Scale Engineer

VP

Software Engineering ManagerM6.5Very High

This interview process is for a Software Engineering Manager (M6.5) role at Workday, specifically for a VP-level position. It is designed to assess leadership capabilities, strategic thinking, technical depth, and cultural fit within Workday's values.

Rounds·5

Timeline·~21d

Experience·10 - 15 yrs

Comp band·US$180000 - US$250000

Interview time·270 min

Evaluation

What they measure.

  • Leadership presence and executive communication skills.
  • Strategic thinking and ability to align technology with business goals.
  • Proven track record of building and leading high-performing engineering teams.
  • Deep technical understanding and ability to guide architectural decisions.
  • Strong people management skills, including coaching, mentoring, and conflict resolution.
  • Cultural alignment with Workday's values (e.g., innovation, integrity, customer focus, teamwork).

Preparation

How to prepare.

Tips

  1. Deeply understand Workday's mission, values, products, and strategic direction.
  2. Review your career accomplishments and prepare specific examples using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result).
  3. Familiarize yourself with common leadership challenges and how you've addressed them.
  4. Brush up on key technical concepts relevant to Workday's technology stack (e.g., cloud computing, enterprise software, specific programming languages if applicable).
  5. Practice articulating your leadership philosophy, management style, and vision for engineering teams.
  6. Prepare thoughtful questions to ask the interviewers about the role, team, and company.
  7. Understand the specific challenges and opportunities for an engineering manager at Workday.
  8. Research the backgrounds of your interviewers to tailor your responses and questions.

Study plan

Fig · Study plan — 03 phases

01 / 03
01

Phase 01 of 03

Foundation & Self-Assessment

Weeks 1-2: Workday Business & Culture Immersion, STAR Method Preparation.

Weeks 1-2: Deep dive into Workday's business, products, and culture. Understand their market position, competitors, and strategic initiatives. Review company financials and recent press releases. Familiarize yourself with Workday's core values and how they translate into leadership expectations. Begin outlining key career achievements using the STAR method, focusing on leadership, technical, and people management aspects.

Questions

Commonly asked.

  • Describe your leadership philosophy and how you build and motivate high-performing engineering teams.
  • Tell me about a time you had to make a significant technical decision that had long-term implications for your team or product.
  • How do you balance the need for innovation with the demands of delivering reliable software?
  • Describe your experience in managing and developing engineering talent, including career progression and performance management.
  • How do you foster a culture of collaboration and psychological safety within your team?
  • Walk me through a challenging project you managed from conception to delivery. What were the key challenges and how did you overcome them?
  • How do you stay current with emerging technologies and ensure your team adopts relevant advancements?
  • Describe a time you had to manage a conflict within your team or between your team and another department. What was your approach?
  • What are your strategies for managing technical debt and ensuring the long-term health of the codebase?
  • How do you align your team's work with the broader business objectives and product strategy?
  • Tell me about a time you failed as a leader. What did you learn from it?
  • How do you approach hiring and building a diverse and inclusive engineering team?
  • Describe your experience with agile methodologies and how you adapt them to your team's needs.
  • What are your thoughts on Workday's approach to cloud computing and its impact on software development?
  • How do you handle ambiguity and drive clarity for your team in a fast-paced environment?

Locations

Regional differences.

Fig · Regions — 03 locations

01 / 03

Location

Pleasanton, CA

Interview focus

Emphasis on strategic alignment with business objectives.Deep dive into organizational design and scaling teams.Assessment of cross-functional collaboration and influence.Evaluation of experience with global teams and distributed leadership.

Common questions

  • How do you handle a team member who is consistently underperforming and resistant to feedback?
  • Describe a time you had to make a difficult decision that impacted your team negatively. How did you manage the situation and the team's morale?
  • What are your strategies for fostering innovation and psychological safety within a software engineering team?
  • How do you balance the need for rapid feature delivery with maintaining code quality and technical debt reduction?
  • Tell me about a significant technical challenge you faced as a manager and how you guided your team through it.

Tips

  • Be prepared to discuss your experience with Workday's specific technologies and cloud offerings.
  • Highlight instances where you've driven significant business impact through technology.
  • Showcase your ability to mentor and develop senior engineers and aspiring leaders.
  • Understand Workday's mission, values, and recent company news.

Rounds

Round-by-round.

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

DSA

Coding questions at Workday.

Frequently reported on Workday loops

View all at Workday

Other guides

More at Workday.