Why were you interested in applying for this role at Palantir?

"As a new graduate in computer science, finding an employer that has an amazing reputation in the industry and boundless career opportunities for my future are most important to me. After talking with some recent graduates of my program and researching Palantir, I'm confident I found all of this and more here. As a new software engineer, I will work hard to prove myself to my team and Palantir."

Palantir is mission-driven in all that they do. As they consider new staff to join their company, they need to ensure that every person they hire comes with the same drive and sense of purpose. To get at your ability to bring this, your interviewer gives you the chance to talk about what interested you in coming to work for them.

Prior to your interview, be sure to put some thought into what truly interested you about coming to work for Palantir. As you answer, it would be ideal if you could talk a bit about your education and experience and how they are the perfect match for the job you applied for. Then, be sure to discuss how your values and drive will push you to succeed on the job. Reassuring your interviewer that you see this opportunity as a long-term fit for you will be important as well.

"Throughout my years in the industry, becoming a member of the Palantir team has been a dream of mine for a few years now because I've seen the work you do and the way it changes businesses in such a positive way. I've been waiting for the right opportunity to present itself and am so excited to be considered as your next cloud cost optimization engineer."

Are there any types of team members or personality styles that you dislike working with?

"Throughout my career, I've proven my ability to work alongside and collaborate effectively with a wide range of personalities. I've worked with very demanding people and even though that is not my way of doing things, I've developed ways to communicate with overly demanding colleagues. For me, the most difficult type of colleague for me to work with is one who is simply not committed to their work. I've worked alongside colleagues who were simply going through the motions and working for a paycheck, and I've always found it difficult to motivate these people. Over time, I've learned to do as much as I can to help them see their purpose and get them engaged. If one thing is clear about Palantir from what I've learned today, it's that your team is mission-driven and engaged in bringing in AI data management solutions to your clients. This is a mission I'd be proud to join!"

For most staff at Palantir, working with strong and tough personalities is a regular part of the job. This can include customers from the widely stretched client base that you may be potentially working with or the colleagues you may collaborate with that are driven to succeed by any means possible. Your interviewer knows that every candidate they are considering comes with their own unique set of personality styles that they clash with. They pose this question to get your honest assessment of the types of people you find most difficult to work with and that you have an approach that is effective for how you collaborate with them.

First, you surely want to be open and honest with both yourself and the team at Palantir as you answer this question. Be sure to do some reflecting on this topic prior to coming in for your interview. While keeping your answer positive and focusing on your ability to manage yourself when it may be easy for someone to bring you down, talk about one or two personality traits or workstyles that you have struggled with the most in your past. Make it clear to your interviewer that you were able to take the steps necessary to work together effectively and that you'll continue to do so in this role.

When a major problem arises on the job, what is your typical first reaction?

"I want you to be assured that I would come to your team at Palantir as a calm, cool, and collected problem solver. I know that designing new software for clients can have hiccups throughout the entire process, and my initial response when a problem is brought up would be to clearly identify what the problem is and then look into possible solutions. In my current position, this process involves conversations with customers as a first step. I never hesitate to pick up the phone and call current customers to assure that I know exactly what needs to be fixed."

One mantra that Palantir lives by is "We meet the problems where they live." Because the company puts so much time and effort into customizing solutions for its diverse customer base and takes the time to launch onsite with its customers, new staff members need to come to Palantir with the ability to be astute problem solvers. To get at your ability to be quick and efficient in your problem-solving, your interviewer wants to hear you discuss how you initially handle the largest issues in your work.

Before your interview, take some time to think about your approach to solving major issues on the job. What you want to highlight to the Palantir team is your quick action in identifying the issue at hand, knowing everyone's interests in the matter, and then putting together potential solutions. If you can, try to walk your interviewer through a specific time that you worked on solving a problem that is similar to one you may face in the role you are interviewing for.

Our offerings at Palantir span across many business sectors. With which industries have you collaborated with throughout your career?

"As you can see from my resume, I've spent the majority of my career in the development of electronic health record software with one of the key players in that industry. I would come to Palantir with pretty intimate knowledge of data sets and workflows in the overall healthcare sector and am confident that this knowledge would greatly benefit your partnerships with groups like the VA, HHS, and CDC."

The AI capabilities that Palantir is building for data analytics are being put to use across a wide variety of businesses and industries. While they have a pretty good sense of this from looking at your resume, your interviewer wants to hear you talk about your experience in different business sectors in hopes that you see them applying to the work that you will be doing as part of their team.

No matter what prior experience you would bring to the table at Palantir, your interviewer would like to know the industries in which you bring the most experience. Perhaps you have worked in data analysis for marketing, sales, human resources, hospitality, health, and medical, environmental, or insurance. Discuss with the interviewer the industries your past clients span. If you can, without breaking any non-disclosure agreements, talk about the most significant clients you have collaborated with and how this work will pertain to the job you are being considered for.

"The first four years of my career out of college have focused on software development in the financial services and banking industries. My current role has put me working with big players like BMO, Citigroup, and Wells Fargo. I would come to the team at Palantir with key insider knowledge of how institutions like those think and what their biggest needs often are."

In your personal opinion, what has been the most exciting collaboration between data analytics and artificial intelligence in recent years?

"In tune, data analytics has helped many industries thrive in more recent years, but the industry I'm most passionate about is healthcare. Advanced AI techniques have been proven to extract data from a large span of studies to help identify and predict cancers among individuals and this has in turn saved lives. As data banks continue to grow into the future, I'm truly excited to see breakthroughs in medicine that will occur because of AI in data analyses."

The use of AI in the data analytics world continues to grow and advance, thanks to pioneering companies like Palantir. Your interviewer will want to get a feel for your passion and insight into their industry, so they pose this question to give you the chance to speak about what you feel has been the biggest advancement in the field over the last few years.

If you are up to date on the trends and happenings between data analysis and AI, you should have no problem answering this question. Discuss an exciting collaboration, project, or product release that you have heard of recently and explain why you feel so strongly about the advancement. If you would be joining Palantir from outside the industry, be sure to do some reading on the topic and come to your interview prepared to answer knowledgeably while displaying a passion for being a part of it in the future.

"I recently read an article in Forbes on the top machine learning programs to watch. I was especially intrigued with a company called DataVisor, which uses machine learning to uncover financial data issues. Their program is helping to protect against bank fraud and other financial-based criminal activity. I know very serious work is being done here at Palantir in this sector, both public and private, and this would be very inspiring work to be a part of."

At Palantir we are committed to the growth and development of our staff. If you could take additional training in any job-related area, which would you choose?

"Throughout my career as a successful software engineer, I've taken advantage of many opportunities for continuing education. Participating in things like full stack coding boot camps and Meta front-end developer trainings have helped enhance my skills and bring new opportunities like you are offering here at Palantir. If I'm fortunate enough to join your team, I would want to focus any training opportunities on industry-specific training like semiconductors, defense, and data protection to help me grow throughout the remainder of my career here."

Through a variety of global scholarships, partnerships with external organizations, and diverse employee groups, Palantir offers many routes for their employees to further develop their skills and their careers with the company. In posing this question during your time together, your interviewer wants to get a sense of where you would take advantage of career development opportunities. On top of that, this question also gives them the chance to hear where you ideally want your career to take you.

Before your interview, take some time to reflect on your career goals and come to your interview prepared to discuss those goals. As you do this, make sure to sprinkle in thoughts on where you would like to see your education and skills take you as a staff member at Palantir. Make sure to browse around the "Life at Palantir" section of their website so you can speak knowledgeably about the opportunities that they offer to their team members.

"I appreciate the fact that Palantir offers continued education opportunities through various employee-led resource groups and scholarship opportunities. One such opportunity that I was reading about is the women in technology scholarship. This is very inspirational to encourage women to pursue careers like this and brighten the horizons of your organization. I would be very interested in joining your Women in Tech resource group and helping to further educational opportunities that will help Palantir thrive into the future."

When you are beginning a new project, what steps do you take to ensure it gets up and running properly?

"When I first take on a project, I take the time to lay out the scope of the project and what the objectives of the project are. I take the time to talk with all key stakeholders on laying these out and ensuring that the work will be meaningful. From there, I get to work on planning the project. This includes putting together a stellar team of experts, setting a project deadline, and clearly laying out the milestone achievements along the way. As I look to join the team here at Palantir, you can be confident in the project management skills I would bring to your team."

