Scale Engineer

L5A

Software Engineering ManagerEM 1High

This interview process is designed to assess candidates for the Software Engineering Manager (EM 1) role at Uber, specifically targeting the L5A level. It evaluates a candidate's technical leadership, people management skills, strategic thinking, and ability to drive execution within a complex, fast-paced environment.

Rounds·4

Timeline·~4d

Experience·6 - 10 yrs

Comp band·US$180000 - US$250000

Interview time·225 min

Evaluation

What they measure.

  • Leadership and people management skills
  • Technical depth and breadth
  • Strategic thinking and vision
  • Execution and delivery capabilities
  • Communication and collaboration skills
  • Problem-solving and decision-making abilities
  • Cultural fit and alignment with Uber's values

Preparation

How to prepare.

Tips

  1. Deeply understand Uber's mission, values, and business.
  2. Review common software engineering management interview questions and practice your answers.
  3. Prepare specific examples using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) for behavioral questions.
  4. Brush up on system design principles, scalability, and distributed systems.
  5. Familiarize yourself with common challenges in managing engineering teams (hiring, performance, conflict resolution, etc.).
  6. Understand Uber's engineering culture and recent technical challenges or innovations.
  7. Prepare questions to ask the interviewers about the role, team, and company.
  8. Practice articulating your leadership philosophy and management style.
  9. Review your past projects and be ready to discuss your role, challenges, and outcomes in detail.

Study plan

Fig · Study plan — 05 phases

01 / 05
01

Phase 01 of 05

People Management Fundamentals

Weeks 1-2: Management Fundamentals (Team Building, Performance, Conflict). Read 'The Manager's Path', 'Radical Candor'.

Weeks 1-2: Focus on foundational management principles. Study topics like team building, performance management, conflict resolution, and effective delegation. Read books like 'The Manager's Path' and 'Radical Candor'. Practice articulating your management philosophy.

Questions

Commonly asked.

  • Tell me about a time you had to manage a significant technical challenge. How did you lead your team through it?
  • How do you foster a culture of psychological safety and innovation within your team?
  • Describe your approach to performance management and career development for your engineers.
  • How do you balance the need for rapid feature delivery with maintaining code quality and managing technical debt?
  • Tell me about a time you had to make a difficult decision that impacted your team. What was the outcome?
  • How do you prioritize competing demands from product, engineering, and other stakeholders?
  • What are your strategies for attracting, interviewing, and retaining top engineering talent?
  • Describe a situation where you had to resolve a conflict within your team or with another team.
  • How do you ensure your team is aligned with the company's strategic goals?
  • What are your strengths and weaknesses as a manager?
  • How do you stay technically relevant while managing a team?
  • Tell me about a time you failed. What did you learn from it?
  • How do you delegate tasks effectively and empower your team members?
  • Describe your experience with agile methodologies and how you adapt them.
  • How do you handle underperforming team members?
  • What are your thoughts on the future of mobility and Uber's role in it?

Locations

Regional differences.

Fig · Regions — 02 locations

01 / 02

Location

San Francisco, USA

Interview focus

Deep understanding of distributed systems and cloud-native architectures.Experience with scaling engineering teams and processes.Proven ability to mentor and develop engineers at various levels.Strong grasp of operational excellence and incident management.Familiarity with Uber's specific technology stack and challenges.

Common questions

  • How do you handle underperforming engineers on your team?
  • Describe a time you had to make a difficult decision that impacted your team. What was the outcome?
  • How do you foster a culture of innovation and psychological safety?
  • Tell me about a complex technical challenge your team faced and how you guided them through it.
  • How do you balance technical debt with feature delivery?
  • What are your strategies for recruiting and retaining top engineering talent?
  • How do you collaborate with product managers and other stakeholders?
  • Describe your experience with agile methodologies and how you adapt them to your team's needs.
  • How do you measure the success of your team and your own performance?
  • What are your thoughts on the current state of cloud computing and its impact on software development?

Tips

  • Highlight experience with large-scale systems and high-throughput environments.
  • Emphasize your ability to influence cross-functional teams.
  • Be prepared to discuss specific examples of how you've driven technical strategy and execution.
  • Showcase your understanding of Uber's business and how engineering contributes to it.
  • Demonstrate a proactive approach to problem-solving and continuous improvement.

Rounds

Round-by-round.

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

DSA

Coding questions at Uber.

Frequently reported on Uber loops

View all at Uber

Other guides

More at Uber.