Zipline

Software Engineer Interview Experience

September 21, 2022

Positive ExperienceGot Offer

Process

I applied through an employee referral. The process took 3 weeks.

After an introductory call with the recruiter, I had a culture and career match discussion with the hiring manager, followed by a take-home exercise and a panel review of the exercise.

Finally, there was an onsite covering a front-end and a back-end system design, and two more behavioral rounds. Before going to the onsite, my recruiter provided detailed feedback about my previous rounds, which I believe helped me greatly to focus on the aspects that matter during my onsite. The difficulty of the interviews was appropriate for the position, and the process was smooth.

Questions

All the questions were based on the real challenges that Zipline faces, which also served as a means to introduce me to what I should be expecting if I join.

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Interview Statistics

The following metrics were computed from 21 interview experiences for the Zipline Software Engineer role.

Success Rate

14%

Pass Rate

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

Experience Rating

Positive48%

Neutral29%

Negative24%

Candidates reported having good feelings for Zipline's Software Engineer interview process.

Zipline Work Experiences

Good people

Software Engineer • Current Employee

September 21, 2023

Pros: Mission-oriented focus, scrappy start-up mentality

Cons: Tight deadlines, distributed workforce, limited benefits

Software Engineer • Current Employee

September 21, 2023

Pros: Mission-oriented focus, scrappy start-up mentality

Cons: Tight deadlines, distributed workforce, limited benefits

Challenging work (in a good way), great mission, awesome people.

Software Engineer • Current Employee

South San Francisco, CA

Pros: - The work is interesting and challenging, and since it's still a startup, you have the ability to wear a lot of hats and work on all sorts of systems and projects. You're also given a ton of autonomy to make the best decisions and work on the things you want. - The people are incredible - Zipline hires a ton of very talented, but also humble people, which makes working on projects fulfilling and enjoyable. I personally have learned a tremendous amount since I started working here. Teammates are also super understanding - there's unlimited vacation and very little micromanagement, so you're given a lot of flexibility as long as you can get the work done. - It's the perfect intersection between working on something meaningful (and not just in a contrived way), while also being at the forefront of robotics and technology.

Cons: Not really for the faint of heart, there will be stressful moments and occasionally long hours. It's also likely not going to be the highest paying job you can get out there, but it's definitely worth it, in my opinion.

Challenging work (in a good way), great mission, awesome people.

Software Engineer • Current Employee

South San Francisco, CA

Pros: - The work is interesting and challenging, and since it's still a startup, you have the ability to wear a lot of hats and work on all sorts of systems and projects. You're also given a ton of autonomy to make the best decisions and work on the things you want. - The people are incredible - Zipline hires a ton of very talented, but also humble people, which makes working on projects fulfilling and enjoyable. I personally have learned a tremendous amount since I started working here. Teammates are also super understanding - there's unlimited vacation and very little micromanagement, so you're given a lot of flexibility as long as you can get the work done. - It's the perfect intersection between working on something meaningful (and not just in a contrived way), while also being at the forefront of robotics and technology.

Cons: Not really for the faint of heart, there will be stressful moments and occasionally long hours. It's also likely not going to be the highest paying job you can get out there, but it's definitely worth it, in my opinion.

Scrappy, gritty and wholesome work environment

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Pros: It's largely a company of peers; everyone is approachable. There's minimal politics in the negative sense. Folk give direct feedback to each other and generally get along. Problems are solved pragmatically. Flight operators and manufacturing are revered by engineering. Individuals are given as much responsibility and ownership as they can handle. Folk at all levels are encouraged to focus on and supported in their personal development. The company has always been proactive, fair, and overly generous with periodic compensation adjustments in my experience.

Cons: It's honestly hard to come up with any cons. It's the best place I've worked and I currently have no plans on leaving. The company has grown quite a bit and there have been cultural pains at times, but it's mostly settled down to a stable equilibrium. I've heard criticisms from friends that are former coworkers, but nothing that I can't attribute to mismatched expectations or burnout. It's possible for folk to burn themselves out at Zipline like any other startup and many folk do, but I can't blame the "management" for that; in my experience, it's a very supportive environment in terms of maximizing health and happiness.

Scrappy, gritty and wholesome work environment

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Pros: It's largely a company of peers; everyone is approachable. There's minimal politics in the negative sense. Folk give direct feedback to each other and generally get along. Problems are solved pragmatically. Flight operators and manufacturing are revered by engineering. Individuals are given as much responsibility and ownership as they can handle. Folk at all levels are encouraged to focus on and supported in their personal development. The company has always been proactive, fair, and overly generous with periodic compensation adjustments in my experience.