If you are interviewing for a product development, business development, product infrastructure, or engineering role at Palantir, you will be a part of a swift and dynamic project management process. During your time with them, it will be important for your interviewer to gauge the overall project management skills that you would bring to their team. This question focuses on your ability to get a project kicked off efficiently.

This is the perfect opportunity for you to discuss the project management skills that you would bring to work at Palantir, so make sure to take advantage of it. As you answer this question, you'll want to focus your answer on how you walk through the project initiation and project planning stages. To do this, try to give a real-life example of a successful project you helped kick off. Make sure to walk through all of the steps you took and what the successful outcome was.

"Throughout my career, I have always liked to take a look at the project as a whole, along with a deep dive with the client or any stakeholders. Next, I will assemble my team and hire contractors as needed. A well-established and reasonable timeline is created next. In my current role, I organize and manage all of this within Slack to ensure everything is in one place, for ease of reference and collaboration among the project team. Are you able to elaborate a bit more about how your team at Palantir tackles your largest projects?"

In your opinion, how does data drive a business's success?

"In today's world, data in real-time is vital to the success of any business, and what that data looks like is dependent on the individual business and the industry that they are in. I have a lot of experience in manufacturing, where sales, supply chain, and production data are huge. That data obviously changes in other industries like retail and transportation, but how it is procured is made much easier with a company like Palantir putting out amazing AI solutions for them."

Palantir subscribes to the mindset that with good data and the right technology, people and institutions can solve the most difficult problems and help change the world for the better. Since it is such a large part of their overall success as a company, your interviewer needs to be assured that you understand the importance of general data to most businesses and their success.

This is a very open-ended and general question, but you want to take a very pointed approach to answering. This is your chance to use your own personal and professional experience to describe how businesses use data to boost sales or help make a difference in the lives of others. You can surely discuss data like competitive analysis, customer demographics, pattern analysis, or business growth. If you've personally worked with data in your work in the past, discuss how important it was for it to be accurate and in real-time.

"Data can drive every aspect of a business's success if approached and utilized correctly. In my experience, I have seen that companies underutilize what a full data analysis approach can do for them. Analytics programs should be set up for marketing, sales, employee productivity, product efficiency, competitive analysis, and more. I love the fact that the Palantir Ontology paints a clear picture of an organization's data and is something I would love to be a part of in the future."

Do you have any experience in risk management? Have you ever been exposed to an extreme data catastrophe?

"Yes, I have experience in risk management throughout my career as a software engineer. Prior to coming today, I was reading about the Palantir Foundry platform and what it is providing for risk management in the supply chain space. Your work is helping to secure supply chains across the globe, with governing agencies, and is thoroughly impressive. As your next software engineer, I would always take pride in risk management protocols."

In the development of software, risk management, and analyses is the process of discovering and negating issues before they have a potential negative downstream impact. For Palantir, these downstream impacts can mean disappointed customers or data breaches. In asking this question, your interviewer is looking to hear if you have any experience in risk management when it comes to the work you'll be performing as part of their team.

First, it's important to realize that risk management can have different meanings in different lines of work and industries. If you have a background and history in software development, be sure to talk about the training and experience you have in risk management with the development and release of new products. If you are coming from a different or ancillary background, make sure to discuss where risk management has come into play for you in the past and how you think it can apply to the job you are interviewing for at Palantir.

"While I don't have hands-on experience in managing risks in data and AI, my sales experience has included a lot of training in sales risk management that I think would be very beneficial for me as Palantir's next sales representative. The types of risks that I have formal training in are cross-functionality and, ironically, clean data. In this role, I know I will be collaborating closely with engineering and deployment teams and the communication and hand-off of information is always vital to a successful product launch. If I'm fortunate enough to join this team, you'll quickly see that my collaboration skills would be very beneficial to our clients."

How will you meet all of your clients' needs when you are managing several project at once?

"I know that organization and prioritization skills will be important when working with the clients here at Palantir. I have been fortunate enough to develop and strengthen these skills in my previous work. Organization skills helped me ensure that my clients' needs did not fall through the cracks, while prioritization skills helped me complete client projects quickly and efficiently. These same skills will be crucial while working on the projects for your clients, as I know I'll have a full plate of deployments that I will be working on. I look forward to tackling these challenges together as a team."

