Software Engineer Interview Experience - Washington, District of Columbia
April 1, 2021
Negative ExperienceNo Offer
Process
The initial step was a phone call/screen with a recruiter who was pleasant. They inquired about my background, skills, compensation, and location, and shared details about the company.
Following this, I had a technical video call with an engineer. This individual appeared more interested in highlighting their own expertise and lengthy experience than in listening to my input or understanding my background. This dynamic was off-putting.
Subsequently, I was presented with a coding question. While not exceptionally difficult, I made a basic error during the exercise. The interviewer repeatedly asked me to identify my mistake in various ways, suggesting an intention to elicit an admission of inadequacy, despite my having already acknowledged the error. The call concluded abruptly with them hanging up.
Questions
What else do you want to know about my work here?
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Interview Statistics
The following metrics were computed from 11 interview experiences for the Palantir Software Engineer role in Washington, District of Columbia.
Success Rate
9%
Pass Rate
Palantir's interview process for their Software Engineer roles in Washington, District of Columbia is extremely selective, failing the vast majority of engineers.
Experience Rating
Positive55%
Neutral27%
Negative18%
Candidates reported having very good feelings for Palantir's Software Engineer interview process in Washington, District of Columbia.
Palantir Work Experiences
2.0
Issues Beneath the Shiny Veneer
Software Engineer • Former Employee
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
September 15, 2022
Pros: It has good leadership at the top under Dr. Karp. A lot of their work will provide a sense of purpose and genuinely has a positive impact on the world.
The office perks are also excellent, especially the food.
Cons: Palantir is arrogant and even borderline cultish. Below Dr. Karp, it suffers from immature leaders and managers. Being a people lead only implies that you have power over people, not that you have people skills. Few checks exist on a manager's power to ruin your career, especially if they subjectively determine that you are not a good "culture fit." A lack of "culture fit" means that it's OK to mistreat you because you're different, not that you don't fit into Palantir's culture.
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
Pros and cons
Software Engineer • Former Employee
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
June 5, 2025
Pros: smart people, rewarding, stable, good benefits, and office spaces.
Cons: High pressure, sometimes building demoware.
- 2.0Issues Beneath the Shiny VeneerSoftware Engineer • Former EmployeeWashington, District of Columbia, United StatesSeptember 15, 2022Pros: It has good leadership at the top under Dr. Karp. A lot of their work will provide a sense of purpose and genuinely has a positive impact on the world. The office perks are also excellent, especially the food.Cons: Palantir is arrogant and even borderline cultish. Below Dr. Karp, it suffers from immature leaders and managers. Being a people lead only implies that you have power over people, not that you have people skills. Few checks exist on a manager's power to ruin your career, especially if they subjectively determine that you are not a good "culture fit." A lack of "culture fit" means that it's OK to mistreat you because you're different, not that you don't fit into Palantir's culture.
- 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.
- 4.0Pros and consSoftware Engineer • Former EmployeeWashington, District of Columbia, United StatesJune 5, 2025Pros: smart people, rewarding, stable, good benefits, and office spaces.Cons: High pressure, sometimes building demoware.
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