Technical Bar

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This lesson breaks down how **technical competence** is evaluated during engineering manager (EM) interviews. Although only 20% of the hiring criteria is based on technical skills, understanding how it's assessed is essential for preparation.

- **High-level technical evaluation:** EM interviews typically assess architecture and system-level thinking rather than deep implementation. The goal is to understand if you grasp the *impact and trade-offs* of technical decisions.
- **System design is critical:** Nearly all companies include a **system design round**, as it's a strong signal of your ability to reason about architecture, scalability, and trade-offs at a strategic level.
- **Operational excellence is a focus:** Interviewers may evaluate how you ensure **continuous product integrity** through CI/CD pipelines, quality control, monitoring systems, and delivery processes.
- **Metrics and impact measurement:** Expect questions around **KPIs and OKRs**, especially on how you track team or product success. This reflects your business awareness and leadership maturity.
- **Coding expectations vary by company:** FAANG companies often include **coding rounds** to assess whether you can "get your hands dirty" if needed. Non-FAANG companies may skip this or offer take-home assignments or lightweight coding exercises instead.

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