If you are interviewing for a client-facing role with Palantir, chances are likely that you will be managing several projects at a time. It will be very important for your interviewer to have the understanding that you will join their team with the ability to effectively manage, balance, and execute your workload effectively and efficiently. They'll also be looking to hear that you are always focused on the needs of the customers and prioritize that at all costs.

The best way to answer a question regarding your ability to prioritize your workload and work through it efficiently and accurately is by talking about a time you've done so in the past. Try to think back to a time when you were juggling multiple client projects. As you answer, you want to demonstrate your ability to stay organized, communicate clearly, and ensure all tasks are handled on time. Your interviewer will be impressed with your project management skills if you can highlight your ability to utilize tools and resources to ensure your work is timely.

"Your next incident management engineer will be relied upon to provide stability across your entire line of products. I know at times this will involve several issues that are being handled at once. For me, success in this role will come down to my ability to think quickly, act rapidly, and triage issues safely and efficiently. I'm confident that I will bring this ability to the Palantir team and my experience in the past speaks to that."

How do you feel your various industry experiences will help Palantir meet our clients' needs?

"As you can see from my resume, I've spent the last nine years working on developing software in the telecommunications space and would be thrilled to bring this experience to work here at Palantir. Telecom is a highly regulated industry and I would come to your team familiar with standards for securing data. Palantir Foundry technology is very exciting to me and I can see the distinct advantage it brings to your telecom customers."

Palantir spreads its offerings across a wide variety of industries. While your interviewer has a good sense of your work history and experience by looking at your resume, they're giving you an opportunity to talk about how your prior industry experiences could help the advancement of their company into the future.

On the Palantir website, they do a great job of listing all of the different industries to which they offer AI data analytics software. What you need to do before your interview is find a way to match your prior experience in any applicable industries to the work you will be doing in the role you are interviewing for. Whether you are working on the front-end development side of Palantir's business or a back-end role, try to sell your prior experience as relevant to the future success of the company.

"As I approach my graduation date in computer science, I'm very appreciative of the fact that I had the opportunity to intern for six months with the CDC on the development of new software. Gaining insight into the public domain was a great experience and I think it would be very beneficial for me to join here at Palantir as a software engineer. I'm confident that experience will help me take off quickly in the defense, military, and public sector work I could be performing here."

Which specific job duties of this role at Palantir do you feel are most important for success in the role?

"Palantir will depend on its next physical security analyst to ensure physical security outcomes on the East Coast and the work will be vital to the success of many important businesses. To me, quick and efficient responses to major incidents are vital in this role and are something I have a lot of experience with. I want you to know that I'd be available to respond at a moment's notice when on call. I'm also confident that having the foresight on new trends in security will be vital for your hire in this role to possess because the threats are continuously adapting and altering their ways to breach. Keeping up to speed on the latest in my work is always a priority for me."

Palantir is likely considering a very strong pool of well-qualified candidates for the position you are interviewing for. Their hiring managers have an idea of which skills and qualifications are most important to have to be successful in the major duties of the job. In posing this question to you, your interviewer wants to hear your thoughts on which few job duties will be most important for success and that you possess the skills and knowledge for those duties.

Prior to your interview with Palantir, be sure to thoroughly read through the job description that is posted on their career site and think of the one or two duties that you see as essential for anyone to master to find success in the position. When communicating the qualifications you find most important, talk about how your education and experiences will allow you to come aboard and find immediate success. Be sure to also reiterate why those duties are important to the overall business success of the company.

"A successful deployment strategist has many vital duties, but I'd see the most important as being able to quickly build trust and rapport with customers and the ability to brainstorm unique solutions for unique prospective clients. Over the last four years, my work has focused on product launches for clients and I was involved very early in processes to be the main contact. My communications are open and clear, while my listening skills ensure that all the customers' needs are heard. I'd look forward to bringing this same approach to the Palantir deployment team."

What do you feel are the overall strengths and weaknesses of Palantir?

"As a prospective forward deployed software engineer here, it's clear to see that Palantir is at the forefront of technology when it comes to data analytics tools. Your work with the DOD and the United States military speaks volumes to your ability to advance the technology in this space and is a huge strength for you. To me, the one weakness would be a fairly limited customer base compared to some of your biggest competitors. You do what you do well, but I'd be curious to hear about any expansion plans that you have for the future."

