--- title: 22 engineering manager interview questions for startups description: 22 engineering manager interview questions for startups on 1:1s, performance, hiring loops and the CTO, with a role play brief, work sample and rubric. image: https://funded.club/hubfs/og_image_funded.png --- [![Primary\_logo](https://funded.club/hubfs/Primary_logo.svg)](https://funded.club/) [Book a call](https://funded.club/contact-us) - [Hire](https://funded.club) - [Pricing](https://funded.club/pricing) - [Find a job](https://funded.club/startupjobs) - [Case Studies](https://funded.club/case-studies) - [Locally](https://funded.club/case-studies/locally) - [Supernova](https://funded.club/case-studies/supernova) - [Isolocity](https://funded.club/case-studies/isolocity) - [WeTravel](https://funded.club/case-studies/wetravel) - [Digital Science](https://funded.club/case-studies/digital-science) - [Blog](https://funded.club/blog-results) - [Resources](https://funded.club/resources) - [Predict success](https://signup.predict.ventures/) - [Growth Planner](https://funded.club/growth-planner) - [Glossary](https://funded.club/glossary) - [FAQ](https://funded.club/faq) - [Contact us](https://funded.club/contact-us) [Book a call](https://funded.club/contact-us) - Engagement options: - [Hiring solutions](https://funded.club) - [Pay-as-you-go](https://funded.club/pricing) - Membership plan # 22 engineering manager interview questions for startups [Ray Gibson](https://funded.club/blog/author/ray-gibson) Oct 2, 2026, 1:18:58 AM *Updated October 2026* A startup engineering manager interview needs four stages: a founder screen, a deep dive on one team the candidate managed, a performance conversation role play paired with a short code review, and a session with the CTO on how decisions get split. A single real pull request replaces the coding test. Build the interview from the CTO's calendar. List the meetings the new manager will take over, from 1:1s and debriefs to the awkward conversation that keeps getting postponed, and turn each into a question or a role play. The illustrative example continues from our [engineering manager job description](https://funded.club/blog/engineering-manager-job-description): a Series A software company whose co-founder CTO has eleven direct reports and wants their week back. ## The engineering manager interview plan | Stage | Who | Length | What it tests | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1. Founder screen | CEO | 30 min | Why management, team size wanted, code expectations, salary | | 2. Team deep dive | CTO | 60 min | One team they ran: people, hiring, delivery, what changed because of them | | 3. Role play and code review | CTO and a senior engineer | 75 min | A performance conversation, and credibility on a real pull request | | 4. Partnership session | CTO and CEO | 60 min plus references | Decision split, handling disagreement, hiring loop proposal | ## People and 1:1s 1. Roughly what came up in your last three 1:1s? 2. Someone says "all good" every week for a month. What do you do? 3. Tell me about a person who was about to resign. How did you find out? 4. How do you give feedback to an engineer who knows the system better than you? 5. What do you say in a first 1:1 with someone who wanted your job? **Strong answer:** Specific, slightly messy stories. They notice drift in energy or code review tone before anyone resigns, and they describe 1:1s as the report's meeting, not a status update. **Red flags:** Answers about process documents rather than people, or 1:1s that are fortnightly "when there's time". ## Performance conversations 1. Think of the last underperformer on your team. What did you say first? 2. When did you last let someone go, and what would you do earlier next time? 3. How do you write down a performance concern so it is fair to both sides? 4. A strong engineer is rude in code reviews. What do you do this week? 5. How do you tell a high performer they won't be promoted this cycle? Stage 3 role play · 20 minutes · illustrative brief "Sam" has missed three sprint commitments **Candidate is told:** Sam is a senior engineer, two years in, the best reviewer on the team. Lately they miss commitments and are curt with juniors in code review. **Sam (your engineer) is told privately:** you are bored, you have been looking at other jobs, and you will only say so if asked a real question. Grade the role play against the performance row of the rubric. A candidate who names the missed commitments, asks what is going on and listens scores a 3. One who also uncovers the boredom, agrees a stretch project with a dated check-in and still raises the review tone scores a 4. Lecturing Sam, or dodging the missed sprints, scores a 1. **Strong answer:** Raises problems early and in plain words, writes things down, and can describe an exit they handled with care. **Red flags:** Has never had the conversation, waits for annual reviews, or hands every problem to HR. ## Owning the hiring loop 1. Here is our current interview process. What would you drop first? 2. How do you train an engineer to interview well? 3. Tell me about a hire you got wrong. What did your loop miss? 4. A candidate has a bigger offer elsewhere. How do you close them? 5. Once you own hiring, what should the CTO still do in it? 6. How do you keep a loop fast when interviewers are also shipping? **Strong answer:** Treats the loop as a product: a scorecard first, trained interviewers, quick debriefs, and a clear role left for the CTO, usually a final conversation. **Red flags:** More stages as the answer to every bad hire, or no example of a mis-hire they owned. **Reference check that predicts most:** speak to someone who reported to them, not only their old boss, and ask what changed in their career because of this manager. ## Delivery, code and the CTO 1. How much code did you write in your last role, and of what kind? 2. Review this pull request from our repo. What would you comment on? 3. A date is at risk. Who do you tell, when, and what do you cut? 4. The CTO wants a rewrite you think the team can't absorb this quarter. How do you settle it? 5. What would you want the CTO to stop doing in your first month? 6. How do you report progress to a CEO who isn't technical? **Strong answer:** Review comments about risk rather than style. Disagrees with the CTO in private, then commits. **Red flags:** Wants architecture ownership the JD says the CTO keeps, or reports progress as tickets closed. ## Work sample: rebuild our hiring loop Share your current engineering JD, interview stages and anonymised feedback from recent candidates. Ask for a one-page proposal for a new loop, with stages, who runs each, what each tests and what the CTO still does. Cap it at 2 hours and discuss it in stage 4. Look for a scorecard before the stages, fewer stages rather than more, and a realistic interviewer load. The best proposals say how they would know it works. Suggested weighting across the four stages People and 1:1s 25% Performance conversations 25% Hiring loop 20% Delivery 15% CTO partnership 15% Suggested weighting, not market data. Raise hiring loop if you plan to double the team this year. ## Scoring rubric | Outcome | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Team health | 1:1s as status updates | Regular 1:1s, little depth | Spots problems early | Grows people into new roles | | Performance | Avoids the conversation | Raises it late | Raises early, writes it down | Resolves it and keeps trust | | Hiring loop | Runs others' process | Tweaks stages | Scorecard-led loop | Loop runs without them | | Delivery | Surprised by slips | Reports slips | Flags early, cuts scope | Dates the CEO plans around | | CTO partnership | Competes for decisions | Defers on everything | Clear split, honest pushback | Frees the CTO's week | ## Where Funded.club fits We run engineering leadership searches on a fixed fee agreed upfront, with one dedicated recruiter and first screened candidates within 7 days. See [pricing](https://funded.club/pricing). ## Frequently asked questions ### Should engineering manager candidates do a coding test? Usually not a timed one. A review of a real pull request from your codebase shows whether they can still read code with judgement, which is what the role needs. ### Can a non-technical founder interview an engineering manager? Yes for people, hiring and delivery, which are most of the role. Bring in a senior engineer or advisor for the code review. Our guide on [hiring a VP Engineering or engineering manager](https://funded.club/blog/hire-vp-engineering-startup) covers the full process. ### How long should the process take? Two to three weeks from first call to offer. A slow loop tells a manager candidate how your hiring works. Worth a brief chat about your next hire? [Book a free call](https://funded.club/contact-us). ## Hiring after a funding round? First candidates in 7 days. Fixed-fee, no commission. 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