples."}
- {"title":"Technical Foundations Refresh","longDescription":"Week 3-4: Refresh knowledge on software development lifecycle, agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban), CI/CD, testing strategies, and cloud technologies relevant to Rokt's stack. Prepare to discuss technical challenges you've overcome and your approach to technical decision-making.","shortDescription":"Weeks 3-4: Refresh technical concepts, agile, cloud, prepare for technical discussions."}
- {"title":"People Management & Leadership Skills","longDescription":"Week 5-6: Focus on people management aspects: performance reviews, career development, conflict resolution, motivating teams, hiring best practices, and fostering an inclusive environment. Prepare examples demonstrating your people leadership skills.","shortDescription":"Weeks 5-6: Focus on people management, team motivation, conflict resolution, prepare leadership examples."}
- {"title":"Final Preparation & Practice","longDescription":"Week 7: Practice articulating your leadership philosophy, strategic thinking, and problem-solving approaches. Prepare questions for the interviewers. Conduct mock interviews if possible, focusing on clarity, conciseness, and impact.","shortDescription":"Week 7: Practice articulation, strategic thinking, prepare questions, mock interviews."}

## Location differences

- {"location":"Remote/Hybrid","differences":{"tips":["Highlight experience with remote collaboration tools and strategies.","Be prepared to discuss how you ensure equitable opportunities for all team members, regardless of location.","Emphasize your ability to build strong relationships virtually."],"interviewFocus":["Adaptability to remote/hybrid team management","Cross-cultural communication","Building trust and engagement in distributed teams"],"commonQuestions":["How do you handle underperforming engineers in a remote setting?","Describe a time you had to manage a conflict between team members across different time zones.","What are your strategies for fostering team cohesion in a hybrid work environment?"]}}
- {"location":"On-site (e.g., Sydney)","differences":{"tips":["Showcase your ability to drive results in a dynamic, in-person setting.","Provide examples of how you've effectively communicated with and managed expectations of various stakeholders.","Emphasize your experience in fostering a collaborative and innovative on-site culture."],"interviewFocus":["Agile methodologies and rapid execution","Stakeholder management","On-site team dynamics and collaboration"],"commonQuestions":["How do you manage stakeholder expectations in a fast-paced, on-site environment?","Describe a time you had to quickly pivot a project due to changing business priorities.","How do you foster innovation and collaboration within a co-located team?"]}}

## Round 1: HR Screening Call
**Type:** HR Screening · **Difficulty:** Medium · **Duration:** 45 min
Initial call with HR to assess background, motivation, and cultural fit.
This initial screening call with HR aims to understand your background, career aspirations, and motivation for applying to Rokt. It also covers logistical aspects like salary expectations and availability. The focus is on assessing your overall fit with the company culture and the basic requirements of the role.
**Interviewers look for:** Enthusiasm and positive attitude.; Clear and concise communication.; Basic understanding of management principles.; Alignment with Rokt's values.; Genuine interest in the role and company.
**Evaluation criteria:** Communication skills; Cultural fit; Understanding of basic HR and people management principles; Motivation for the role and company
**Common rejection reasons:** Lack of clear communication.; Inability to provide specific examples using the STAR method.; Appearing defensive when discussing failures or challenges.; Not demonstrating alignment with Rokt's values.; Lack of strategic thinking or business acumen.
## Questions

- Tell me about yourself and your career progression.
- Why are you interested in Rokt and this specific role?
- What are your salary expectations?
- What are your strengths and weaknesses as a manager?
- Describe your ideal work environment.

## Preparation tips

- Be prepared to talk about your career journey and why you're interested in this specific role at Rokt.
- Have your salary expectations clearly defined.
- Research Rokt's mission, values, and recent news.
- Practice articulating your strengths and how they align with the job description.

## Round 2: Technical and System Design Interview
**Type:** Technical & System Design Interview · **Difficulty:** Hard · **Duration:** 60 min
Assess technical depth, system design skills, and problem-solving abilities.
This round focuses on your technical expertise and system design capabilities. You will be asked to discuss architectural choices, trade-offs, and solutions to complex technical problems. The interviewer will assess your ability to design scalable, reliable, and maintainable systems.
**Interviewers look for:** Strong understanding of software architecture and design patterns.; Ability to think critically and solve complex technical problems.; Clear communication of technical ideas.; Experience with distributed systems and cloud technologies.; Pragmatic approach to technical decision-making.
**Evaluation criteria:** Technical depth and breadth.; System design and architecture skills.; Problem-solving abilities.; Ability to lead technical discussions.; Understanding of scalability, reliability, and performance.
**Common rejection reasons:** Inability to articulate technical decisions or trade-offs.; Lack of depth in understanding system design principles.; Poor problem-solving approach.; Difficulty in explaining complex technical concepts clearly.; Not demonstrating leadership in technical discussions.
## Questions

- Design a URL shortening service like bit.ly.
- How would you design a real-time notification system?
- Discuss the trade-offs between SQL and NoSQL databases for a specific use case.
- How would you approach optimizing the performance of a slow API?
- Describe your experience with microservices architecture.

