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: Lots of growth opportunities if you're willing to teach yourself. Many friendly and curious people. Tasty food. Fun events. Good yoga classes.

Cons: The wheel is reinvented all the time here since we never actually use industry best practices. The leads are young (especially on product development), and it's an intensely political workplace. Many of the leads are horrible at giving honest feedback, and people are frequently burned by this (including myself). People are often praised for working through the night or weekends; they are never praised for planning ahead to avoid such catastrophes. Working long hours is a badge of honor here.

Pros: It is a company that pays money and offers benefits. It has employees who are all in the same boat.

Cons: Leadership under AK are shells of people. I would say so much more, but simply put: Don't.