Staff Engineer Interview Experience - San Diego, California
Process
I applied online. The process took 3 weeks.
- Phone interview with HR.
- A more technical phone interview with a hiring manager, but not full-on "tricky" technical.
- A full-day in-person interview that consists of a presentation of your choosing, a few one-on-ones, and a panel interview.
One of the one-on-ones will be completely non-technical and focused on determining if your character and values are aligned with the company's. Tip: read the website and be prepared to articulate with examples how your own values aligned with those of the company, and to talk about experiences that challenged your character.
Questions
How would you go about choosing a sensor to detect glass? How would you test it? Assuming that sensor was used, how would you quantify its performance?
What non-technical thing would you like to achieve in your lifetime?
Was this helpful?
Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 2 interview experiences for the Shield AI Staff Engineer role in San Diego, California.
Success Rate
Shield AI's interview process for their Staff Engineer roles in San Diego, California is fairly selective, failing a large portion of engineers who go through it.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Shield AI's Staff Engineer interview process in San Diego, California.
Shield AI Work Experiences
- 5.0Positive attitudes working hard on some extremely exciting technologyStaff Engineer • Current EmployeeSan Diego, CAMarch 12, 2020Pros: Surprisingly responsive leadership. Positive environment. Helpful and competent coworkers. There is no blaming or shaming etc., which is all too common at other places.Cons: There were some growing pains associated with scaling up, like any startup.
- 5.0Great pay but poor company cultureStaff Engineer • Former EmployeeSan Francisco, CAOctober 18, 2026Pros: There is great pay and benefits. There is an opportunity for progression.Cons: There is a bad culture and no work-life balance. This is not for the long term.
- 5.0Fast-paced engineering culture with room for growthStaff Engineer • Current EmployeeFrisco, TXNovember 6, 2026Pros: As an engineer, you have the opportunity to apply yourself and move fast at Shield. No drowning in endless bureaucracy you can move fast and do what makes sense. There are opportunities for young engineers to make large contributions and quickly develop their careers, building cool things and seeing their impact.Cons: You have to be motivated and excited to work hard. If you truly love building cool things and enjoy working hard to bring them to life, it is a great place. If you are looking for a comfy office to sit and push spreadsheets, you won't be a fan.