## Preparation tips

- Review common system design patterns and principles (e.g., microservices, APIs, databases, caching, load balancing).
- Practice designing systems for scalability and high availability.
- Be prepared to discuss trade-offs in design decisions.
- Understand cloud infrastructure concepts (AWS, GCP, Azure).
- Think about how you would lead a team through a complex technical design process.

## Round 3: Hiring Manager Interview
**Type:** Managerial / People Management Interview · **Difficulty:** Hard · **Duration:** 60 min
Focus on people management, leadership style, strategic thinking, and team development.
This interview focuses on your people management and leadership capabilities. The hiring manager will delve into your experience managing teams, developing engineers, handling performance issues, and driving strategic initiatives. Expect behavioral questions designed to elicit specific examples of your leadership in action.
**Interviewers look for:** Proven ability to lead and grow engineering teams.; Experience in mentoring, coaching, and developing talent.; Strong understanding of agile development processes.; Ability to set clear goals and drive execution.; Effective communication and interpersonal skills.; Strategic mindset and business awareness.
**Evaluation criteria:** People management skills.; Leadership style and effectiveness.; Strategic thinking and planning.; Conflict resolution.; Team building and motivation.; Performance management.
**Common rejection reasons:** Inability to provide concrete examples of leadership.; Poor conflict resolution skills.; Lack of strategic vision.; Difficulty in managing team performance or development.; Not demonstrating empathy or strong people skills.
## Questions

- Describe a time you had to manage an underperforming engineer. What steps did you take?
- How do you foster career growth and development for your team members?
- Tell me about a time you had to resolve a conflict within your team.
- How do you set goals and priorities for your team, and how do you ensure they are met?
- What is your approach to hiring and building a strong engineering team?
- How do you balance technical debt with delivering new features?

## Preparation tips

- Prepare detailed examples using the STAR method for questions related to team management, conflict resolution, performance reviews, and strategic planning.
- Think about your leadership philosophy and how you foster a positive team culture.
- Be ready to discuss how you handle difficult conversations and motivate your team.
- Consider how you align team objectives with broader business goals.

## Round 4: Senior Leadership Interview
**Type:** Senior Leadership Interview · **Difficulty:** Hard · **Duration:** 45 min
Assess strategic thinking, business acumen, and alignment with senior leadership.
This final interview is with a senior leader (Director or VP level) to assess your strategic thinking, business acumen, and ability to operate at a higher level. They will want to understand how you align technical strategy with business goals, manage cross-functional relationships, and contribute to the overall success of the engineering organization.
**Interviewers look for:** Ability to think strategically and connect technical initiatives to business outcomes.; Experience working with senior leadership and influencing decisions.; Strong understanding of the business domain.; Potential to grow into more senior leadership roles.; Cultural alignment with Rokt's leadership principles.
**Evaluation criteria:** Strategic thinking and vision.; Cross-functional collaboration.; Business acumen.; Influence and communication with senior stakeholders.; Leadership potential and alignment with company direction.
**Common rejection reasons:** Lack of alignment with senior leadership vision.; Inability to think at a strategic, cross-functional level.; Poor communication or influence skills with senior stakeholders.; Not demonstrating a clear understanding of business impact.; Cultural misalignment with senior leadership.
## Questions

- How do you see the e-commerce landscape evolving in the next 3-5 years, and what role does technology play?
- Describe a time you influenced a major technical or strategic decision at a company.
- How would you align your team's roadmap with the company's quarterly business objectives?
- What are the key metrics you use to measure the success of your engineering team and its output?
- Where do you see yourself in 5 years, and how does this role at Rokt fit into that vision?

## Preparation tips

- Understand Rokt's overall business strategy and market position.
- Be prepared to discuss how technology can drive business value.
- Think about your long-term vision for an engineering team and how it contributes to company goals.
- Practice articulating complex ideas concisely and persuasively.
- Prepare questions that demonstrate your strategic thinking and interest in the company's future.