Director+ Level Interview Guide: How to Avoid Getting Down-Leveled at Big Tech

How to land senior leadership roles at the world's biggest tech companies? Breaking into Director+ at Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Amazon is lucrative but tough. I interviewed 6 who did it for you.

"I was devastated," Sarah told me last week. "After six rounds of interviews for a Director role at Meta, they came back with an M2 offer instead. I've been a Director for three years at my current company - how is this possible?"

Sarah's story isn't unique. I'm hearing this more and more from senior candidates interviewing at big tech companies. The pattern is becoming clear: candidates going in for Director+ roles are consistently getting down-leveled in their final offers.

Just last month, I spoke with a VP of Product from a Series D startup who was offered an IC5 role at Google. Another candidate, a Director of Engineering at a public company, ended up with an EM2 offer from Amazon.

The down-leveling phenomenon has become so common that many senior candidates are starting to wonder: Is it even possible to land a Director+ role at big tech anymore?

To answer this question, I went straight to the source. Over the past month, I spoke with six people who successfully landed director and VP roles at FAANG companies in 2023, along with three hiring managers at the VP level or above who make these decisions.

What I found was fascinating - and sometimes counterintuitive.

The Stakes Are Higher Than Ever

Before we dive into the findings, let's talk about why this matters so much. The compensation delta between M2/IC5 and Director levels is staggering.

At Google, a Director role typically comes with total compensation of $1.2M, while an M2 role might pay $550K. That's a $650K difference annually. Similar gaps exist at Meta ($600K), Microsoft ($450K), and Amazon ($475K).

Source: levels.fyi (2023 data)

"People sometimes tell me I should just take the down-leveled offer and work my way up," one candidate told me. "But that's a million dollars or more in lost compensation over two years. It's not a small decision."

The gap isn't just financial. Director roles come with significantly more strategic influence, larger teams, and the ability to shape company direction. As one successful Google Director told me, "The scope difference is night and day. As an M2, you're executing someone else's strategy. As a Director, you're defining that strategy."

---

Today’s Post

I’m going to unveil the findings I’ve had in my search.

1. The Reasons Folks Get Down-Leveled

2. Variances by Company

   • Google

   • Meta

   • Amazon

   • Microsoft

3. How to Be Considered for Director+ Roles

4. How to Practice Sharing the Right Details in Interview

5. The Down-Leveling Conversation

---

---

1. The Reasons Folks Get Down-Leveled

When I started digging into why seemingly qualified candidates get down-leveled, I expected to hear about interview performance or technical gaps. What I found instead was much more structural.

"It usually has nothing to do with how they interview," a Meta VP of Engineering told me. "The decision to down-level often happens before they even walk in the door."

Here's what's really happening: