Tech, Product and Engineering Interview Questions
Three tracks: product management, project and program management, and engineering and data roles.
Start from the job family, because the three tracks here are interviewed differently. Product manager interview questions test product sense, metrics and execution. The general product manager guide covers those rounds, and the AI product manager guide adds model evaluation and data quality. The DoorDash and Netflix guides are worth reading only if you are interviewing there, since they follow those companies' own processes.
Project and program roles are easy to confuse. The project manager guide is a nontechnical practice bank, the IT project manager guide deals with infrastructure and vendors, and the technical program manager guide expects you to discuss technical trade-offs across teams. Read the one closest to your title, then skim its neighbor.
Engineering and data guides are about explaining your reasoning, and the SQL Server guide in particular is built around talking through a problem aloud. Technical answers are judged partly on how clearly you think out loud, so practice speaking your reasoning as well as solving the problem. Interns should use the engineering internship guide, which covers coding questions, CS fundamentals and projects.
Product management
Product Manager Interview Questions: What PM Interviews Are Actually Testing
Product sense, metrics, execution, strategy and behavioral examples.
Read the guideAI Product Manager Interview Questions: What Interviewers Actually Test
Model evaluation, data quality, responsible AI and handling ambiguity.
Read the guideProduct Owner Interview Questions: What Backlog Ownership Interviews Actually Test
Backlog priorities, user stories, acceptance criteria and stakeholder trade-offs.
Read the guideDoorDash Product Manager Interview Questions: What the Process Is Actually Testing
The DoorDash process: marketplace metrics, product sense and execution.
Read the guideNetflix Product Manager Interview Questions: What the Process Is Actually Testing
The Netflix process: personalization, retention, experimentation and culture fit.
Read the guide
Project and program management
Project Manager Interview Questions: A Nontechnical Practice Bank with Sample Answers
A nontechnical practice bank with sample answers on scope, priorities, stakeholders and handover.
Read the guideProject Management Interview Questions: What Hiring Managers Are Really Testing
Scope, budget, risk and stakeholder questions with STAR-based sample answers.
Read the guideIT Project Manager Interview Questions and Answers: What Hiring Managers Actually Test
Infrastructure risk, agile delivery, vendor SLAs and rescuing a failing technical project.
Read the guideProgram Manager Interview Questions: What Hiring Teams Are Actually Testing
Stakeholder alignment, cross-functional execution, risk and program governance.
Read the guideTechnical Program Manager Interview Questions: How to Prove You Can Drive Complex Delivery
Cross-team delivery, technical depth, trade-offs, metrics and executive communication.
Read the guideBusiness Analyst Interview Questions: What Interviewers Are Really Evaluating
Requirements gathering, stakeholder management and data analysis.
Read the guide
Engineering and data
Data Engineer Interview Questions: SQL, Pipelines, and Reliability Under Pressure
SQL, ETL pipelines, data modeling and reliability.
Read the guideSQL Server Interview Questions: How to Explain Your Database Reasoning Out Loud
T-SQL, indexing, query tuning, backups and transactions, with a focus on explaining your reasoning aloud.
Read the guideNetwork Engineer Interview Questions: Routing, Troubleshooting, and Design Under Pressure
OSI layers, routing, troubleshooting, security and design.
Read the guideEngineering Manager Interview Questions: What Every Hiring Process Tests
People management, technical leadership and scaling a team.
Read the guideEngineering Internship Interview Questions: What to Expect and How to Prepare
Coding, CS fundamentals and project questions for a first technical round.
Read the guideElectrical Engineering Interview Questions: Concepts, Troubleshooting, and Safety Every Candidate Should Prepare For
Circuits, troubleshooting, safety codes and explaining past projects.
Read the guide
Practice explaining your reasoning out loud
Run a mock interview in SayNow AI: answer by voice with the AI as interviewer, then get a score and suggestions on fluency and structure.
Free to download · iOS and Android
Frequently asked questions
- How do project, program and technical program manager interviews differ?
- Project manager interviews center on one project: scope, schedule, budget, risk and stakeholders. Program manager interviews ask how you align several teams and govern a set of related projects. Technical program manager interviews add technical depth, so you are expected to discuss system trade-offs with engineers and explain them to executives.
- How do I answer a technical question out loud?
- Say your assumptions first, then outline the approach before you go into detail. Name the trade-off you are making and why, and finish by checking the answer against the original question. If you get stuck, say what you would test next. Silence gives the interviewer nothing to assess.
- Are the company-specific guides useful for other companies?
- Only partly. The DoorDash guide is built around marketplace metrics and the Netflix guide around personalization, retention and experimentation. If you are interviewing elsewhere, the general product manager guide is the better use of your time.
- Do tech interviews include behavioral questions?
- Yes. The product manager, data engineer, network engineer, technical program manager and engineering internship guides each have a section on behavioral questions. Prepare stories about a conflict, a failure and a project you led, and structure them with STAR.
Related
- STAR MethodSituation, Task, Action, Result: the structure for behavioral answers.
- Job interview practiceA mock interview in SayNow AI where the AI plays the interviewer and you get feedback afterward.
- Pyramid PrincipleLead with the answer, then support it: useful for executive communication questions.
- Data presentation practicePractice explaining numbers and analysis aloud.
- Common interview questionsThe questions asked for almost every job.
- Sales and marketing interview questionsBy role, from coordinator to CMO.
- Accounting and finance interview questionsFrom internship to accounting manager, plus banking.