Engineering Management Associate
Applies the framework within a single team. Scenarios test first-line judgment: a struggling report, a slipping sprint, a conflict between quality and a deadline.
Who should sit EMA-I
- 01
Engineers moving into management
You have just been given a team, or soon will be, and want a clear framework to work from in the first months.
- 02
Senior engineers who already lead
You lead without the title. EMA-I gives you a credential that shows it.
- 03
New engineering managers (0-2 years)
You are in the role and want an independent check against a published standard, as well as your employer's.
- 04
Technical leads aiming higher
The next step in your career means showing you can lead. EMA-I is the first of the three levels.
Five domains, 27 of the 29 competencies
Every question maps to one of the competencies below, all taken from the published EMA Competency Framework. At this level it does not examine PL-6 Leading through leaders or SV-6 Organisational design and leading change. Candidates can see what will be examined, and employers can see what the credential covers. Each domain carries 12 questions, so the five weigh equally, and a fresh set is drawn for every sitting.
- PL-1 Delegation, ownership, and decision rights: matching scope to capability, making authority explicit, not taking work back
- PL-2 Feedback and difficult conversations: timely, specific, behaviour-anchored, in both directions
- PL-3 Hiring and onboarding: structured evaluation, calibrated standards, assessing capability rather than tool access
- PL-4 Performance management: expectations, support, honest consequences, and fair process
- PL-5 Career development and growth paths: one-on-ones, promotions, the Staff+ track, and the IC/manager choice
A standard, applied the same way to everyone
- 01
On demand
Once you obtain the examination, a sitting opens straight away and stays valid for 180 days. Start whenever you are ready within that window.
- 02
One open sitting
You can hold only one open or in-progress sitting per certification at a time, which keeps the record of attempts unambiguous.
- 03
Continuous timing
The clock runs for 90 minutes from the moment the sitting begins. Closing or reloading the browser does not pause it or change the question set.
- 04
A randomised form
Each sitting draws its 60 questions when the examination starts. The drawn set is fixed for that sitting and never re-shuffled.
- 05
Scored against the standard
Your answers are scored automatically when you submit, against the published 70% pass mark. Nobody adjusts the result, and there is no curve or quota.
- 06
Retakes
If you do not reach the pass mark, you can obtain a new sitting. It draws a fresh set of questions.
A credential anyone can check
has demonstrated the knowledge, judgment and competency required by the examination, and is hereby conferred the professional designation of
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Check a credential now
Anyone can check a credential without an account. The result shows the holder, the certification, its dates and its current status. The same lookup is available as a free public API, with CORS enabled.
Three levels, one framework
- EMA-I
Associate· this one
Applies the framework within a single team. Scenarios test first-line judgment: a struggling report, a slipping sprint, a conflict between quality and a deadline.
- EMP-II
Professional
Applies the framework across teams. Scenarios test organisational judgment: competing priorities between squads, manager-of-managers situations, delivery systems at department scale.
- EME-III
Expert
Applies the framework at organisational scale. Scenarios test executive judgment: strategy under ambiguity, large-scale change, building leadership systems rather than leading directly.