30%
SQL & Data
Queries, joins, aggregations
25%
APIs & Systems
REST, architecture basics
25%
System Design
Scalability, trade-offs
20%
Data Analysis
Statistics, A/B tests
Technical Depth Expected by Company Type
Technical Skills for Product Managers
Technical PM interviews assess your ability to understand engineering concepts, communicate with developers, and make informed product decisions that account for technical constraints. You don't need to be an engineer, but you need to be "technical enough" to collaborate effectively and earn engineering respect.
The goal isn't to design systems or write production code—it's to demonstrate that you can have informed technical discussions, understand trade-offs, and ask good questions. Interviewers want to see that you won't be a bottleneck or make uninformed decisions.
This guide covers the key technical areas PMs should understand, with practical examples and interview tips to help you succeed even without a computer science background.
Key Technical Topics
SQL & Databases
HIGH PriorityWhy it matters: Enables you to pull your own data for analysis instead of always asking data team.
Key Concepts
Sample Interview Question
Write a query to find the top 10 users by total purchase amount in the last 30 days.
APIs & Web Services
HIGH PriorityWhy it matters: Understanding APIs helps you scope integrations and communicate with engineers.
Key Concepts
Sample Interview Question
Explain how our mobile app communicates with our backend servers.
System Design Basics
MEDIUM PriorityWhy it matters: Helps you understand technical constraints and make informed product trade-offs.
Key Concepts
Sample Interview Question
If we need to support 10x more users, what technical changes might be needed?
Data & Analytics
HIGH PriorityWhy it matters: Enables you to instrument products correctly and make data-driven decisions.
Key Concepts
Sample Interview Question
How would you track whether users are engaging with a new feature?
Development Process
MEDIUM PriorityWhy it matters: Understanding the dev process helps you plan realistically and collaborate better.
Key Concepts
Sample Interview Question
Why might an engineer push back on adding a "small" feature request?
SQL for Product Managers
SQL is the most practical technical skill for PMs. It lets you pull your own data without waiting for analysts, validate hypotheses quickly, and demonstrate data literacy.
Find total revenue by product category
SELECT category, SUM(amount) as total_revenue, COUNT(*) as num_orders FROM orders o JOIN products p ON o.product_id = p.id WHERE o.created_at >= '2024-01-01' GROUP BY category ORDER BY total_revenue DESC;
Find users who signed up but never made a purchase
SELECT u.id, u.email, u.created_at FROM users u LEFT JOIN orders o ON u.id = o.user_id WHERE o.id IS NULL AND u.created_at >= '2024-01-01';
Calculate 7-day rolling active users
SELECT
date,
COUNT(DISTINCT user_id) as daily_active,
COUNT(DISTINCT user_id) OVER (
ORDER BY date
ROWS BETWEEN 6 PRECEDING AND CURRENT ROW
) as rolling_7day
FROM user_events
GROUP BY date;SQL Learning Tips
- • Practice on real datasets (Mode Analytics, Kaggle)
- • Learn SELECT, JOIN, GROUP BY, and WHERE first
- • Write queries to answer actual product questions
- • Don't worry about query optimization—focus on getting correct results
System Design Basics
PMs don't need to design systems like engineers, but should understand architectural concepts to make informed product decisions and discuss trade-offs intelligently.
Scalability
System's ability to handle growth. Horizontal (add more machines) vs. vertical (bigger machines).
PM Implication: Understand when features need to be "built to scale" vs. quick MVPs.
Latency
Time delay in system response. Measured in milliseconds.
PM Implication: Know when speed matters (checkout, search) vs. when it doesn't (batch reports).
Caching
Storing frequently accessed data for faster retrieval.
PM Implication: Understand why some data shows delays and cache invalidation issues.
APIs
Interfaces for systems to communicate. REST is most common.
PM Implication: Scope integrations correctly and understand third-party dependencies.
Databases
SQL (structured, relational) vs. NoSQL (flexible, scalable).
PM Implication: Understand data modeling implications for product flexibility.
Microservices
Breaking applications into small, independent services.
PM Implication: Know why "simple" features might require multiple teams.
Technical Interview Tips
Do This
- +Admit what you don't know, then show curiosity
- +Focus on trade-offs, not just solutions
- +Relate concepts to product implications
- +Ask clarifying questions
Avoid This
- -Pretending to know more than you do
- -Using jargon you don't understand
- -Dismissing technical complexity
- -Giving only surface-level answers
Frequently Asked Questions
Do product managers need to know how to code?
Most PM roles don't require coding ability, but understanding technical concepts helps you communicate with engineers, make better decisions, and earn credibility. You should understand how software works conceptually, be able to read basic code to understand logic, write simple SQL queries for data analysis, and understand APIs and system architecture at a high level. Deep coding skills are rarely necessary unless you're in a highly technical PM role.
What technical concepts should PMs know?
Key areas include: databases and SQL (querying data, understanding schemas), APIs (REST, how services communicate), system design basics (scalability, latency, databases vs. caches), data structures (at a conceptual level), web/mobile architecture, and development processes (Agile, CI/CD, testing). Focus on breadth over depth—know enough to have informed conversations with engineers.
How do I prepare for technical interviews as a non-technical PM?
Start by learning SQL basics (SELECT, JOIN, GROUP BY). Understand how APIs work and can explain REST concepts. Study system design at a high level—focus on understanding trade-offs, not designing systems from scratch. Practice explaining technical concepts in simple terms. Build something simple (even a no-code tool) to understand the development process. Talk to engineers and ask them to explain their work.
What SQL should a PM know?
PMs should know: SELECT statements to query data, WHERE clauses for filtering, JOIN operations to combine tables, GROUP BY and aggregate functions (COUNT, SUM, AVG), ORDER BY for sorting, and basic subqueries. You don't need to optimize queries or design databases, but you should be able to pull data to answer product questions independently.
How technical should a PM be compared to engineers?
PMs should be "technical enough"—able to understand engineering discussions, ask good questions, and make informed trade-off decisions. You don't need to code production features or design complex systems. Think of it as being bilingual: you should speak both business and technical languages well enough to translate between stakeholders and engineers.
What system design concepts should PMs understand?
Understand: client-server architecture, databases (SQL vs. NoSQL trade-offs), caching and why it matters, APIs and microservices, scalability concepts (horizontal vs. vertical), latency and performance, and basic security concepts. Focus on understanding trade-offs and implications for product decisions, not on designing systems yourself.
About the Author
Aditi Chaturvedi
·Founder, Best PM JobsAditi is the founder of Best PM Jobs, helping product managers find their dream roles at top tech companies. With experience in product management and recruiting, she creates resources to help PMs level up their careers.