I applied through college or university. The process took 3 weeks.

I thought the interview process at Shield followed a more holistic approach as compared to the other companies I interviewed at which tested purely software skills. I interviewed for a Software Engineer's role in the Planning and Controls Team. My first interaction with Shield was with the former CTO/Co-founder (now a technical Fellow and Lead for State Estimation) at the Robotics Science and Systems conference at CMU. He set up a coffee conversation for the following day where I presented my work at school with slides I already had prepared. This was not meant to be a screening round by any means but for him to understand my interests and where I would fit in Shield. I was really impressed with the breadth and depth of knowledge that he had and that got me excited to look forward to the next steps of the interview process. If you don't have the good fortune of a technical conference like I had, an online application will definitely get you a prompt response. The talent team will set up an introductory call to help you understand what Shield does and what it stands for and will answer any questions you may have. The next round for me was a coding challenge that tested algorithmic and Object-Oriented Programming skills. It was similar to most coding challenge interviews you might have given but only long and it was hard to get to all questions. If you did well in this round, you directly move to a Technical Phone Screen with your prospective Team Lead. If not there will be another Code Pair interview. The technical phone screen was essentially you talking about your projects and past work and answering questions. It is a very relaxed setting and that helps a lot to articulate your work in the best manner. After this is the onsite which has 5 rounds:

• Challenge problem: A problem which would be sent to you a week before the interview. You could prepare slides or use a whiteboard to draw out the solution to the panel. The problem is intended to force you to think at a systemic level. For me, it was a task planning problem for exploring a multi-building environment.
• Technical Screen: In-depth questions about your area of expertise on a whiteboard with the Team Lead of your prospective team. For me, the questions were focused on Motion Primitives.
• Interview with the Hiring Manager of AI where you're assessed on how well you would work in a team environment. Questions will probe into your past experiences of being part of collaborative projects or lab groups.
• Lunch with your future teammates: This is mostly Shield trying to sell San Diego as a location and the team trying to judge if you have a good appetite. Don't leave leftovers!
• With the CEO: This round is to assess whether your values as an individual align with Shield AI values. You can read up Shield AI values online but I think it is too easy for them to pick up whether you are genuine or are you faking the values you read online. I would recommend not reading and be honest about what you believe in.

If you come across as kind (humble), hardworking, and show sparks of brilliance in the interview process, you should make it. Because that's the common thread I see in my teammates here at Shield AI. Best of luck and hope this helps :)

How would you explore a multi-building environment with a drone? What would be the exploration strategy for a building with an atrium? What are your core values?