Anduril interview guide: practise the open-ended rounds
Anduril's coding rounds start vague on purpose. The interviewer gives you a loose prompt, then adds constraints as you go, and the round is as much about how you handle the changes as about the final code. The design round often uses real-world hardware problems, like modelling a radar tower or getting a drone to follow a car. A mock interview with an engineer who can run that kind of shifting prompt is the best way to get comfortable before the real thing.
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This guide is compiled from Anduril's careers information and candidate reports from 2025 and 2026. The practice questions are written in the style candidates describe and aren't leaked.
Anduril interview process at a glance
[[table]]
Stage | Format | Length
Recruiter screen | Background, "why Anduril" | 30 min
Technical screen | Collaborative coding | 60 min
Onsite coding | 2 rounds | 60 min each
Design | Object modelling or system | 60 min
Behavioural | With a senior engineer | 60 min
[[/table]]
The onsite is four interviews, often virtual and sometimes split across two days. Some candidates get an online coding test instead of, or before, the live technical screen. Several reports mention signing an NDA before the technical rounds. Most people say the whole process took three to four weeks.
Before you apply: Anduril is a defence technology company. Many of its roles require US citizenship or the ability to get a security clearance, and some are tied to specific countries where it has offices. Check the eligibility section of each job posting before you start preparing.
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The Anduril interview rounds, one by one
Recruiter screen
A short call about your background and your reasons for wanting to work at Anduril. "Why Anduril?" comes up in almost every report, and it comes up again later. Anduril builds defence technology, and interviewers want to know you've thought about that and are comfortable with it. A vague answer here can hurt you in the final round.
Technical screen
A collaborative coding session, usually around medium difficulty. Some candidates describe a LeetCode-style problem. Others got a practical problem, like working with an API response. Talk through your approach, ask clarifying questions, and write clean code.
Two onsite coding rounds
Each is about an hour. The interviewer starts with a deliberately loose prompt, then layers on new constraints. Reports mention graph problems, scheduling, and problems tied to the team's actual work, like processing sensor data. Interviewers care about how you adapt when the problem changes, so keep your code easy to modify.
Design round
Often object-oriented design rather than large-scale distributed systems. Candidates mention prompts like modelling a radar tower that tracks a moving ship, or designing software that lets drones follow cars. Think about real-world constraints: noisy data, limited bandwidth, hardware that fails, and what happens when the connection drops.
Behavioural round
A one-hour conversation with a senior engineer. It focuses on the business results of your past work and on your conviction about Anduril's mission. Expect to talk about the hardest technical problem you've worked on and what came of it.
What changes for experienced candidates
[[table]]
Level | Typical title | Focus
IC2 | Software Engineer | Coding
IC3 | Software Engineer | Coding + design
IC4 | Senior Software Engineer | Design, ownership
[[/table]]
Experienced hires are often matched to a specific team before the interviews start. That means the technical rounds may test domain skills, such as C++, perception, embedded systems or ML infrastructure, rather than only general problem solving. Ask your recruiter which team you're interviewing for, and prepare for its stack.
In the behavioural round, senior candidates are expected to show clear outcomes. Bring stories where your work changed a delivery date, a cost, or how a product performed in the field.
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Anduril practice questions
These are practice questions in the style candidates describe. They're not leaked questions.
Coding
- Given a grid of sensor readings, find connected regions above a threshold. Then handle readings that arrive over time.
- Assign tasks to a fleet of drones with different battery levels. Return -1 if no valid assignment exists.
- Parse a stream of position updates from an API and report any object that stops moving for more than a minute.
Design
- Model a radar tower that tracks a moving ship and predicts its next position.
- Design the software that lets a drone follow a car through a city with patchy GPS.
Behavioural
- Why do you want to work on defence technology?
- Tell me about the hardest technical challenge you've faced. What was the outcome?
- Tell me about a time you had to ship with incomplete information.
Practise these with an engineer and get scored
How to prepare for an Anduril interview
Practise problems that change halfway through. Ask a friend to give you a simple coding prompt, then add a new constraint every ten minutes. Get used to refactoring calmly instead of starting over.
Brush up on object-oriented design with physical systems. Model a few real things, like a drone, a sensor network or a vehicle fleet, with classes, interfaces and failure cases. Think about what changes when hardware is unreliable or offline.
If you're experienced, find out your target team early and prepare for its stack. A perception team will expect different depth than a backend infrastructure team.
Write a real answer to "why Anduril?" Be honest and specific about why defence work appeals to you. Interviewers in more than one round will come back to it.
Then do a full mock loop with someone who can run a shifting prompt and push on your design choices.
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FAQs
How many rounds are in the Anduril interview? Usually six: a recruiter screen, a technical screen, and four onsite interviews (two coding, one design, one behavioural).
Is the Anduril interview LeetCode-style? Partly. Candidates report a mix of LeetCode-style and practical coding problems, often with constraints added as you go.
What does the Anduril design round cover? Usually object-oriented design tied to real systems, like radar tracking or drones, rather than only web-scale architecture.
Do I need US citizenship to work at Anduril? Many roles require US citizenship or clearance eligibility. Check each job posting.
How long does the Anduril hiring process take? Most candidates report three to four weeks.
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Get Ready for Anduril's Shifting Prompts: Take a Mock Interview
Anduril rewards engineers who stay calm when the problem changes. Practise that with an engineer from a top tech company, get honest feedback on your coding, design and "why Anduril" answer, and go into your onsite ready.
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