Netflix Product Manager Interview Questions

“Our product let users sort a list in eight different ways. Usage data showed almost everyone used two of them, and in interviews people said the menu made them doubt their choice. I proposed keeping two. A small group of heavy users and one senior colleague objected strongly. I did not argue from taste. We ran a test with the shorter menu and watched whether people found an item faster and whether complaints rose. I also wrote to the heavy users to explain the change. The result was your result. I learned that removing something needs more care than adding.”

“We launched our app in a new country with translated text and the same design. Usage was low. I assumed the translation was poor. When I spoke with users there, the real reason was different: most of them used prepaid mobile data and avoided anything with video. Our home screen started video by itself. We added a data saving mode that was on by default in that market and showed the size of each download. The outcome was your result. Now I talk with local users before launch, and I ask about habits and costs, not only about language.”

“I would first separate the viewers. Some want something new and feel overwhelmed. Some are mid-series and cannot find it quickly. Some are choosing with another person and cannot agree. I would start with the overwhelmed group, since choice is the core of the product. Ideas: a single strong suggestion with a short reason, fewer rows on the first screen, or a button that simply plays something that fits their taste. I would test each against the current screen. Success is more sessions that end in a play the viewer continues, not more time spent browsing.”

“Each adult wants suggestions that reflect their own taste, not cartoons. Parents want children to see only suitable titles and not wander into an adult profile. Children want large pictures and familiar characters. I would make choosing a profile one quick step at start. Children's profiles show only titles within an age rating the parent sets, with a simpler screen. Adult profiles can be locked with a short code. Mistakes will happen, such as a child watching on a parent's profile, so I would let people remove a title from their history so it stops shaping suggestions.”

“The goal is comfort for people watching several episodes in a row, so I would not expect a large change in total viewing. First I look at use: of viewers shown the button, how many press it, and do they keep pressing it in later episodes? Repeated use is a good sign of value. Then a test, with and without the button, comparing how often viewers continue to the next episode. For harm, I would check how often someone skips and then seeks backwards, which suggests the button appeared at the wrong moment or was pressed by accident.”

“In that market the main limit is the cost of data, so I would judge each option by how much it removes that worry. Better downloads let people fetch episodes over home or office wireless and watch later, which answers the problem fully. Lighter video helps during mobile streaming but still costs data. Subtitles matter for reach across languages, but they do not solve the data issue. So I would start with downloads: smart downloading of the next episode, clear file sizes, and automatic removal of watched episodes. If research showed most people have no wireless network, I would move lighter video first.”

“The date is fixed, so my job is to make it fair for viewers. First I would find who is affected: people who started the series and have not finished. They should hear early, inside the product, with the last day shown on the title page and in their continue watching row. I would not hide it. For viewers close to the end, a reminder may help them finish. For those who started recently, I would suggest similar series that are staying. Afterwards I would review whether we should warn viewers about a leaving date before they start a long series.”

“The stories are made by others. The product's job is the match between a person and a story, at the moment they sit down tired and have an hour. I find that problem very human. A good product here is nearly invisible: the viewer remembers the film, not the screen that led to it. In my work on your project I learned to measure what people do after a click, not the click. I want to work on choice, across countries and languages, and to learn from a team that settles disagreements with tests and not with rank.”