Cons: It's honestly hard to come up with any cons. It's the best place I've worked and I currently have no plans on leaving. The company has grown quite a bit and there have been cultural pains at times, but it's mostly settled down to a stable equilibrium. I've heard criticisms from friends that are former coworkers, but nothing that I can't attribute to mismatched expectations or burnout. It's possible for folk to burn themselves out at Zipline like any other startup and many folk do, but I can't blame the "management" for that; in my experience, it's a very supportive environment in terms of maximizing health and happiness.

Good people

Software Engineer • Current Employee

September 21, 2023

Pros: Mission-oriented focus, scrappy start-up mentality

Cons: Tight deadlines, distributed workforce, limited benefits

5.0
Good people
Software Engineer • Current Employee
September 21, 2023
Pros: Mission-oriented focus, scrappy start-up mentality
Cons: Tight deadlines, distributed workforce, limited benefits

Challenging work (in a good way), great mission, awesome people.

Software Engineer • Current Employee

South San Francisco, CA

Pros: - The work is interesting and challenging, and since it's still a startup, you have the ability to wear a lot of hats and work on all sorts of systems and projects. You're also given a ton of autonomy to make the best decisions and work on the things you want. - The people are incredible - Zipline hires a ton of very talented, but also humble people, which makes working on projects fulfilling and enjoyable. I personally have learned a tremendous amount since I started working here. Teammates are also super understanding - there's unlimited vacation and very little micromanagement, so you're given a lot of flexibility as long as you can get the work done. - It's the perfect intersection between working on something meaningful (and not just in a contrived way), while also being at the forefront of robotics and technology.

Cons: Not really for the faint of heart, there will be stressful moments and occasionally long hours. It's also likely not going to be the highest paying job you can get out there, but it's definitely worth it, in my opinion.

5.0
Challenging work (in a good way), great mission, awesome people.
Software Engineer • Current Employee
South San Francisco, CA
April 26, 2021
Pros: - The work is interesting and challenging, and since it's still a startup, you have the ability to wear a lot of hats and work on all sorts of systems and projects. You're also given a ton of autonomy to make the best decisions and work on the things you want. - The people are incredible - Zipline hires a ton of very talented, but also humble people, which makes working on projects fulfilling and enjoyable. I personally have learned a tremendous amount since I started working here. Teammates are also super understanding - there's unlimited vacation and very little micromanagement, so you're given a lot of flexibility as long as you can get the work done. - It's the perfect intersection between working on something meaningful (and not just in a contrived way), while also being at the forefront of robotics and technology.
Cons: Not really for the faint of heart, there will be stressful moments and occasionally long hours. It's also likely not going to be the highest paying job you can get out there, but it's definitely worth it, in my opinion.

Scrappy, gritty and wholesome work environment

Software Engineer • Current Employee

Pros: It's largely a company of peers; everyone is approachable. There's minimal politics in the negative sense. Folk give direct feedback to each other and generally get along. Problems are solved pragmatically. Flight operators and manufacturing are revered by engineering. Individuals are given as much responsibility and ownership as they can handle. Folk at all levels are encouraged to focus on and supported in their personal development. The company has always been proactive, fair, and overly generous with periodic compensation adjustments in my experience.

Cons: It's honestly hard to come up with any cons. It's the best place I've worked and I currently have no plans on leaving. The company has grown quite a bit and there have been cultural pains at times, but it's mostly settled down to a stable equilibrium. I've heard criticisms from friends that are former coworkers, but nothing that I can't attribute to mismatched expectations or burnout. It's possible for folk to burn themselves out at Zipline like any other startup and many folk do, but I can't blame the "management" for that; in my experience, it's a very supportive environment in terms of maximizing health and happiness.

5.0
Scrappy, gritty and wholesome work environment
Software Engineer • Current Employee
April 27, 2021
Pros: It's largely a company of peers; everyone is approachable. There's minimal politics in the negative sense. Folk give direct feedback to each other and generally get along. Problems are solved pragmatically. Flight operators and manufacturing are revered by engineering. Individuals are given as much responsibility and ownership as they can handle. Folk at all levels are encouraged to focus on and supported in their personal development. The company has always been proactive, fair, and overly generous with periodic compensation adjustments in my experience.
Cons: It's honestly hard to come up with any cons. It's the best place I've worked and I currently have no plans on leaving. The company has grown quite a bit and there have been cultural pains at times, but it's mostly settled down to a stable equilibrium. I've heard criticisms from friends that are former coworkers, but nothing that I can't attribute to mismatched expectations or burnout. It's possible for folk to burn themselves out at Zipline like any other startup and many folk do, but I can't blame the "management" for that; in my experience, it's a very supportive environment in terms of maximizing health and happiness.

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