Scale Engineer

Software Engineering Manager

Software Engineering ManagerM13High

This interview process is designed to assess candidates for a Software Engineering Manager (M13 level) position at Unity. It evaluates technical leadership, people management skills, strategic thinking, and cultural fit within Unity's collaborative and innovative environment.

Rounds·5

Timeline·~14d

Experience·8 - 15 yrs

Comp band·US$180000 - US$250000

Interview time·240 min

Evaluation

What they measure.

  • Technical depth and breadth relevant to Unity's technology stack.
  • Ability to make sound technical decisions and guide architectural discussions.
  • Understanding of software development lifecycle and best practices.

Preparation

How to prepare.

Tips

  1. Thoroughly review Unity's products, mission, and values.
  2. Understand the specific challenges and opportunities for an M13 role at Unity.
  3. Prepare STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) examples for behavioral questions.
  4. Brush up on core software engineering principles and management best practices.
  5. Research common leadership challenges and how you've overcome them.
  6. Familiarize yourself with Agile and Lean methodologies.
  7. Be ready to discuss your leadership philosophy and management style.
  8. Prepare thoughtful questions to ask the interviewers.

Study plan

Fig · Study plan — 04 phases

01 / 04
01

Phase 01 of 04

Company & Role Immersion

Weeks 1-2: Unity company research, M13 role understanding, career reflection.

Weeks 1-2: Deep dive into Unity's company culture, products (Unity Engine, Unity Cloud, etc.), and recent news. Understand the M13 level expectations and responsibilities. Review your own career history and identify key achievements and leadership examples. Focus on understanding Unity's market position and competitive landscape.

Questions

Commonly asked.

  • Describe your leadership philosophy and how you foster a positive team culture.
  • Tell me about a time you had to manage a difficult team member or resolve a conflict within your team.
  • How do you prioritize competing demands and manage your team's workload effectively?
  • Describe a significant technical challenge your team faced and how you led them through it.
  • How do you stay current with technology trends and ensure your team is adopting relevant innovations?
  • How do you approach performance management and career development for your engineers?
  • Tell me about a time you had to make a difficult decision that impacted your team.
  • How do you balance the need for rapid feature delivery with maintaining code quality and technical debt?
  • What is your experience with Agile methodologies, and how do you adapt them to your team's needs?
  • How do you foster collaboration between your team and other departments (e.g., Product, QA, Design)?
  • Describe a time you failed as a leader and what you learned from it.
  • How do you measure the success of your team and your own effectiveness as a manager?
  • What are your thoughts on building scalable and maintainable software systems?
  • How do you handle ambiguity and drive clarity for your team?
  • Why Unity, and why this role?

Locations

Regional differences.

Fig · Regions — 02 locations

01 / 02

Location

Remote/Hybrid

Interview focus

Remote team management strategiesCross-cultural communicationBuilding trust in a distributed environmentManaging asynchronous workflows

Common questions

  • How do you handle performance issues with a direct report in a remote setting?
  • Describe a time you had to manage a conflict between team members located in different time zones.
  • What strategies do you use to foster team cohesion and collaboration across distributed teams?
  • How do you ensure effective communication and knowledge sharing in a hybrid work environment?

Tips

  • Highlight experience with managing geographically dispersed teams.
  • Be prepared to discuss tools and techniques for remote collaboration.
  • Emphasize your ability to foster inclusion and belonging regardless of location.

Rounds

Round-by-round.

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

DSA

Coding questions at Unity.

Frequently reported on Unity loops

View all at Unity

Other guides

More at Unity.