Process
I had an HR phone screen and a technical phone screen before a day-long onsite.
This was my first experience interviewing with a bigger company as a software engineer.
Onsite questions were mostly algorithms-focused. I'd call the questions moderately difficult.
I don't have a CS background and only had a couple of months of teaching myself algorithms part-time at that point. If I'd had a little more study time under my belt, I think I would have gotten the offer.
Questions
Give 3 distinct algorithms to find the K largest values in a list of N items.
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 304 interview experiences for the Palantir Software Engineer role in United States.
Success Rate
6%
Pass Rate
Palantir's interview process for their Software Engineer roles in the United States is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Positive44%
Neutral36%
Negative20%
Candidates reported having good feelings for Palantir's Software Engineer interview process in United States.
Palantir Work Experiences
5.0
Great company, great perks
Software Engineer • Former Employee
August 3, 2023
Pros: Great company, great perks. Great company, great perks.
Cons: No downsides as such. No downsides as such.
5.0
Great growth opportunities
Software Engineer • Current Employee
Palo Alto, California, United States
December 10, 2024
Pros: Very grateful this is where I started my career, with plenty of amazing mentors and opportunities to grow beyond my comfort zone.
Cons: It's unclear how transferable the backend tech stack is to other engineering jobs.
5.0
Good times on boats
Software Engineer • Current Employee
Palo Alto, California, United States
November 30, 2012
Pros: Software is being used to tackle important problems. It's gratifying to see the projects I've worked on being used on real problems.
Coworkers are, by and large, fantastic. They are fun people to work with who you can trust to do good work. I feel like I have a lot to learn from the people around me.
I can see why the culture might seem intimidating at first, but as a bona fide antisocial developer stereotype, I would say that my experience here has been quite welcoming.
I believe the company has a large potential upside. Having seen our software deployed and used, I think we have the potential to be very successful.
Cons: - There are definitely growing pains. With the size of the company and the way it's trying to grow, there is a large burden of recruiting on everyone.
This can be tiring, but the load will be better distributed as we grow.
- Work-life balance could be better. I definitely work a lot, but I wouldn't be willing to do so if I didn't enjoy the work I'm doing.
- A lot of effort is being put into "preserving the culture" as we grow, but I think care should be taken not to let this alienate new people. I think if I had interned/started a year later than I did, I would not have felt as at home and welcome here as I do.
- 5.0Great company, great perksSoftware Engineer • Former EmployeeAugust 3, 2023Pros: Great company, great perks. Great company, great perks.Cons: No downsides as such. No downsides as such.
- 5.0Great growth opportunitiesSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeePalo Alto, California, United StatesDecember 10, 2024Pros: Very grateful this is where I started my career, with plenty of amazing mentors and opportunities to grow beyond my comfort zone.Cons: It's unclear how transferable the backend tech stack is to other engineering jobs.
- 5.0Good times on boatsSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeePalo Alto, California, United StatesNovember 30, 2012Pros: Software is being used to tackle important problems. It's gratifying to see the projects I've worked on being used on real problems. Coworkers are, by and large, fantastic. They are fun people to work with who you can trust to do good work. I feel like I have a lot to learn from the people around me. I can see why the culture might seem intimidating at first, but as a bona fide antisocial developer stereotype, I would say that my experience here has been quite welcoming. I believe the company has a large potential upside. Having seen our software deployed and used, I think we have the potential to be very successful.Cons: - There are definitely growing pains. With the size of the company and the way it's trying to grow, there is a large burden of recruiting on everyone. This can be tiring, but the load will be better distributed as we grow. - Work-life balance could be better. I definitely work a lot, but I wouldn't be willing to do so if I didn't enjoy the work I'm doing. - A lot of effort is being put into "preserving the culture" as we grow, but I think care should be taken not to let this alienate new people. I think if I had interned/started a year later than I did, I would not have felt as at home and welcome here as I do.
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