The team at Palantir seeks to hire new staff who are passionate and engaged in the work they will be performing and the company itself. In asking this question, your interviewer is expecting you to give your own professional opinion on where you feel they are both strong and lacking.

Your interviewer expects an open approach among candidates as they answer this question, so be sure to speak from an honest standpoint as you answer. By researching things like Palantir's full product line, capabilities, and impact studies prior to your interview, you should be able to find some things that you can speak passionately about as you answer. Speaking to their weaknesses may be difficult for some to do in an interview, but use your own professional opinion to speak knowledgeably on your overall thoughts.

"As an administrative professional, finances are always at the top of my mind and I would point out that one huge strength of Palantir is your strong financial position. I was perusing your quarterly reports over the last few years on your website and was thoroughly impressed by your revenue and debt numbers and where they've been trending. I would perceive a potential weakness to be the high maintenance costs of your systems. I would assume this may deter potential smaller-scale customers, but would love to hear your thoughts on that."

What do you know about our competitive position within the data analytics and artificial intelligence industry?

"Having been around the data analytics industry for many years, I know that Alteryx and Splunk are our biggest competitors. Palantir's expertise in the government, defense, and energy fields is well known throughout the industry and something I'd be proud to be a part of as your next software engineer. Continued growth sounds important to you and is a focus I would commit to from day one on the job."

Candidates having a strong grasp of the entire industry that Palantir competes in will be important to the team of interviewers that you will be meeting with. In asking this question, they're hoping to hear that you are aware of who their biggest competitors are and where Palantir is succeeding against the competition.

Knowing where Palantir is positioned in the data analytics and AI industry will prove you did your research to show your overall interest in coming to work for them. It will also confirm that you have a good understanding of the position for which you are applying and the company overall. If you need to, be sure to research the overall market and who Palantir's biggest competitors are. Come to your interview prepared to speak about the competition, what they do well, and what type of threat they propose to Palantir. Be sure to mention any niches the company serves and how they are winning against their competition.

"The Data Analytics industry has seen companies deal with massive amounts of data that are not being mined due to resource limitations. Also, data quality continues to be an issue as companies deal with vast amounts of data. Through its products and services, Palantir understands these issues and implements solutions for them. Concerning competition, Palantir faces companies such as Trifacta and Alteryx, whose products and services also address these issues. Although Palantir is not quite there yet in size and scope relative to these two competitors, it has increased its presence and has continued to establish itself as a growing threat."

What do you believe will be the most challenging aspect of working in this role at Palantir?

"Based on my experience in software sales and sales management, I feel very confident in my ability to come aboard here at Palantir and lead a sales team to success as your next senior advisor. The biggest challenge for me will be learning the ins and outs of the Department of Defense space because it is a customer base that I simply haven't worked with before. As I've done many times throughout my career, my goals in my initial weeks on the job will be to learn the space, and the key stakeholders and learn what has worked and hasn't worked in the past for them."

The team at Palantir knows that any new staff member that they hire will come to the job with some hurdles that they will need to overcome. Your interviewer is hopeful that you will give an honest opinion of what you feel will be your biggest challenge in the job and that you have some thoughts on how you will attack this challenge if you emerge as their top candidate.

Your answer to this question will reveal what you know about the position and the type of things you find challenging, but it's important to be open and honest with your interviewer. Before interviewing with Palantir, make sure that you take the time to re-read the job description and put some serious thought into where you will find the biggest challenge upon your start date. Your challenge could come with a lack of experience in a certain area or a new service line you will potentially be working with. With this type of question, end your response on a positive note by emphasizing your strengths or your drive to rise to the challenges presented to you.

"I honestly see the biggest initial challenge as learning the entire business operation and organizational design of Palantir. As your next people partner, I bring a wealth of experience in the manufacturing and service industries and am confident I would bring new insights into strategic HR planning, performance management, staff development, and coaching. I would love to hear more about what you see as the ideal onboarding for the person you hire for this role. Can you expand more on that?"

Talk about a time you successfully collaborated with a client to help meet their business needs. What do you feel were important keys in making this collaboration a success?

