Interview Experience: Director of Software Engineering at Remitly

The interview process for the Director of Software Engineering at Remitly is rigorous, involving multiple rounds that focus on technical expertise, leadership skills, and the ability to collaborate across teams. As someone who went through this process, here’s a comprehensive breakdown of what to expect, along with examples from my own experience that helped me succeed.

Interview Process Overview

The interview process typically involves 4 main stages:

1. Initial Screening (HR Interview)

The first step is usually a conversation with a recruiter or HR representative. This call serves to assess your general fit for the company and role, focusing on your experience, leadership style, and motivation for applying. It is more about cultural alignment and your understanding of Remitly’s mission to make financial services accessible globally.

Common questions:

• “Tell me about your experience leading software engineering teams.”
• “Why are you interested in the Director of Software Engineering role at Remitly?”

During this stage, it’s essential to emphasize your ability to manage large, cross-functional teams and your excitement about working for a company with a strong mission in fintech.

2. Technical Interview with Hiring Manager

This round is more focused on assessing your technical leadership skills and understanding of software engineering best practices. You will likely be asked to discuss your experience with system architecture, scaling solutions, and handling engineering challenges at a high level.

Common questions:

• “Describe how you have architected and scaled a system that supports millions of users.”
• “How do you ensure high code quality and maintainability in a large engineering organization?”

In my case, I provided an example of a distributed system I had designed that handled traffic spikes during peak usage. I explained how I used microservices, containerization with Docker, and Kubernetes for orchestration to scale effectively. The key here was to demonstrate your deep understanding of system design and how you manage technical debt while scaling.

3. Leadership and Behavioral Interview (with Senior Leadership)

At this stage, you will likely have a panel interview with senior leaders from various departments such as engineering, product, and operations. This is where the focus shifts to your leadership style, communication skills, and ability to align engineering efforts with the company’s goals.

Typical questions:

• “How do you handle conflicts between engineering teams or between technical and non-technical stakeholders?”
• “Can you share a time when you had to make a tough decision regarding project priorities?”

In my case, I shared an example where two engineering teams had conflicting priorities due to differing views on technical debt. I facilitated a series of discussions, helped prioritize based on business goals, and used data to guide the decision. This demonstrated my ability to handle tough situations with diplomacy and a results-driven approach.

4. System Design and Strategy Exercise

This round involves a real-world problem-solving exercise where you will be asked to design a system or lead a technical discussion. This is often done through a whiteboard exercise or using tools like Google Docs. They’ll expect you to think through the technical challenges, communicate clearly, and outline the strategy to solve them.

Sample exercise:

• “Design a scalable system for processing payments for a global customer base.”

For this exercise, I outlined a solution that involved building a highly available, fault-tolerant architecture using cloud services (AWS or Azure), microservices, and ensuring PCI-DSS compliance for payment data. I also discussed how to manage data consistency across multiple regions and how to incorporate automated testing into the CI/CD pipeline. This was a critical part of the process where they evaluated both my technical acumen and how I would communicate my decisions with cross-functional teams.

5. Cultural Fit Interview

The final stage focuses on how well you align with Remitly’s values and culture. Expect questions about team collaboration, mentoring, and the broader company vision.

Key questions:

• “How do you build a culture of innovation and accountability within your team?”
• “What strategies do you use to ensure your team members are motivated and aligned with business goals?”

During my interview, I shared how I fostered an open, transparent work culture in my previous role. I emphasized my focus on regular 1:1s with team members, providing continuous feedback, and aligning team goals with the company’s overall mission. I also stressed the importance of celebrating small wins and maintaining work-life balance to keep the team motivated.

Key Skills and Experience to Highlight

Remitly is looking for candidates who can lead large engineering teams while maintaining a focus on system reliability, scalability, and innovation. The key areas to highlight include:

• System Architecture & Scalability: Showcase your experience designing systems that can handle large-scale, global applications. Remitly processes a massive volume of transactions, so your ability to design reliable, performant systems will be critical.
• Leadership & Team Management: Provide examples of how you’ve led large engineering teams, built high-performance cultures, and mentored junior and senior engineers alike. They value leaders who can inspire, guide, and foster growth.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: This role requires collaboration with product, marketing, and operations teams. Share examples where you’ve successfully led cross-departmental projects and worked with non-technical stakeholders.
• Focus on Innovation & Continuous Improvement: Demonstrate your ability to drive technical innovation, keep teams aligned with business goals, and focus on continuous improvement. Remitly values leaders who stay ahead of technological trends while maintaining high-quality engineering standards.
• Agile & Process Management: If you have experience implementing Agile or other methodologies in your engineering teams, this is crucial. Remitly works in a fast-paced environment, and being able to demonstrate that you can manage large teams using Agile practices is key.

Example from My Experience

I previously led a team in building a highly scalable e-commerce platform for a global customer base. We designed the system to support millions of daily users by implementing a microservices architecture and utilizing AWS for scalability. To handle peak traffic, we adopted auto-scaling policies and used a load-balancing strategy to ensure system uptime. We also implemented a continuous integration pipeline that included automated testing to reduce deployment times and improve code quality.

This experience was vital during my interview as it showcased my technical expertise and ability to scale systems effectively.