I went through the Roblox EM loop last year for a manager role on a platform team. I've been through a lot of these loops and the Roblox one had a few distinctive characteristics worth knowing.
The loop structure: Five rounds. Recruiter screen, then on-site (or back-to-back virtual for me): Technical depth (they call it "technical credibility") People management Cross-functional leadership Hiring manager / director Peer PM round (optional add-on for some roles)
Technical credibility round: This surprised me. It wasn't a coding interview but it was legitimately technical. They gave me a distributed systems scenario and asked how I'd guide my team through the design. The point isn't to be the one who comes up with the design, it's to show you understand what a good design looks like and can coach an engineer who's stuck. Know enough distributed systems to have an informed opinion. If you've been out of the IC loop for 5+ years you may need to brush up.
People management: They asked specifically about: performance improvement situations (how you've handled underperformers, with specificity), managing through ambiguity on a reorg, and developing senior ICs toward staff. The staff development question was real signal. Roblox cares about retaining senior talent. Have a concrete story.
Cross-functional leadership: This was the longest round. They probed on PM-eng relationship dynamics, situations where you had to push back on product direction, and how you build credibility with a new team. One question I got: "Tell me about a time you had to ship something you thought was the wrong call and how you handled it." They want to see that you can disagree, commit, and not poison the well.
What Roblox specifically emphasizes: Ownership is not just a buzzword here. They want EMs who are closer to the product than the average manager. If your prior experience is purely process and people and you've stepped back from technical context, it shows. The "technical credibility" round is a real filter.
Timeline for my loop: about 6 weeks total from first call to verbal offer. Feedback came quickly post-debrief, about 4 days.