Hey, I was thinking of applying for a management position there and saw one for Facebook Software Director which requires "excellent coding" . While I was an "excellent coder" in the past, going into senior management (engineering) didn't leave time for me to code in the past few years. The ad left me puzzled a bit since usually directors lead large organizations (100+ people) and I doubt they have time nor it will be the best use of their time. I would appreciate if you could share some insights to the role and it's responsibilities at Facebook, Uk. TC: 350k, yoe: 14
To put it simple, managers at FB do not code... But I bet they might ask you to implement something during the interview
Thanks, I was really surprised about : Exceptional coding skills in one of the following: C++, Java, Javascript, or PHP.
With 14 yoe and leading 70 people, it's unlikely you'll get director. They are very picky at that level for external hires. You'd get senior eng manager and still get paid a fair amount more than your current comp.
Thanks for the quick reply, What's usually the size of the org? I assume engineering managers reports to the senior manager and that seniors to directors?
It varies, directors will go from a few dozens to 400+ for senior directors (D2). Senior engineer managers (M2) have managers and if they want also some senior ICs reporting to them. The reason for people to be downleveled is because the expectations of performance every 6 months are high and coming from outside you're at a disadvantage with no network or cultural adaptation. If you do well you should get promoted.
What kind of coding questions can one expect for such senior roles? Leetcode hard? What kind of DS and algorithms?
More like leetcode easy. When you're a director, no one expects you to code anymore
Oh man. I have 11yoe and make 450k with no team to manage and I feel like a looser in life. Not joking.
What are you trying to say?
I am saying itβs crazy how you manage such a huge team and they only pay 450k? Wtf I am loosing some motivation for trying to make a career
Coding bar should be the same as entry level swe. System design will be fairly high though
Coding bar is not the same at all. Not for EM E6/E7 would the bar be the same for entry level. You just have one coding interview to check that you can somehow code.
This might be little late but I hope someone can find it useful: https://coda.io/d/Hiring-Engineering-Leaders_dLSKec3TcnQ/Hiring-Engineering-Leaders_suLLm#_lua1N By and ex-Senior Director at Facebook. It's a well detailed but generic overview, yet I found it very close to and aligns well with what FB recruiters shared in their communication. To your point OP, under Onsite Technical round (code comprehension - lightweight coding) he says: "For leadership candidates, I recommend focusing on code comprehension over code writing. They need to read and understand the code that the team is writing. They are unlikely to be coding the Next Great Feature."
How large is the org you lead now? Over 100?
~70 people