# Software Engineering Manager
**Role:** Software Engineering Manager · **Level:** L5A
**Company:** [Rokt](https://scaleengineer.com/companies/rokt)
**Difficulty:** High
**Salary:** US$170000 - US$220000
**Experience:** 6 - 10
**Timeline:** ~14 days
This interview process is designed to assess candidates for the Software Engineering Manager (SEM) role at Rokt, specifically at the L5A level. It evaluates technical leadership, people management skills, strategic thinking, and cultural fit within Rokt's dynamic environment.
Canonical: https://scaleengineer.com/interviews/rokt/l5a-software-engineering-manager
---
## Overall evaluation

- Technical Acumen
- People Leadership
- Strategic Thinking
- Communication & Cultural Fit

## Questions asked

- Tell me about a time you had to make a difficult decision that impacted your team. What was the outcome?
- How do you motivate engineers who are not meeting expectations?
- Describe your approach to managing technical debt.
- How do you balance the needs of your team with the demands of the business?
- What is your experience with agile methodologies, and how do you ensure your team adheres to them effectively?
- How do you foster a culture of innovation and continuous improvement within your team?
- Tell me about a time you failed. What did you learn from it?
- How do you handle disagreements with senior stakeholders or product managers?
- What are your strategies for developing the careers of your team members?
- How do you ensure the quality and reliability of the software your team produces?
- Describe a complex technical problem you solved or guided your team to solve.
- How do you stay updated with the latest technology trends?
- What are your thoughts on DevOps and CI/CD practices?
- How would you handle a situation where your team is resistant to change?
- What are your expectations for this role at Rokt?

## Preparation tips

### lists

- Thoroughly research Rokt's business, products, and values.
- Prepare specific examples using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) for behavioral questions.
- Review common software engineering management challenges and best practices.
- Understand Rokt's technology stack and be ready to discuss architectural decisions.
- Think about your leadership philosophy and how you foster team growth.
- Prepare thoughtful questions to ask the interviewers about the role, team, and company.

### studyPlan

- {"title":"Company & Industry Research","longDescription":"Weeks 1-2: Deep dive into Rokt's business model, products (e.g., e-commerce, customer acquisition), and company culture. Understand their mission and values. Review recent company news and blog posts. Familiarize yourself with the typical challenges faced by e-commerce technology companies.","shortDescription":"Weeks 1-2: Research Rokt's business, products, and culture. Understand e-commerce tech challenges."}
- {"title":"People Management Skills","longDescription":"Weeks 3-4: Focus on people management principles. Study topics like performance management, coaching, conflict resolution, hiring best practices, and building inclusive teams. Prepare specific examples from your past experience using the STAR method.","shortDescription":"Weeks 3-4: Study people management (performance, coaching, conflict, hiring). Prepare STAR examples."}
- {"title":"Technical Leadership & Architecture","longDescription":"Weeks 5-6: Refresh your understanding of software architecture, system design, scalability, and relevant technologies used at Rokt (e.g., cloud platforms, databases, programming languages). Be ready to discuss technical trade-offs and strategic technology decisions.","shortDescription":"Weeks 5-6: Review software architecture, system design, scalability, and relevant tech stack. Discuss technical trade-offs."}
- {"title":"Leadership Philosophy & Strategic Alignment","longDescription":"Week 7: Practice articulating your leadership philosophy, strategic approach to team building, and how you align engineering efforts with business objectives. Prepare questions for the interviewers.","shortDescription":"Week 7: Articulate leadership philosophy and strategy. Prepare questions."}

## Location differences

- {"location":"Sydney","differences":{"tips":["Highlight experience with agile methodologies and rapid iteration.","Be prepared to discuss your approach to managing remote or hybrid teams.","Showcase an understanding of the Australian tech landscape."],"interviewFocus":["Adaptability to fast-paced project delivery.","Experience with distributed teams (if applicable).","Understanding of local market trends and talent pool."],"commonQuestions":["How do you handle a team member who is consistently underperforming?","Describe a time you had to manage a conflict within your team. How did you resolve it?","What are your strategies for fostering innovation and creativity within an engineering team?","How do you balance delivering on short-term goals with investing in long-term technical health?","In Sydney, we often deal with a fast-paced, agile environment. How do you ensure your team maintains quality and velocity under pressure?"]}}
- {"location":"New York","differences":{"tips":["Emphasize your experience in building and scaling high-performing teams.","Provide examples of successful collaboration with product, design, and other business units.","Demonstrate an understanding of the US tech market and talent acquisition strategies."],"interviewFocus":["Experience with scaling teams and systems.","Strong understanding of hiring in competitive markets.","Cross-functional collaboration skills."],"commonQuestions":["How do you approach hiring and onboarding new engineers in a competitive market like New York?","Describe your experience with scaling engineering teams and infrastructure.","What are your key metrics for measuring team success and individual performance?","How do you foster a culture of psychological safety and continuous learning?","In New York, we value strong communication and collaboration across different departments. How do you ensure alignment between engineering and product teams?"]}}

## Round 1: HR Screening Call
**Type:** HR Screening · **Difficulty:** Medium · **Duration:** 30 min
Initial call with HR to assess basic qualifications, motivation, and cultural fit.
This initial screening call with HR aims to understand your background, career aspirations, and motivation for applying to Rokt. They will assess your general fit with the company culture and ensure you meet the basic requirements for the role. Be prepared to discuss your resume highlights and why you are interested in this specific opportunity.
**Interviewers look for:** Enthusiasm and positive attitude.; Clear communication.; Alignment with company values.; Basic understanding of the SEM role.
**Evaluation criteria:** Cultural fit with Rokt's values.; Communication skills.; Motivation and interest in the role.; Basic understanding of the role's requirements.
**Common rejection reasons:** Lack of clarity in communication.; Inability to provide specific examples for behavioral questions.; Appearing unenthusiastic or not genuinely interested in the role/company.; Not asking thoughtful questions.
## Questions

- Tell me about yourself and your career progression.
- Why are you interested in Rokt?
- What are your salary expectations?
- What are you looking for in your next role?
- Do you have any questions for me?