"Over the last six years of my career, I've been involved in many product launches for customers that were built a custom program. As you can see from my resume, I've been working in the electronic health record space and my company is great at customizing programs. In my role, I've worked with many customers on customized systems. Last year, we landed our largest hospital system to a new contract and I was involved in many meetings with key administrative, nursing, and physician leaders on building their program. My mindset was to always be present, engaging, and providing solutions to meet their needs and we had a great product launch with them. In working with the U.S. government here at Palantir, I'm ready to take this service to the next level."

Palantir prides itself on its ability to provide customized solutions to individual customers, and it has honestly been a huge part of its success around the world. Your interviewer needs to be assured that you would join with a similar customer-focused mindset, so they look to hear you talk about a time you worked hand in hand with a customer to help provide a perfect solution for them.

No matter if the role you are interviewing for at Palantir is client-facing or not, providing individual service is essential for any job there. If you have direct experience in this space, reiterate that you understand that teamwork can be very different when working with clients versus co-workers. Then think of a time when you worked closely and collaborated with a customer on diving into their needs and what kind of work you had to put into providing them their own unique solution. If you don't have direct customer-facing experience, you can surely think back to times when you collaborated closely with colleagues outside of your work unit to do the same. In the end, make sure to highlight what traits you possess that make your ability to provide excellent customer service and results in the position you are being considered for.

"As an experienced full stack engineer, the client's perspective and needs are always a top priority for me. In my current role, user experience is paramount and I regularly communicate with prospective and current clients to help provide the best experience. A few years ago, we released a product in short order and it had some very clunky aspects when put into use. I fielded calls for many days from customers and made sure I took diligent notes to understand what the troubles were. I then led a team to ensure the next version was focused on bettering the overall experience."

How do you feel we can best communicate our strengths to the top decision-makers of potential customers looking to utilize Palantir products?

"I believe it is important to communicate to potential clients based on the industry in which they compete. It's clear that Palantir's products stretch across a variety of business sectors and industries. For the work you are doing in the auto industry, I'm sure that you communicate to potential clients in auto industry publications or target decision-makers through sponsorships at industry events, such as conferences. Having a client in Ferrari is something you surely can leverage."

As today's businesses and industries look into new and innovative technologies for their AI wants and needs, the reality is that there is a wealth of options out there in the market. In posing this question to you during your interview, your interviewer is looking to hear that you have a strong sense of marketing in the data analytics industry. Furthermore, they'll also look to hear you speak further on what you feel are the qualities that set Palantir products and services apart from their competition.

If you have some industry insight, be sure to mention who you believe to be the industry influencers and where key decision-makers with potential clients go to get their information. Also, suggest any reputable social media channels you would use to help Palantir communicate its products and services. Don't forget to reiterate that doing things to separate the Palantir product line from its competition will be vital in creating more sales and wins in market shares.

"From my personal experience, white papers are a great way to provide in-depth analyses of a product or technology. Over the past 10 years, I've utilized white papers on exciting new software developments and have worked with my marketing team on getting them out to the right potential customers and scheduling follow-ups. This has certainly led to more sales. Can you elaborate on any ways that Palantir currently uses white papers to expand your customer base?"

If you are offered a position at Palantir, which of our product offerings would be most exciting for you to work on and why?

"The work that Palantir is currently doing with the United States Armed Forces is certainly exciting and something I would be very passionate about. The work you have done to turn AI models into actionable intelligence has greatly benefitted the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy, and Marines and this would be an exciting mission for me to be a part of."

Palantir produces a wide range of products that are used across a wide variety of businesses, industries, and sectors. To get at the research that you've done on their company and to hear any passions you have among their customer base, your interviewer is giving you the opportunity to talk about the product offering that excites you the most.

As you research Palantir before your interview, you'll quickly see that they produce products for customers both big and small, public and private. Some of their products cater to businesses like hospitals, retailers, and the automotive industry. Others are specifically designed for government, defense, and energy industries. Make sure you come to your interview ready to passionately talk about which product offering you find to be the most exciting and why you hold it so near and dear to your heart.

"The wide breadth of services, businesses, and industries that Palantir has successfully influenced and has helped better is a testament to the great work you are doing. I'm most intrigued by the work that you are doing in developing AI for clinical research in the medical world. Before my interview, I was reading about the amazing work your team has done to help bank historical clinical trial data to help build future cures for some of the worst conditions known to man."

