Software Engineer Interview Experience - Palo Alto, California
Process
The interview questions were much more challenging than at most companies. However, the corporate culture seemed to turn me off by my second interview.
My second interviewer was an old-timer at the company and had a "I hate working at this place, and I hate having to waste my time interviewing you" type of air. He also gave me a sense that I wasn't an adequate candidate five minutes into the interview. He even left the room while I was working on his problem; maybe he just had a bad day.
By the third interview and lunch, I felt very negatively about the company and didn't particularly want to work there. This sense/feeling carried into the fourth and last interview.
Knowing that if I didn't get to meet the CEO at the end of the day, I didn't get the job, I was happy to be done. The HR lady was very friendly and attractive; I probably should have asked her for her number.
The lunch was okay but disappointing. It was baked potatoes.
Questions
Do a binary tree traversal with constant memory (no stacks).
Implement Sudoku.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 47 interview experiences for the Palantir Software Engineer role in Palo Alto, California.
Success Rate
Palantir's interview process for their Software Engineer roles in Palo Alto, California is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Palantir's Software Engineer interview process in Palo Alto, California.
Palantir Work Experiences
- 5.0Learning and growing every daySoftware Engineer • Current EmployeePalo Alto, California, United StatesMay 21, 2015Pros: The primary reason I joined Palantir, and continue to work at Palantir, is the opportunity I have to learn and grow. Palantir highly encourages technical growth, and I have often been paired with another developer on projects in order to further my skills. This sort of learning also happens through self-organized, informal efforts, such as: * Reading groups * Hobbit Academy (internal classes and mini-workshops) * Pizza and Papers (order a bunch of pizza and discuss an academic paper) * Others One of the primary criteria for choosing where to work was how much I would continue developing as an engineer. At Palantir, I have not only improved significantly, but also continued learning about interesting new developments and technologies. In addition to this, I’ve found that Palantirians tend to be well-aligned in our goals and objectives, which makes it all the more gratifying to work as part of a team. Everyone at Palantir is focused on the same outcomes — delivering the most value to our customers in the most effective way. Palantir seeks to give as much context as possible to everyone at the company and strives to make sure everyone understands the decisions that affect them. This way, with everyone on the same page, it truly feels like working towards a shared vision.Cons: As a rapidly growing company, we often find processes that once worked in the past no longer do so. Process changes can be painful, and it often takes some experimentation and iteration to determine what the new best process will be. This is somewhat mitigated by the leadership's transparency around new initiatives and a willingness to admit failure when things don't work.
- 1.0Interesting Projects, Ruthless ManagementSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeePalo Alto, California, United StatesMay 20, 2023Pros: Projects are interesting if you manage to get into core backend teams.Cons: Management is ruthless. They play their favorites, and if you're not one of them, you would be axed for no reason.
- 4.0A fun place to workSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeePalo Alto, California, United StatesSeptember 2, 2013Pros: Amazing perks: laundry, three free meals a day, and anything else you could ask for.Cons: Not enough work/life balance. Enterprise work, so progress on deals is slow.
Palantir Interview Questions