## Preparation tips

- Be ready to talk about your career journey and key achievements.
- Clearly articulate why you are interested in Rokt and this SEM role.
- Research Rokt's mission, values, and products.
- Prepare questions about the company culture, team, and the next steps in the process.

## Round 2: Hiring Manager Interview
**Type:** People Management & Leadership Interview · **Difficulty:** High · **Duration:** 60 min
In-depth discussion on people management, leadership style, and handling team challenges.
This interview focuses on your people management and leadership capabilities. The hiring manager will delve into your experience managing teams, developing talent, handling conflicts, and driving performance. Expect behavioral questions requiring detailed examples (STAR method) and scenario-based questions related to team dynamics and challenges.
**Interviewers look for:** Evidence of strong people leadership skills.; Ability to manage and develop engineers.; Sound judgment in technical and people-related decisions.; Structured approach to problem-solving.
**Evaluation criteria:** Depth of people management experience.; Ability to handle challenging team situations.; Problem-solving skills.; Understanding of technical leadership principles.
**Common rejection reasons:** Inability to provide concrete examples using the STAR method.; Lack of depth in explaining leadership strategies.; Difficulty in articulating technical decisions or trade-offs.; Poor problem-solving approach.
## Questions

- Describe a time you had to manage an underperforming engineer. What steps did you take?
- How do you foster a culture of psychological safety and continuous learning in your team?
- Tell me about a time you had to resolve a conflict between team members.
- How do you prioritize tasks and manage your team's workload?
- Describe your approach to mentoring and career development for your team members.
- How do you handle technical disagreements within your team or with other teams?
- What are your strategies for motivating a team, especially during challenging times?

## Preparation tips

- Prepare specific examples using the STAR method for common management scenarios (e.g., underperformance, conflict, motivation).
- Think about your leadership philosophy and how you foster team growth.
- Be ready to discuss how you handle technical challenges and guide your team through them.
- Understand Rokt's approach to performance management and career development.

## Round 3: Technical & System Design Interview
**Type:** Technical & System Design Interview · **Difficulty:** High · **Duration:** 60 min
Focus on technical depth, system design, architectural thinking, and problem-solving.
This round assesses your technical leadership and architectural capabilities. You'll likely be asked to discuss system design problems, architectural trade-offs, and how you guide your team in making sound technical decisions. The focus is on your ability to understand complex systems, anticipate future needs, and ensure the technical health and scalability of the products your team owns.
**Interviewers look for:** Strong technical foundation.; Ability to think critically about system design.; Strategic technical decision-making.; Understanding of how technology supports business goals.
**Evaluation criteria:** Technical depth and breadth.; System design and architectural thinking.; Ability to guide technical strategy.; Understanding of scalability and performance.
**Common rejection reasons:** Lack of strategic vision.; Inability to connect technical solutions to business outcomes.; Poor understanding of system design principles at scale.; Difficulty in articulating architectural trade-offs.
## Questions

- Design a system for [a relevant problem, e.g., real-time bidding auction, user profile service]. Discuss scalability, availability, and trade-offs.
- How do you approach managing technical debt?
- Describe a complex technical challenge your team faced and how you guided them to a solution.
- What are your thoughts on microservices vs. monolith architectures?
- How do you ensure the quality and reliability of the software your team builds?
- Discuss your experience with cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) and relevant services.
- How do you balance feature development with maintaining system health?

## Preparation tips

- Review system design principles, scalability patterns, and common architectural choices.
- Be prepared to discuss trade-offs between different technical solutions.
- Think about how you would approach designing a system relevant to Rokt's business (e.g., a recommendation engine, a high-throughput transaction system).
- Understand concepts like microservices, distributed systems, caching, databases, and cloud infrastructure.

## Round 4: Senior Leadership Interview
**Type:** Strategic & Leadership Interview · **Difficulty:** High · **Duration:** 45 min
Discussion with senior leadership on strategic thinking, business alignment, and vision.
This interview with senior leadership assesses your strategic thinking, business acumen, and ability to influence across the organization. You'll discuss how you align engineering efforts with business objectives, your vision for the team, and how you collaborate with other departments (e.g., Product, Sales). This is an opportunity to demonstrate your potential for broader impact.
**Interviewers look for:** Strategic mindset.; Strong communication and influencing skills.; Ability to align engineering with business goals.; Vision for team growth and impact.
**Evaluation criteria:** Strategic thinking and business acumen.; Ability to influence and collaborate cross-functionally.; Vision for team and product development.; Leadership potential and impact.
**Common rejection reasons:** Lack of alignment with company strategy.; Inability to articulate a clear vision for the team.; Poor communication or inability to influence stakeholders.; Not demonstrating leadership potential beyond immediate team management.
## Questions

- How do you ensure your team's work aligns with the company's strategic goals?
- Describe a time you had to influence stakeholders outside of your direct team. What was the outcome?
- What is your vision for building and scaling a successful engineering team at Rokt?
- How do you balance innovation with the need for stability and reliability?
- What are the key challenges you foresee for an engineering manager at Rokt, and how would you address them?
- How do you measure the success of your team and its contribution to the business?

## Preparation tips

- Understand Rokt's overall business strategy and market position.
- Think about how engineering can drive business value.
- Prepare examples of successful cross-functional collaboration.
- Articulate your vision for a high-performing engineering team.
- Be ready to discuss your leadership philosophy at a strategic level.