interview questions
Interview Questions by Role & Level
Real interview questions and answers, tailored to your role and seniority. Each guide collects 12 behavioral questions a hiring manager at that level is likely to ask, plus what they're actually listening for and a 60–80 word STAR sample answer for every one.
Free to read, no signup required. Across the library: 12 role-and-level pages, 144 questions with sample answers.
Software Engineer
4 guides · 48 questions
- Junior12 questionsSoftware Engineer · Junior (0–2 yrs) 12 behavioral questions tuned for junior software engineers, each with what hiring managers listen for and a STAR sample answer. Read guide
- Mid-Level12 questionsSoftware Engineer · Mid-level (3–5 yrs) 12 behavioral questions tuned for mid-level software engineers, each with what hiring managers listen for and a STAR sample answer. Read guide
- Senior12 questionsSoftware Engineer · Senior (6–9 yrs) 12 behavioral questions tuned for senior software engineers, each with what hiring managers listen for and a STAR sample answer. Read guide
- Staff12 questionsSoftware Engineer · Staff (10+ yrs) 12 behavioral questions tuned for staff software engineers, each with what hiring managers listen for and a STAR sample answer. Read guide
Product Manager
4 guides · 48 questions
- Junior12 questionsProduct Manager · Junior (0–2 yrs) 12 behavioral questions tuned for junior product managers, each with what hiring managers listen for and a STAR sample answer. Read guide
- Mid-Level12 questionsProduct Manager · Mid-level (3–5 yrs) 12 behavioral questions tuned for mid-level product managers, each with what hiring managers listen for and a STAR sample answer. Read guide
- Senior12 questionsProduct Manager · Senior (6–9 yrs) 12 behavioral questions tuned for senior product managers, each with what hiring managers listen for and a STAR sample answer. Read guide
- Staff12 questionsProduct Manager · Staff (10+ yrs) 12 behavioral questions tuned for staff product managers, each with what hiring managers listen for and a STAR sample answer. Read guide
Product Designer
4 guides · 48 questions
- Junior12 questionsProduct Designer · Junior (0–2 yrs) 12 behavioral questions tuned for junior product designers, each with what hiring managers listen for and a STAR sample answer. Read guide
- Mid-Level12 questionsProduct Designer · Mid-level (3–5 yrs) 12 behavioral questions tuned for mid-level product designers, each with what hiring managers listen for and a STAR sample answer. Read guide
- Senior12 questionsProduct Designer · Senior (6–9 yrs) 12 behavioral questions tuned for senior product designers, each with what hiring managers listen for and a STAR sample answer. Read guide
- Staff12 questionsProduct Designer · Staff (10+ yrs) 12 behavioral questions tuned for staff product designers, each with what hiring managers listen for and a STAR sample answer. Read guide
Why role-and-stage matters
A junior software engineer and a staff engineer get asked very different things, even when the words on the page look similar. "Tell me about a conflict with a peer" is asking a junior whether they can keep their composure. The same prompt is asking a staff engineer whether they can broker a multi-team disagreement without flattening either side. Generic interview-prep advice tends to collapse those differences, which is why a lot of people walk in over-prepared on the wrong axis.
Each guide on this site is written for a specific role at a specific level — the competencies a hiring manager is actually testing, questions that come up in real loops at that level, and the kind of story that lands rather than the kind that reads as overclaiming. The sample answers stay under 90 seconds because that's how long the interviewer is going to give you, regardless of how interesting your full story is.
How each guide is structured
Every page covers the same 12 themes that recur across behavioral loops at that level — disagreement, ambiguity, ownership, mentorship, scope, failure, and a handful of others. For each question, we show what the interviewer is listening for (so you know which beat in your story is doing the work) and a short STAR-shaped sample answer that you can read out loud in 60–80 words. The samples are specific on purpose: numbers, named systems, real lines of conversation. Vague answers ("we collaborated cross-functionally") read as either inexperienced or unreflective, and the rubric on this site is calibrated to call that out.
Pick the guide that matches the role you're interviewing for, not the role you're in today — the bar shifts with the title on the job description, not your current one. If you're between two levels, read both; the contrast often clarifies what your real bar is.
Practice these out loud with a voice-first AI coach
Reading sample answers helps. Saying yours out loud, with realistic follow-ups, helps more. Interview Pilot runs voice-based mock interviews tuned to your role and stage — you get STAR analysis on every answer, so you know which element was thin before the real call. Or paste a draft answer into the free STAR Grader for a quick rubric check.
2 free sessions · No credit card · No subscription