Interviewing for a new role is exciting, but it can also be nerve-wracking if you don’t know what to expect. What kinds of questions will they ask? Who will I be interviewing with? How many rounds will there be? Can I do anything to prepare ahead of time? When will I found out whether I’m moving on? In situations like these, it’s only natural to turn to the internet for answers. However, the results you find can often be confusing, misleading and even unsettling.
Here, Palantir is no exception. Some have dubbed Palantir the “hardest interview in the tech industry,” while others report an easier-than-average experience. While some have said the interview process was brief and efficient, others felt it was a few rounds longer than expected. While some remember puzzling through brainteaser questions, others recall collaborating with interviewers on real-world problems.
Within these contrasting experiences is an important truth: through our hiring process, we strive to understand candidates holistically. When we list a role or conduct an interview, we don’t have a single “perfect fit” in mind. We hone in on the distinctive qualities that don’t come through in a LinkedIn bio or a resume bullet point, welcoming candidates from non-traditional backgrounds and those following non-traditional routes.
For us, it’s not just about understanding your current capabilities, but also about evaluating your potential for growth down the road. Whether you’re self-taught in your discipline, switched late to your major, or shifted your career focus, we want to understand your journey, your innate strengths, and your unique experience.
To shed more light on our process, we spoke to seven colleagues about what makes our company unique and why candidates from all backgrounds can find success at Palantir. Forget the mold you’ve been told to fit; we want to meet the real you.
Arthur:
“I didn’t know much about Palantir when a member of the recruiting team reached out to me on LinkedIn. He took the time to really explain the Delta and Dev roles to me, as well as a role on Internal Applications. He made me feel comfortable with the process every step of the way.
When you start searching stuff off the internet, you see stuff about Palantir being the hardest interview in the Valley. I went in expecting a lot of trick questions and brain teasers, but my experience wasn’t like that at all. The interviewers I had made me feel comfortable enough to be able to explain my ideas clearly.“
Meredith:
“I had heard of Palantir during my time in the military. I knew they did something with software, so I followed the company on LinkedIn — mostly out of curiosity.
Then, a few years later, I was introduced formally to Palantir through BreakLine. As a veteran, I was drawn to the mission-oriented nature of the organization. I had no idea that they had commercial customers, or even that they partnered with other US government agencies outside of those I was familiar with. I liked that I had options; I knew that if I joined Palantir I wouldn’t be pigeon-holed.“
Antonia:
“I was convinced I wouldn’t fit in with the Ivy League ‘bro culture’ that I’d heard about — nor did I want to — so I committed myself to getting to the bottom of what I’d heard. During interviews, I asked my interviewers some really tough questions about the culture. I needed to know if achieving my best outcomes would be challenging or if it would be impossible. It was just as important for me to understand the community I would soon be joining as it was for my future colleagues to understand the level of candor I would bring to the company.
Collectively, the answers were along the lines of: here’s what we’ve done so far. There’s definitely more work to be done. Bring your wild ideas and join us. The transparency was refreshing and so was the shared understanding of the challenging, but necessary, work ahead.”
Robert:
“While some recruiting processes are attempts to weed you out, I felt like Palantir’s process was the opposite. They looked at my experiences and adapted the process and questions to that. Unlike a lot of other places, it felt like they were investing real resources in getting to know me. I met with four people who took time out of their work day to speak with me after just one phone screen. This gave me the opportunity to talk to people in the role I was interviewing for, and not just people in recruiting. This helped me quickly get a feel for what the work looked like and how I could leverage my unique strengths to be successful.”
Ali:
“During my first two years of college, I didn’t take any Computer Science courses. It wasn’t offered as a subject at my high school either so I didn’t really even know what it was. I stumbled upon CS while I was taking an Applied Mathematics course at the end of my sophom*ore year and loved it. When I applied for my internship at Palantir, I was in the process of taking my first true CS classes that same semester. I knew I was under-qualified, but I was very upfront about my story and how eager I was to learn.
My interviews were very interactive: “how would you approach this problem?” I worked with my interviewers in every interview, and talked through everything. I was able to get to a solution with my interviewers, even though I didn’t know a lot of formal fundamentals. You don’t need to remember the algorithm to a question. It’s not strictly about what you know, it’s about how you approach problems and what can you learn.“
Michal:
“At Palantir, we’re going to ask you about your failures, your mistakes, your struggles. We’re not fishing for a success story. We want to hear about an actual failure. We want to hear about what you discovered and how you learned from it.
That’s because we value introspection. All roles at Palantir are high-ownership roles. Our hierarchy is one in which each individual can have outsized impact. At Palantir, you don’t have 15 layers of oversight and bureaucracy to fight through to get things done. So you have to be aware and critical of your own vision.
