I originally applied for a software engineering position and was rejected without an interview. Two months later, the recruiter reached out, stating that I was better suited for the FDE role and wished to schedule a phone interview.

The code pair exercise was quite easy, and I enjoyed the conversation with the FDE I spoke to. Four hours later, I was invited for an onsite interview the following week.

The first onsite interview was conducted via Skype with someone in DC. It was another code pair exercise that I believed went well. The second interview was more of a systems design question, where I felt I could have performed better.

The third interview left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. The interviewer asked a very open-ended question after glancing at my resume (he hadn't decided what to ask prior to entering the room). I attempted to identify constraints and similar aspects, but he wasn't terribly helpful. I understand the purpose of this type of question—to see how one handles a completely new problem—but I still felt the interviewer had a specific solution in mind and didn't truly engage in a conversation as I worked through it.

After the three interviews, I had a casual lunch with another FDE, where I could ask any remaining questions.

Overall, I found the process and questions to be very fair, with the exception of the one instance I mentioned. They place a high value on passion and drive for solving complex problems, and Palantir seems to be filled with the kind of driven individuals I hope to work with someday.

However, I would have appreciated more feedback than the typical "you're not a good fit" or "other more qualified candidates," especially since I took a vacation day for the interview. When I interviewed at Google, I received detailed feedback that proved helpful in my subsequent interviews.

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