Process
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Online coding assessment
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Recruiter phone call
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Coding interview with 1 engineer
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Powerday with 3 interviews:
- The first interview was a weird systems design type thing where they give you two real-world design problems and ask how you would solve them, plus draft out a potential API.
- The second interview was a "find the bug" round.
- The third interview was "Why do you want to work here?" plus going over stuff on my resume.
Questions
Debug some existing concurrent code.
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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
4.0
Smart Team, Work-life Balance Tough
Software Engineer • Current Employee
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
May 3, 2022
Pros: Really smart people all around.
Cons: It's sometimes difficult to have work-life balance.
5.0
Smart folks, fast-paced, and self-driven
Software Engineer • Current Employee
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
July 9, 2020
Pros: Your coworkers are going to be incredibly competent. I've been here for a year and a half and I haven't yet encountered a coworker who wasn't good at their job.
The culture is very fast-paced; it sort of feels like early Facebook's "move fast and break things." If you're self-motivated and enjoy ambiguous, high-impact problems, Palantir is for you.
In all things, Palantir minimizes process. You get to define how things get done, and it's up to you to make it happen. If you enjoy a lot of structure and process, Palantir will probably be really painful.
Cons: The culture is really fast-paced and intense. If you're bad at taking time off and unplugging from work (and most Palantirians are), Palantir won't stop you from overworking. For this reason, there's a good amount of burnout.
The culture also is built around being a self-starter. It's not okay to be blocked by other people, and you'll be expected to think outside of the box to solve problems and get yourself unblocked. If you don't like ambiguous or difficult problems, you're going to have a bad time. If you're bad at unplugging from work, you're going to have a bad time.
4.0
Brilliant Team, Limited Impact
Software Engineer • Former Employee
London, England, United Kingdom
September 8, 2025
Pros: Working with talented and brilliant people.
Real-world impact.
Cons: Extreme US alignment.
No innovative tech is produced.
Does not reward hard work.
- 4.0Smart Team, Work-life Balance ToughSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeeWashington, District of Columbia, United StatesMay 3, 2022Pros: Really smart people all around.Cons: It's sometimes difficult to have work-life balance.
- 5.0Smart folks, fast-paced, and self-drivenSoftware Engineer • Current EmployeeWashington, District of Columbia, United StatesJuly 9, 2020Pros: Your coworkers are going to be incredibly competent. I've been here for a year and a half and I haven't yet encountered a coworker who wasn't good at their job. The culture is very fast-paced; it sort of feels like early Facebook's "move fast and break things." If you're self-motivated and enjoy ambiguous, high-impact problems, Palantir is for you. In all things, Palantir minimizes process. You get to define how things get done, and it's up to you to make it happen. If you enjoy a lot of structure and process, Palantir will probably be really painful.Cons: The culture is really fast-paced and intense. If you're bad at taking time off and unplugging from work (and most Palantirians are), Palantir won't stop you from overworking. For this reason, there's a good amount of burnout. The culture also is built around being a self-starter. It's not okay to be blocked by other people, and you'll be expected to think outside of the box to solve problems and get yourself unblocked. If you don't like ambiguous or difficult problems, you're going to have a bad time. If you're bad at unplugging from work, you're going to have a bad time.
- 4.0Brilliant Team, Limited ImpactSoftware Engineer • Former EmployeeLondon, England, United KingdomSeptember 8, 2025Pros: Working with talented and brilliant people. Real-world impact.Cons: Extreme US alignment. No innovative tech is produced. Does not reward hard work.
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