[moregrist]

While you can't really ask "will I be layed off next year," it's pretty common to ask some version of "why is the role open," usually split among a few questions (that you'd tailor based on the role):

- "Which of my skills do you think are most valuable for this role?"

- "How would you measure success in this role?"

- "Can you tell me a little more about the product lines we'll be developing / supporting?"

- "How is the current team planning to grow?"

These are the kinds of questions that let you feel out what the manager envisions for the role. If the answers seem vague, that tells you something about the role / manager / org. If it's not clear how you impact the product and they can't clarify, that also tells you something.

[the_af]

I hear you, but the answers to these questions in my experience are always of the kind "we're looking to hire capable people with skills X, Y, Z for projects A & B".

These don't give you any idea about the health of the company or how precarious your new job will be.