Hiring guide · Leadership
How to hire a
engineering manager.
Engineering managers run engineering teams — hiring, performance, project delivery. The role differs from tech lead in being more management-leaning.
Comp range$200k-$360k base.
Timeline10-16 weeks.
When to hire
Hire in-house
Engineering team has 5-8+ and ICs need a manager.
When to outsource
Outsource to a studio
Below 5 engineers — founder/CTO is the manager.
Evaluation · 02
Signs of strong candidates.
Strong signals
- Has been an EM at a real company
- Strong people skills
- Has hired and fired
- Comfortable with delivery and 1:1s
- Strong cross-functional partnership
Red flags
- ✗Was a tech lead with a manager title
- ✗No real performance-management experience
- ✗Avoids difficult conversations
- ✗Resume inflated
- ✗Pure delivery manager — no people work
Interview · 03
Questions to ask.
- Q1
Walk me through a hard conversation you had with an engineer.
- Q2
How do you handle a struggling team member?
- Q3
How do you balance delivery with people development?
- Q4
How do you partner with product?
- Q5
How do you give performance feedback?
Considering a studio?
We bridge
to your hire.
We help structure EM hiring. If you're not ready to hire a engineering manager yet, brief us — we can fill the gap and help you hire later.
Brief us