Shield AI

Software Engineer I Interview Experience

November 21, 2025

Neutral ExperienceNo Offer

Process

I applied online. The process took two weeks.

I got to the third round of interviews. Specifically, I got to a coding interview. My experience was great up until that point. The recruiter and hiring manager genuinely seemed interested in me and my skills, and they were very open about the position. The coding interview is where it fell apart. The interviewer showed up twenty-five minutes late to the scheduled time and seemingly came up with questions on the spot. The interviewer did not have a clear direction, and when I asked questions, he only made the whole thing more confusing.

Questions

Know very Python-oriented questions. Brush up on terminology for Python.

Was this helpful?

Interview Statistics

The following metrics were computed from 1 interview experience for the Shield AI Software Engineer I role.

Success Rate

0%

Pass Rate

Shield AI's interview process for their Software Engineer I roles is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.

Experience Rating

Positive0%

Neutral100%

Negative0%

Candidates reported having mixed feelings for Shield AI's Software Engineer I interview process.

Shield AI Work Experiences

Great Place to work

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Pros: Awesome environment Great pay Good people Exciting work Stock options

Cons: There were no cons from my experience.

Great Place to work

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Pros: Awesome environment Great pay Good people Exciting work Stock options

Cons: There were no cons from my experience.

Challenging work with ethical colleagues, but high stress

Principal Engineer • Current Employee

Pros: Challenging work and interesting products. The engineers I interact with are all ethical and trying to do the right thing.

Cons: The role can be pretty high stress at times.

Challenging work with ethical colleagues, but high stress

Principal Engineer • Current Employee

Pros: Challenging work and interesting products. The engineers I interact with are all ethical and trying to do the right thing.

Cons: The role can be pretty high stress at times.

Real Company, Big Ambitions

Senior Staff Software Engineer • Current Employee

Pros: - Factually, one of the most successful start-ups in the country. The company sells several real products that customers are really buying and using. There is no vaporware being built here. Leadership is aiming to compete and collaborate with the other defense primes as peers. The jobs here feel secure and promising. My fastest career growth has taken place during the years I've worked here. - Respectful and professional culture. I've witnessed the least amount of workplace drama at this company than any previous. People here are friendly, always value poise, and are focused on the mission and solving challenging engineering problems. - Incredible talent pool. Many of the most talented engineers in the country work here, and you will grow as an engineer by working with them. - This company is grappling with frontier technologies. Much of the development happening here is for advanced novel technologies, and this is exciting for a certain type of engineer.

Cons: - This company makes products that empower state security and military powers with advanced surveillance products. Like it is working for the rest of the defense companies, you should understand and come to terms with that and decide for yourself if that is a con for you. - This company works with the US government, and so all employees are now required to log time worked per project due to industry rules and audits. It is no longer a start-up where employees can just focus on engineering, instead you will be spending some time each week just filling out time sheets. - You are expected to enjoy working here. If you don't have huge career ambitions or just want to work a minimum amount and sign off, then this might not be the company for you.

Real Company, Big Ambitions

Senior Staff Software Engineer • Current Employee

Pros: - Factually, one of the most successful start-ups in the country. The company sells several real products that customers are really buying and using. There is no vaporware being built here. Leadership is aiming to compete and collaborate with the other defense primes as peers. The jobs here feel secure and promising. My fastest career growth has taken place during the years I've worked here. - Respectful and professional culture. I've witnessed the least amount of workplace drama at this company than any previous. People here are friendly, always value poise, and are focused on the mission and solving challenging engineering problems. - Incredible talent pool. Many of the most talented engineers in the country work here, and you will grow as an engineer by working with them. - This company is grappling with frontier technologies. Much of the development happening here is for advanced novel technologies, and this is exciting for a certain type of engineer.

Cons: - This company makes products that empower state security and military powers with advanced surveillance products. Like it is working for the rest of the defense companies, you should understand and come to terms with that and decide for yourself if that is a con for you. - This company works with the US government, and so all employees are now required to log time worked per project due to industry rules and audits. It is no longer a start-up where employees can just focus on engineering, instead you will be spending some time each week just filling out time sheets. - You are expected to enjoy working here. If you don't have huge career ambitions or just want to work a minimum amount and sign off, then this might not be the company for you.

Great Place to work

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Pros: Awesome environment Great pay Good people Exciting work Stock options

Cons: There were no cons from my experience.

5.0
Great Place to work
Software Engineer • Current Employee
San Diego, CA
July 2, 2023
Pros: Awesome environment Great pay Good people Exciting work Stock options
Cons: There were no cons from my experience.

Challenging work with ethical colleagues, but high stress

Principal Engineer • Current Employee

Pros: Challenging work and interesting products. The engineers I interact with are all ethical and trying to do the right thing.

Cons: The role can be pretty high stress at times.

4.0
Challenging work with ethical colleagues, but high stress
Principal Engineer • Current Employee
Frisco, TX
June 15, 2026
Pros: Challenging work and interesting products. The engineers I interact with are all ethical and trying to do the right thing.
Cons: The role can be pretty high stress at times.

Real Company, Big Ambitions

Senior Staff Software Engineer • Current Employee

Pros: - Factually, one of the most successful start-ups in the country. The company sells several real products that customers are really buying and using. There is no vaporware being built here. Leadership is aiming to compete and collaborate with the other defense primes as peers. The jobs here feel secure and promising. My fastest career growth has taken place during the years I've worked here. - Respectful and professional culture. I've witnessed the least amount of workplace drama at this company than any previous. People here are friendly, always value poise, and are focused on the mission and solving challenging engineering problems. - Incredible talent pool. Many of the most talented engineers in the country work here, and you will grow as an engineer by working with them. - This company is grappling with frontier technologies. Much of the development happening here is for advanced novel technologies, and this is exciting for a certain type of engineer.

Cons: - This company makes products that empower state security and military powers with advanced surveillance products. Like it is working for the rest of the defense companies, you should understand and come to terms with that and decide for yourself if that is a con for you. - This company works with the US government, and so all employees are now required to log time worked per project due to industry rules and audits. It is no longer a start-up where employees can just focus on engineering, instead you will be spending some time each week just filling out time sheets. - You are expected to enjoy working here. If you don't have huge career ambitions or just want to work a minimum amount and sign off, then this might not be the company for you.

5.0
Real Company, Big Ambitions
Senior Staff Software Engineer • Current Employee
April 10, 2023
Pros: - Factually, one of the most successful start-ups in the country. The company sells several real products that customers are really buying and using. There is no vaporware being built here. Leadership is aiming to compete and collaborate with the other defense primes as peers. The jobs here feel secure and promising. My fastest career growth has taken place during the years I've worked here. - Respectful and professional culture. I've witnessed the least amount of workplace drama at this company than any previous. People here are friendly, always value poise, and are focused on the mission and solving challenging engineering problems. - Incredible talent pool. Many of the most talented engineers in the country work here, and you will grow as an engineer by working with them. - This company is grappling with frontier technologies. Much of the development happening here is for advanced novel technologies, and this is exciting for a certain type of engineer.
Cons: - This company makes products that empower state security and military powers with advanced surveillance products. Like it is working for the rest of the defense companies, you should understand and come to terms with that and decide for yourself if that is a con for you. - This company works with the US government, and so all employees are now required to log time worked per project due to industry rules and audits. It is no longer a start-up where employees can just focus on engineering, instead you will be spending some time each week just filling out time sheets. - You are expected to enjoy working here. If you don't have huge career ambitions or just want to work a minimum amount and sign off, then this might not be the company for you.

Copyright © Taro