Draper is an independent, nonprofit research and development company headquartered in Cambridge, MA. The 2,000+ employees of Draper tackle important national challenges with a promise of delivering successful and usable solutions. From military defense and space exploration to biomedical engineering, lives often depend on the solutions we provide. Our multidisciplinary teams of engineers and scientists work in a collaborative environment that inspires true innovation.

Stepping into a position at Draper as a Product Manager is both challenging and rewarding. The role involves leading the advancement of celestial navigation systems for tactical applications, defining and implementing product strategies, and developing product roadmaps. It requires a background in advanced positioning and navigation solutions, strong leadership skills, and the ability to exceed customer expectations consistently.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through Draper's interview process, common Product Manager interview questions, and provide valuable tips. Let’s dive in!

Submitting Your Application

The first step is to submit a compelling application that reflects your technical skills and interest in joining Draper as a Product Manager. Whether you were contacted by a Draper recruiter or have taken the initiative yourself, carefully review the job description and tailor your CV accordingly.

Tailoring your CV may include identifying specific keywords that the hiring manager might use to filter resumes and crafting a targeted cover letter. Furthermore, don’t forget to highlight relevant skills and mention your work experiences.

Recruiter/Hiring Manager Call Screening

If your CV happens to be among the shortlisted few, a recruiter from the Draper Talent Acquisition Team will make contact and verify key details like your experiences and skill level. Behavioral questions may also be part of the screening process.

In some cases, the Draper hiring manager may stay present during the screening round to answer your queries about the role and the company itself. They may also engage in surface-level technical and behavioral discussions.

The whole recruiter call should take about 30 minutes.

Technical Virtual Interview

Successfully navigating the recruiter round will present you with an invitation for the technical screening round. Technical screening for the Draper Product Manager role usually is conducted through virtual means, including video conferencing and screen sharing. Questions in this 1-hour long interview stage may revolve around Draper’s products, project management strategies, and relevant technologies.

In some cases, take-home assignments regarding project management, strategy development, and stakeholder communication are incorporated. Apart from these, your proficiency against technical leadership, problem-solving, and business interaction may also be assessed during the round.

Depending on the seniority of the position, case studies and similar real-scenario problems may also be assigned.

Onsite Interview Rounds

Followed by a second recruiter call outlining the next stage, you’ll be invited to attend the onsite interview loop. Multiple interview rounds, varying with the role, will be conducted during your day at the Draper office. Your technical prowess, including project management and technical knowledge relevant to the role, will be evaluated against the finalized candidates throughout these interviews.

If you were assigned take-home exercises, a presentation round may also await you during the onsite interview for the Product Manager role at Draper.

Quick Tips For Draper Product Manager Interviews

• Should contain three tips for interviewing for this specific company based on interview experiences.

Example:

You should plan to brush up on any technical skills and try as many practice interview questions and mock interviews as possible. A few tips for acing your Draper interview include:

• Understand Draper's Mission: Draper tackles important national challenges with their solutions. Study Draper’s primary business units and understand the implications of national security and innovation.
• Show Technical Depth and Breadth: The position demands a solid technical foundation. Be prepared to discuss your knowledge of advanced positioning, navigation, and timing solutions and how these skills apply to Draper's mission.
• Exhibit Strong Leadership Skills: Draper looks for candidates with strong leadership and communication skills. Prepare examples from your past experiences where you successfully led technical teams or projects.

Typically, interviews at Draper vary by role and team, but commonly Product Manager interviews follow a fairly standardized process across these question topics.

• Identify all duplicate values in a list of integers. Given a list of integers, identify all the duplicate values in the list. Assume that the list can contain both positive and negative numbers, and the order of the list does not matter. A number is considered a duplicate if it appears more than once in the list. Return a list of the duplicate numbers.

• Select the five most expensive projects by budget to employee count ratio. Write a query to account for duplicate rows in the employee_projects table and select the top five most expensive projects by budget to employee count ratio.

• Create a subquery or common table expression to find the top 3 ads and return join results. Create a subquery or common table expression named top_ads containing the top 3 ads by popularity and return the number of rows resulting from different join operations with the ads table.

