A friend recommended Palantir as an interesting company working with databases and structured and unstructured data. I visited their website, played their demo, and emailed the recruiter, but received no response. I applied again a week later and then received an email requesting a phone screen.

The first phone interviewer asked three fairly deep questions on networking, name services, and NFS.

The second phone interview was with the hiring manager, who asked a mix of technical and personality questions. The gist was that they are a startup, everyone does everything, and it's really hard all the time. They were looking for the best and brightest, willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done.

The third interview was in person. It was a cattle call with at least two dozen people of varying ages and experience. I met six people, most of whom were very nice. Two were remote. Some asked technical questions, and some asked personality questions. I got the feeling they had coordinated between interviews, and each person had a specific purpose or line of questioning. I got to meet two of the founders at the end, which was an interesting surprise.

I knew I didn't get the job when I hadn't heard from them by the second day. I'm not sure why; perhaps I didn't convey that I was willing to be a "slave" for them.

It's an interesting company, but I consider it a double-edged sword. I am somewhat glad I didn't get an offer, though it would have been interesting to work on the product.

Good luck to those who interview.

What controls naming services on a Linux system?

Everyone in the company does everything, and everyone in the group has a "get it done" attitude. How do you feel about that?