The Ultimate Reference Question List to Ensure You Hire the Right Engineering Leader

Making the wrong engineering leadership hire can have profound financial implications for an organization, including lower team morale and increased turnover. The cascading effects can lead to lost productivity and product delays, resulting in missed opportunities and a loss of competitive edge. This can ultimately impact revenue and business growth. To help you avoid such a costly mistake, we’ve put together a comprehensive list of reference questions:

Leadership in Architecture:

• Can the candidate lead architectural discussions, review implementations, and identify and troubleshoot core issues effectively?
• Are they able to make informed decisions regarding technology choices and architecture?

Technical Decision-Making:

• Could you share an example of a critical technical decision made by the candidate that had a significant impact on the company’s product or infrastructure?
• How did they evaluate options and finalize their decision? Technological Adaptability:
• How adept was the candidate at staying current with emerging technologies? Did they successfully integrate new technology trends into the company’s technology stack or strategy?

Technological Innovation:

• Could you give examples of how the candidate incorporated innovative technologies or approaches into system architecture and design to meet unique challenges or capitalize on opportunities?

System Architecture and Design:

• Could you describe a complex system architecture or design challenge faced by the candidate?
• How did they balance short-term and long-term considerations while solving it?

Design Trade-offs:

• Can you provide an example where the candidate had to make a significant trade-off in system design?
• How did they approach this decision and communicate the implications to stakeholders?

Feedback:

• Can you discuss the candidate’s process for conducting design reviews and responding to feedback?
• Are they effective at navigating and balancing diverse opinions to reach a consensus?

Cost-Effective Design:

• Could you share an example of how the candidate optimized system design for cost-effectiveness without compromising on performance or reliability?

Strategic Thinking:

• Can you provide an example of a time when the candidate successfully developed and executed a technology strategy that supported the company’s business goals while operating under resource or time constraints?

Prioritization:

• How does the candidate prioritize technology initiatives in alignment with business needs?
• Could you give an example of a challenging prioritization decision they had to make?

Risk Management:

• Can you share an example of how the candidate approaches risk management in their strategic technology decision-making?

Future Planning:

• Can you share an example where the candidate made a technology decision with a long-term strategic perspective, anticipating future business needs or market trends?

Scalability and Growth:

• Can you provide examples of the candidate’s ability to scale technology infrastructure and systems to support company growth?

Proactive Measures:

• Can you provide an example where the candidate demonstrated proactivity in addressing potential scalability issues before they affect system performance?

Performance Under Pressure:

• How did the candidate’s system architecture perform under high traffic or load?
• Were there any instances of system failure, and how were they handled?

Security and Compliance:

• How knowledgeable and proactive was the candidate in managing security and compliance concerns?
• Could you explain a scenario where they effectively addressed a security or compliance issue?

Team Performance Management:

• Can you provide insight into how the candidate measured performance within their team?
• What metrics or methods did they utilize?
• Can you share examples of instances where they did not settle for mediocrity?
• Have you observed the candidate putting someone on a performance probation plan? If so, can you provide details about the situation and how they handled it?

Project Execution and Delivery:

• How did the candidate organize and manage the engineering delivery process?
• Can you describe the methodology or frameworks they employed to ensure effective and efficient project execution?
• Can you share any instances where the candidate faced roadblocks or challenges impeding the timely delivery of projects?
• Did the candidate establish clear metrics and standards of excellence for their team members?
• How did they ensure team members were held accountable for meeting these goals?
• How did they communicate this progress to stakeholders and team members?

Code Quality:

• Can you provide examples of their initiatives or processes to maintain code quality standards within their team?
• Have you observed the candidate implementing code reviews or quality assurance practices to ensure the reliability and maintainability of the codebase?
• How did the candidate prioritize code quality alongside project deadlines and deliverables?
• How did the candidate foster a culture of code craftsmanship and encourage their team members to write clean, efficient, and well-documented code?

General Reference Questions

Unique Contributions:

• What was the candidate’s biggest accomplishment while working there?
• Was the candidate promoted while at the company?
• How would you rate their overall performance on a scale from 1–10? Why not a 10?
• How did this person create leverage for your business? (ask to bosses)

Weaknesses:

• What were the candidate’s biggest areas for improvement?
• The candidate mentioned struggling with [this issue]. What’s your perspective on that?

Working with Others:

• How did others perceive the candidate?
• If the candidate is on the executive team of a company you’re considering joining, would that make you more or less excited?
• On a scale from 1–10, how strong is your referral (10 = blind referral)? Why not a 10?

Unknown Aspects:

• What haven’t I asked that you think is important to know about the candidate?
• If I want to convince myself to hire or not to hire the candidate, whom should I talk to?
• What type of position do you think the candidate is best suited for?

For more guidance on how to maximize references,?here are six game-changing ways to approach references .