• Find employees who joined before their manager. Given two tables, employees and managers, find the names of all employees who joined before their manager.

• Write a function to rotate a matrix by 90 degrees clockwise. Given an array filled with random values, write a function rotate_matrix to rotate the array by 90 degrees in the clockwise direction.

• How do we select the best 10,000 customers for a pre-launch of a new show? You are working as a data scientist at Amazon Prime Video, and they want to test the launch of a new show on 10,000 customers first. How would you go about selecting the best 10,000 customers for the pre-launch?

• What is the process for pre-launching a TV show on Amazon Prime to measure its performance? Describe the steps involved in pre-launching a TV show on Amazon Prime to measure how it performs.

• How would you evaluate the success of an A/B test on free shipping increasing conversions? You work at an eCommerce startup and ran an A/B test on the checkout product page to see if surfacing free shipping increases conversions. The control group had no specification of free shipping, while the experiment group did. How would you evaluate the results and determine if the test was successful?

• How would you conduct an experiment to test displaying ETA as a range instead of a direct estimate? You work at Uber, and a PM suggests displaying ETA as a range (e.g., 3-7 minutes) instead of a direct estimate (e.g., 5 minutes). How would you conduct this experiment and determine if the results are significant?

• How would you decide whether Google should build a game feature for Google Home? You are tasked with pitching a new feature for Google Home. A co-worker suggests building a game feature. How would you go about deciding whether Google should build it?

• How would you measure the effectiveness of extra pay for delivery drivers during peak hours? You work at a food delivery company. How would you measure the effectiveness of giving extra pay to delivery drivers during peak hours to meet consumer demand?

• What is the difference between Logistic and Linear Regression? When would you use one instead of the other? Explain the key differences between Logistic and Linear Regression. Describe scenarios where each method is more appropriate to use in practice.

• How would you explain what a p-value is to someone who is not technical? Explain the concept of a p-value in simple terms to someone without a technical background. Use relatable examples to illustrate its significance in hypothesis testing.

• What is the difference between Logistic and Linear Regression? When would you use one instead of the other in practice? Describe the key differences between Logistic and Linear Regression. Provide practical scenarios where each method would be appropriately applied.

What is the average salary for a Product Manager at Draper?

Q: What does Draper do and where is it located? Draper is an independent, nonprofit research and development company headquartered in Cambridge, MA. Our multidisciplinary teams of engineers and scientists tackle national challenges, ranging from military defense and space exploration to biomedical engineering. For more information, visit www.draper.com.

Q: What is the role of a Product Manager at Draper? As a Product Manager at Draper, you'll lead the development of celestial navigation systems for tactical applications. You'll define and implement product strategy, influence technology roadmaps, establish production capabilities, and build partnerships. The role requires strong leadership, technical knowledge, and excellent communication skills.

Q: What skills and experience are required for the Product Manager position? Candidates should have a minimum of 5-7 years of program-related experience, preferably in aerospace systems. A Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, or a related field is required. Key skills include project management, technical acumen, communication, and the ability to learn new technologies quickly. U.S. citizenship and the ability to obtain a Top Secret clearance are also necessary.

Q: What makes Draper a great place to work? Draper offers a collaborative environment that fosters innovation and work-life balance. Employees have access to workplace flexibility, various clubs, health and finance workshops, off-site social events, and discounts to local cultural activities. Draper is committed to diversity and equal opportunity.

Q: How can I prepare for an interview at Draper? Preparation is key! Research Draper's mission and projects, familiarize yourself with celestial navigation and advanced PNT solutions, and practice common interview questions on platforms like Interview Query. Additionally, be ready to discuss your past leadership experiences and how they align with Draper’s mission and goals.

If you're eager to learn more about Draper and how to prepare for the Product Manager position, dive into our comprehensive Draper Interview Guide. We've gathered many potential interview questions and detailed insights to help you succeed. Additionally, explore our other role-specific guides like software engineer and data analyst to understand various aspects of Draper's interview process.

At Interview Query, we provide you with the tools and knowledge to excel in your interviews. Whether it's Draper or any other company, our resources equip you with the confidence and strategies to conquer every challenge.

Good luck with your Draper interview!