Squarespace Technical Program Manager Interview Questions
& Process

The interview process included multiple rounds, starting with a written assessment and culminating in a 2-day marathon with 13 interviews. Googles theory of 4 was considered to avoid fatigue. While I appreciate the due diligence, it was disappointing to only receive an email after all that to say I didn’t get the job. They should set expectations better and at least pick up the phone; it’s the human thing to do.

I interviewed with HR/Recruiting, a Staff TPM, and the hiring manager. The whole process felt really disorganized, even with everyone being remote for a while now. All the calls started late on Squarespace's end, and the people I met with seemed more arrogant about having jobs than welcoming. The process and the questions didn't even seem related to the job I applied for. I didn't get an offer, and honestly, I wouldn't have accepted one based on how it went. It started with phone calls and ended with a Zoom call. It was a clunky experience and not welcoming at all. The first person I spoke to seemed more interested in talking about their own work history and bragging about starting a conference call than interviewing me. The questions they asked were really out of nowhere and had nothing to do with Program Management. They gave me an activity that felt more like a Product Owner task than a Program Manager one, even compared to the job description. It seemed like the team didn't know what they were doing or how to define their roles. The manager was really focused on setting OKRs instead of talking about how I could contribute as a Program Manager. The activity was supposed to take a 'few hours,' but between researching, making the documents, and getting peer review, it ended up being about 6 hours. The presentation was to propose a feature I wished existed, basically writing a proposal for it. After meeting with the hiring manager, where I presented a Squarespace feature idea (even though it wasn't required), they asked if I'd thought of any other features I didn't present. No, that wasn't the assignment, and I'd already done extra work. The activities came with minimal instructions, and the interviewers gave no feedback to indicate if my work was on the right track. After a long wait to hear back from recruiting, I got a rejection email with no feedback and no chance for me to give feedback either. So, I'm writing this review to give my feedback.

I talked to a Sr. recruiter first, and they liked me. Then a Jr. recruiter took over. The senior recruiter really knew the job and my experience. Next, I had a screen with a TPM. She was very direct, no small talk, which was fine. The next round was a case study. They seem to want someone with an engineering background who can create timelines using an agile method. They're looking for a technical person who can push back on their engineers, not just a project manager. I didn't love the third interview, but it was good to experience it. If the job involves telling engineers how to build things, it's not for me.