Just wrapped up an EM loop at Morgan Stanley. Wanted to write this up while it's fresh because I couldn't find much detail anywhere when I was prepping.
Background: I'm coming in at VP level (that's how they title EMs at a bank, not to be confused with VP at a startup). 12 years in software, last 4 as an EM at a fintech.
The rounds (4 total for me, some people get 5) Recruiter screen: 30 min, mostly timeline, location, why finance. Not technical. Hiring manager conversation: 45 min, very open-ended. They wanted to understand my approach to team building, how I handle engineers who are underperforming, and how I scope projects. No gotcha questions, more like a working session. Technical/architecture round: This one surprised me. For an EM they still want you to be credible technically. I got a system design question: design a real-time portfolio risk calculation system. Not expecting you to code, but they want you to drive the conversation and know your infrastructure. Behavioral panel: Two people, back to back 45-min slots. Heavy on leadership principles, conflict resolution, cross-functional alignment. They use a structured format. Write your STAR stories down before this, seriously.
What they actually care about
Finance context matters. If you don't understand what "end-of-day batch" means or why a trade confirmation system has different latency requirements than a social media feed, you'll feel it. I had about 2 years of fintech background and that clearly helped.
Process discipline. MS engineering is... not scrappy. They ask how you run your team's delivery cadence. They want specifics, not principles.
Timeline
About 6 weeks start to offer. One week for the recruiter to schedule the HM call, then about 10 days between that and the full panel. Debrief took another 8 days, which felt long.
Offer was negotiable, at least a little. Comp at VP EM level in NYC is in the 300-380k range depending on base/bonus split.