Technical screening questions
Ask for one example per question and listen for specifics.
- How do you add SAST without slowing builds? A good answer: Incremental scans and severity gates.
- How do you manage secrets? A good answer: Secret managers and rotation.
- How do you handle a critical dependency vulnerability? A good answer: Triage, patch, test and deploy.
- How do you secure containers? A good answer: Base images, scanning and runtime controls.
- How do you threat-model a service? A good answer: Assets, trust boundaries and mitigations.
Quick screening questions
Use these when you have only a few minutes.
- How do you add security checks to a pipeline without slowing it down?
- How do you manage secrets in CI/CD?
- How do you handle a critical vulnerability found in production?
What separates the levels
Match the level to the requirement before you submit.
- Junior: runs scans.
- Mid: builds the checks.
- Senior: designs the secure delivery program.
Red flags
Any of these is a reason to probe further.
- Security reports with no fixes.
- No pipeline experience.
- Cannot discuss secrets.
Tools you should hear mentioned
A DevSecOps engineer with real experience usually names several of these without prompting.
- SAST and DAST tools
- Container scanners
- Terraform and policy as code
- Vault or cloud secrets managers
- CI/CD platforms
- Kubernetes
Run the call well
Ask for the last project first, then dig into the second or third question. Take notes on versions, team size and outcomes, and record them with the submission so the vendor’s later technical interview does not surprise you.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a DevSecOps engineer screening call take?
Fifteen to twenty minutes is enough to cover the project, three technical questions and availability, rate and work authorization.
Do recruiters need to know the technology?
Working vocabulary is enough. Use the sourcing guide for the role and listen for specifics instead of judging technical depth yourself.