Anduril · Primly Community

nervous about the mission-alignment questions as a new grad, any advice?

newgrad_neil · 2 replies

interviewing at anduril for a new grad swe role next week and honestly the part i'm most stressed about is the culture/mission questions. like i support national security in a general sense but i don't have strong opinions about specific programs and i'm worried i'll come off as wishy-washy.

do they expect you to have like a detailed policy position or is it more just "are you okay working in this space" vibe check? also how much of the behavioral round is standard STAR stuff vs mission-specific?

any help appreciated, the coding prep i'm fine on, it's this part that has me anxious.

2 replies

careerveteran

you don't need to be a policy expert. they mostly want to know: do you understand what they build, are you actually okay with it, and have you thought about it at all. rehearse a 2-3 sentence honest answer. it's not a trick question, but it's also not a throwaway.

consultant_cam

think about it like a classic "why this company" question, just with higher stakes. they're checking alignment, not grilling you on defense policy. ground it in something real: the technical problems, the scale, whatever genuinely drew you. don't overthink it.