Went through the Pinterest EM interview loop last spring for a Senior EM role managing ~8 engineers on a core product team. Posting because the EM content for Pinterest is basically nonexistent online.
Structure: Recruiter screen (30 min) Hiring manager intro (45 min, informal but evaluative) Full loop: 4 rounds over two days Behavioral / people management (60 min) Cross-functional / exec communication (45 min) Engineering depth (45 min, you're not coding but discussing technical decisions) Culture / values (45 min, with a peer EM)
Behavioral round. Expect very specific STAR-format questions. They asked about: handling a performance issue on your team, a time you had to change direction mid-project with full team buy-in, and managing through ambiguity when requirements weren't clear. Have 6-8 solid stories that flex across these.
Engineering depth. They don't ask you to code, but they will ask you to walk through a technical decision you made or oversaw. I walked through an API migration I led across 3 teams. They pushed on how I managed risk, the rollback plan, and how I communicated the impact to non-technical stakeholders. It's a test of whether you can still credibly engage with the technical layer, not just manage it from a distance.
Cross-functional / exec comms. This caught me a bit off guard. They want to know how you communicate upward when things are not going well. Have a story about delivering bad news clearly, without hedging or burying the lead.
What they value at Pinterest for EM: they seem to weight psychological safety and team dynamics highly. Multiple questions about how you create an environment where ICs speak up about problems. The culture is not aggressive-performance the way some FAANG orgs are.
Decision turnaround was 12 business days post-loop. Offer was competitive but not top of market. Good negotiating room on RSUs.