Process
There were multiple design interviews along with a take-home coding challenge. The on-site involved quizzing on particulars of my resume, a design interview, and behavioral questions. After that, it was talking with the team in a portfolio presentation.
Questions
Describe a situation in which you had to disagree with a manager.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 4 interview experiences for the Zipline Perception Engineer role.
Success Rate
50%
Pass Rate
Zipline's interview process for their Perception Engineer roles is fairly selective, failing a large portion of engineers who go through it.
Experience Rating
Positive100%
Neutral0%
Negative0%
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Zipline's Perception Engineer interview process.
Zipline Work Experiences
4.0
Great Product
Perception Engineer • Current Employee
South San Francisco, CA
September 30, 2024
Pros: You get to work on revolutionary tech and lead the change in last mile delivery.
Cons: It is a very fast changing environment with work life balance hard to manage sometimes.
2.0
Amazing technology and peers; Disappointing leadership
Software Engineer • Former Employee
San Francisco, CA
March 7, 2026
Pros: Amazing technology. Extremely talented, hard working ICs. Some leaders, like Jo Mardell and Joey Button, are great. They lead with expertise and empathy. Can't say that about others.
Cons: Extreme hero culture. Putting out fires is more valued than preventing them. Very hard to get promoted unless you fit the hero mold and are extremely active/visible to upper management. Only tricks to "fix" things are rebuilding apps from scratch or reorgs.
The mass hiring of ex-Musk employees seems to have brought the culture of those companies with them. Intense adoption of AI has led to bugs shipped to production, and isn't leading to any reevaluation of safety of AI developed and quickly reviewed code in a system that controls drones. Wild.
4.0
Great mission. Tough deadlines. Company is growing rapidly.
Manufacturing Technician • Current Employee
South San Francisco, CA
September 7, 2019
Pros: Autonomy in decision making.
Fantastic and brilliant colleagues that are willing to explain their work and share their knowledge.
Cons: Work-life balance can be tough to maintain and I have seen folks get burnt out on teams that aren't well supported.
- 4.0Great ProductPerception Engineer • Current EmployeeSouth San Francisco, CASeptember 30, 2024Pros: You get to work on revolutionary tech and lead the change in last mile delivery.Cons: It is a very fast changing environment with work life balance hard to manage sometimes.
- 2.0Amazing technology and peers; Disappointing leadershipSoftware Engineer • Former EmployeeSan Francisco, CAMarch 7, 2026Pros: Amazing technology. Extremely talented, hard working ICs. Some leaders, like Jo Mardell and Joey Button, are great. They lead with expertise and empathy. Can't say that about others.Cons: Extreme hero culture. Putting out fires is more valued than preventing them. Very hard to get promoted unless you fit the hero mold and are extremely active/visible to upper management. Only tricks to "fix" things are rebuilding apps from scratch or reorgs. The mass hiring of ex-Musk employees seems to have brought the culture of those companies with them. Intense adoption of AI has led to bugs shipped to production, and isn't leading to any reevaluation of safety of AI developed and quickly reviewed code in a system that controls drones. Wild.
- 4.0Great mission. Tough deadlines. Company is growing rapidly.Manufacturing Technician • Current EmployeeSouth San Francisco, CASeptember 7, 2019Pros: Autonomy in decision making. Fantastic and brilliant colleagues that are willing to explain their work and share their knowledge.Cons: Work-life balance can be tough to maintain and I have seen folks get burnt out on teams that aren't well supported.
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