Pros: I joined Palantir in 2010 when the company had about 250 employees. I had worked at one company (> 10,000 employees) for many years before changing jobs in 2010. Needless to say, I was nervous with such a drastic change in my career. I'm now in my sixth year at Palantir, and I have to say that the transition was smooth. I continue to enjoy my work here every single day. Here are the pros I can think of: * Technical challenging projects that allow you to grow your technical skills. There is plenty of help from experienced engineers in the organization to ensure you don't feel lost. * Excellent leadership at the Director level and first-line leads. Directors are open to any feedback, are very approachable, and always trying to help out engineers. * Good work-life balance. I'm hearing some horror stories from my colleagues in the tech industry, but I haven't had many problems here. I have been able to spend plenty of time with my family all these years. * Absolute meritocracy and very little bureaucracy. There are very good resources available in terms of systems, facilities, etc. * Very good perks.

Cons: Like any other enterprise software company in this day and age, Palantir faces a stern test when it comes to figuring out what exactly their customers want and how they can deliver software for these needs. Because of this, the company does make significant organizational and philosophical changes frequently. This can cause some confusion amongst engineers, but I've generally seen company leadership providing lots of knowledge on why/how a change in direction was made.

Pros: I joined Palantir from industry. I previously worked as a software engineer at a popular, large Silicon Valley tech company. I've learned more here at Palantir in a few months than I had in over a year at my previous job, and this is even after years of software engineering experience. I attribute this to the high caliber of people that I work with at Palantir, and the tremendous challenges we have to tackle. The level of impact I can have on the projects is extremely high. Not only are my contributions meaningful and make a significant difference on whether our product ships successfully or not, but also I have a pretty big level of exposure to how we deploy and sell our product out in the world. Combine that with the fact that our products have a tremendous impact on the real world in a very real manner, and you get an awesome environment that I think is very difficult to find anywhere else.

Cons: The high hiring bar means we have a hard time hiring folks, which means our teams can be strapped for people. You may wear multiple technical hats as a software engineer and be challenged in ways that will make you grow. This may not be everyone's cup of tea.

Pros: Important work that creates new technology and solves important problems – work with real meaning. Talented coworkers always have something to teach and to learn – collaboration is amazing. Equity packages with little risk and still lots of upside (even for new employees). Upper management is filled with super sharp and hard-working people who care deeply about the success of the organization and its people. They're not perfect, but they are the best I've ever seen. A great culture where people who want to take initiative are rewarded and lauded. The culture is protected and cared for to make sure this place doesn't lose its magic. A management team that's very introspective and transparent, always trying to learn and do better. A true meritocracy, where the best idea wins and seniority and titles are not important, just good work.

Cons: Some managers are sharp individuals but poor managers. Despite best efforts to train them, some folks suffer due to this. Company is growing fast, and growing pains abound. The company is working hard to offset these issues, but new ways of doing things need to be implemented. Another growth issue: upper management is overworked more than anyone, leading to some pressing issues slipping through the cracks. They get fixed eventually, but there's pain in the meantime. People work hard, and some groups try to maintain an unsustainable pace that leads to burnout and jealousy of people perceived to have "cushier" jobs. Overall compensation is high (due to stock options that are/will be worth real money), but cash compensation is lower than industry (not ridiculously so, but low, yeah).