The interview process includes a phone screening call with another Engineering Manager (EM) and then a full day of interviews covering behavioral aspects, past projects, coding, and system design.

Although the coding portion can be daunting for someone who has been a manager and is not actively coding anymore, the standard is reasonable and should not be the most challenging part of the interview. It is recommended to spend only 5-10% of your preparation time on this section.

System design interviews are enjoyable, though they can feel like an academic exercise.

My personal experience with the other interviews (behavioral, project retrospectives) was not ideal. It felt like being grilled with questions about past experiences, with little focus on how one thinks or might operate in the future. The questions centered on past events in different organizations, not Facebook. It is difficult to see how operating models from other companies translate to a place like Facebook, given their distinct operational methods.

Breaks between interviews were facilitated by another person with whom you could ask questions, but the answers provided were vague.

No one could clearly explain what an EM does or how an EM operates day-to-day. Even when asked directly, the answers remained vague.

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