How good are they? The recruiter keeps calling and saying most PMs are founders at other startups, ex CEOs etc. He refuses to tell me which team is interested, only that it's super cool and will change the world . Also, currently sr. Director, what can I expect, assuming the recruiter is not a total idiot, hoping I would take PM L5?
"Most PMs are founders / ex CEOs" - that's a false statement. Most of them are just normal people, who even haven't ever worked at startups. "Which team is interested" - that's not the Google way. Usually you get interviewed for a general position, then there is a process where you meet with multiple teams trying to find a better match for you. If you are a director at big company (e.g., VMware), BTW, then the interviewing process is different. It's all about connections and how many people can vouch for you. You could expect L7/L8 in that case.
If you are part of a big company at a director/VP level, typically you don't get contacted by a random recruiter. You have people in the industry who know you and aware of your achievements. In that case, if they have a particular position they need to fill in, they discuss it with you informally. If there is a common agreement, then the hiring process begins, but in many cases it's rather a formality. A senior director is not a senior engineer...
We have quite a few PM from Google and none are impressive by any means
Few clarifications, the recruiter claims that a specific team is interested because of "my profile", I checked and Google does hire for specific positions and teams occasionally. And yes you are right, I got my existing position the way described above, trough an industry contact. But I also know execs get poached via 3rd party search firms and since Google is famous for not using headhunters, I thought it could be genuine. But the more I think about it, probably not...
It's not about how good Google PMs are. It's about how your resume will look like with couple of years as a Google PM.
Sr director? I think it should be higher than L5.