Cracking the Director’s Code: The Hidden Playbook of Big Tech Leadership
I spoke to insiders at Meta, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft to uncover the exact criteria they look for at the Director+ level.
It’s worth knowing — because you can earn $450–600k more as director in big tech.
Here’s how to get a Director role and not M2 at big tech:
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆-𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸
𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗮: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗢𝗯𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻
Meta’s hiring bar for Directors is sky-high and it’s all about scope and scale.
𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀:
Meta looks for leaders who’ve worked on products with millions & billions of users and managed complex operations.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗗𝗼:
→ Highlight experience managing multi-region teams and cross-functional collaborations.
→ Showcase products you’ve scaled from 0 to 1.
→ Prepare to tell data-driven stories about your team size, budgets, and impact metrics.
𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹-𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲
At Google, technical expertise and cultural alignment are the golden keys to leadership roles.
𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀:
Google prizes leaders with deep technical know-how or academic credentials while ensuring they embody the company’s values (a.k.a. “Googleyness”).
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗗𝗼:
→ Be ready to share examples of making complex technical decisions with limited information.
→ Highlight moments where you balanced user impact and business outcomes seamlessly.
→ Prepare examples that demonstrate your ability to build consensus across large teams.
𝗔𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗼𝗻: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀
Having vision and strategy is fine but executing it with specific outcomes and owning the process will separate you from the rest.
𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀:
Amazon Directors must blend day-to-day operational rigor with high-level strategic thinking.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗗𝗼:
→ Talk about how you’ve set and managed detailed operational metrics to track success.
→ Share examples of making tough calls with incomplete data.
→ Highlight your experience managing vendor and partnership relationships.
𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁
At Microsoft, deep domain expertise takes precedence over raw management skills.
𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀:
Microsoft wants leaders who can walk into a room of enterprise clients and command respect through their knowledge.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗗𝗼:
→ Demonstrate deep knowledge of your industry.
→ Show how you’ve successfully navigated enterprise challenges.
→ Highlight examples where your expertise made a tangible impact on client relationships or strategy.
If you want to dive deeper into what it takes to land director + roles at big companies with exact strategies, check out the breakdown here.