How would you mentor an SDE-1 targeting SDE-2 promotion?

This behavioral question assesses your leadership, communication, and ability to develop talent. Use the STAR method to frame a real or hypothetical mentorship story.

Key points to cover:

• Goal-setting: How you identify skill gaps and co-create a growth plan (ownership, system design basics, code quality).
• Feedback loops: Regular 1:1s, code review coaching, and stretch assignments calibrated to SDE-2 bar.
• Measuring progress: Concrete signals — leading a feature end-to-end, improving on-call handling, peer recognition.
• Advocacy: How you represent their work to leadership and time a promo packet.

Interviewers look for genuine empathy, structured thinking, and evidence that you've driven someone else's growth rather than just your own.