Building on this, our interview questions are meant to showcase your different sides, which allows you to shine in more than one area. You don’t need to be an amazing data scientist to apply. What you need to show is that you can connect data to value. We can teach anyone to code. It’s much harder to teach that value orientation. Don’t just throw a clustering algorithm on the board unless you can explain it. Be you. Talk about the things you are comfortable with.“
Antonia:
“Be authentic. Show us who you are in every conversation and ask the questions you really want to know. Avoid asking the standard questions you get when you Google “interview questions for tech”; instead, creatively think of how you want to contribute to Palantir and ask us questions around those areas. Don’t be shy about offering up your contributions in an interview either! When we aren’t worried about fitting into the status quo, we can shift focus to the strengths and innovation we can bring to the team, as individuals.“
Tino:
“One piece of advice I have for candidates is to always try to understand the business their potential employer is in. Not only does this help them come across mature and thoughtful, but it also ensures that they are personally aligned with the goals of the company. I aligned with Palantir because our mission is to use technology to help organizations and companies across various industries leverage their data to solve the world’s hardest problems.”
Robert:
“One thing I found really helpful was the technique of deconstructing a problem and articulating how you would address it step-by-step. Try to think of each interview as a brainstorming or co-working session with someone; it’s more of a conversation, not a “we’re going to get you with this one!” In my current role, we have to do this all the time. We’re asked to do something by a client and, as a team, we have to start from scratch and talk it out.“
Antonia:
“I was hired onto . Anyone who has worked in this space understands the complexity that comes along with it; it’s not easy work, but it is also incredibly impactful and wildly fulfilling. Being successful requires radical candor, persistence, agility, and a balanced approach of teaching, learning, and holding people accountable. I wasn’t looking for a smooth department that only needed to be run. I wanted to roll up my sleeves and help iterate in a way that would create maximum impact for Palantirians. I believe I was hired because I consistently and unapologetically brought those values with me to every conversation and interview.”
Ali:
“I think the reason I was hired was my ability to learn quickly and ask the right questions to understand the scope of a problem. Because I had less of a computer science background than the typical engineer, I became aware of what I don’t know in a way that is very useful. Even if I’m unfamiliar with the technology itself, I can ask strategic questions to gain enough understanding to work towards a solution. Even to this day, I learn a new phrase or acronym everyday. I lean into other people for their expertise to collaborate on a solution.”
Tino:
“I think I was hired for my role because it uniquely requires an interdisciplinary approach. As a bit of a generalist, my interest and experience in areas outside of software engineering made me a fit for my role at Palantir. During my internship, I found myself drawing on much more than just my experience in software engineering; I utilized my experience in graphic design, research, writing and public speaking to successfully execute my projects.”
Arthur:
“I am really good at putting myself in others’ shoes. I always come back to thinking about how a user might experience this feature or what else they might need/want. It’s also important to not be afraid when facing a new problem. In my day to day, I am constantly working on things that are new to me or that I’ve never done before. We are a small team, so we have to find a way to tackle these problems.”
Antonia:
“My experiences in life have been largely non-traditional and I’ve had to learn a lot along the way. Palantir, in many ways, is also non-traditional, and the expectation is for us to carve our own paths. Being able to navigate ambiguity, take risks, and creatively problem-solve are things that, over time, I have come to appreciate and value in my skillset. I am always learning and always striving to be my best — something I can only do if I can show up as myself everyday. I am fortunate to work with inspiring people who are willing to give and get the feedback we all need in order to grow and do our best.”
Tino is a Forward Deployed Software Engineer and former intern at Palantir with experience working with clients in aviation and retail. He has a Bachelors in Computer Science and Economics from Lehigh University.
Arthur is a Software Engineer at Palantir, focused on internal applications. He was born and raised in Brazil, and recently moved to London.
Antonia works on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Team and is passionate about creating equitable and inclusive workspaces where everyone has a path to success. Prior to Palantir, Antonia worked in the start-up world across DEI, compliance, and project management teams.
Michal leads Palantir’s Global Health Enterprise and is also one of the hiring managers for the US Government team. Prior to Palantir, she worked for the US Army.
Meredith is a Site Reliability Analyst working on US Government projects. She is an Air Force veteran and lives with her family in Maryland.
Robert is a Deployment Strategist at Palantir. After working in education for 10 years, Robert joined Palantir in November 2019.
Ali is a Forward Deployed Software Engineer who has worked across a number of US Government projects and now focuses on company-wide security and compliance strategy. She helped launch Palantir Path, an internship program for students newer to the field of computer science, and now acts as the program’s hiring manager.