Palantir's continued success is driven by innovation. Talk about a time where you took the initiative to improve an existing process or developed a new one.

"Meeting client needs has always been a priority for me in all my previous work as a forward deployed software engineer. Each client's needs are unique and sometimes cannot be fully met with the products my company may offer at that time. This is where thinking outside the traditional box is important and certainly is a trait I would bring to Palantir. With one particular client, I took the initiative to investigate a tailored solution for its unique analytical needs. This project took some creativity on my part as I managed the limited resources we had to come up with a solution. In the end, I was thrilled that we were able to devise a solution that met the needs of our client. I believe it is this level of service that helps companies remain competitive in this industry."

Since Palantir was formed in 2004, its continued growth and success in the software development world has been due to its innovations in new and game-changing products that are tailored to its customers. To get at your sense for innovation and improvement, your interviewer is allowing you to discuss a time when you sought improvement or innovation and acted clearly on it.

By asking this question, the team at Palantir is looking for two things - initiative and creativity. First, talk about a time that you identified a problem and took the bold step to search for a solution. As you walk through your mindset and actions, make sure to let your creativity be displayed through the solution you came up with. The qualities in these types of situations display your dedication to the client and the company overall if you emerge as their top candidate.

"I would have to go back to earlier this year in my PhD program and preparation of my dissertation. My research was heavily focused on deep learning and my research and dissertation became the core of my life for a pretty long time. I had to think outside of the box to pull real-world information from the food service industry. I chose the food service industry because it impacted so many people and the use of AI and deep learning in the restaurant industry could be so beneficial. The thesis committee I presented to was thoroughly impressed by my work and I definitely learned so much that I can bring to work here at Palantir."

Employees at Palantir must work effectively in a team environment to ensure successful client solutions. What teamwork and collaboration skills will you bring to this role?

"Over the years, I have found that communication skills are one of the most important skills to have when working on a team. In my current position, I collaborate closely with our sales team and our deployment teams to ensure that individual customer needs are met and troubleshooting support is available after our products go live. I make myself readily available to my colleagues when they need my support and I am proactive in speaking with my colleagues when known issues exist. If I'm hired here at Palantir, the people I will be working with will quickly see that I am a great team player."

No matter what position you are interviewing for at Palantir, the ability to work collaboratively as part of a larger, multidisciplinary team will be vital to your success on the job there. It will be important that your interviewer is confident in your ability to be a great team player, so they're directly asking you to discuss your skills in this area.

This is your opportunity to express your ability to join the team at Palantir as the ultimate team player, so be sure to take advantage of it! To best discuss your collaborative skills, try to describe examples of when you worked well as part of a larger team. Make sure to discuss your role on those teams and your ability to both lead and follow as necessary. Some skills you want to highlight are your communication skills, your conflict resolution skills, and your willingness to contribute to larger successes.

"If I'm fortunate enough to join the team here at Palantir, I would bring solid communication skills and the ability to work effectively with a variety of personalities and work styles efficiently and effectively. My career in legal contracts has put me working alongside product design teams, finance staff, and sales across a wide line of industries. It's always important that I have intimate knowledge of products and services and my ability to learn from and communicate with various teams is vital. Throughout my career, I've worked with very demanding sales teams and design engineers who have demands for contracts. I remain professional, knowledgeable and, when necessary, firm when I need to be and every person I've collaborated with has respected me for that."

Do you have any experience working with clients on the vendor side of a business? If you only have direct customer experience, how do you feel your customer service skills you've developed will translate to working with Palantir's vendors?

"Yes, I have had experience working on the vendor side and this has specifically involved sourcing new technologies to put to use in the current development products my company uses. I've successfully worked through RFP processes involving potential new vendors. Communication has always been vital in ensuring that quotes were accurate and expectations were met. I have found that my ability to manage client expectations has been an invaluable skill that would be put to good use if I'm fortunate enough to join this team at Palantir."

In the software development world, working closely with vendors on parts and supplies is a key component of designing top-notch products. If the role you are being considered for at Palantir involves working directly with their vendors, your interviewer will want to hear about any prior vendor relations experiences you have. If you don't, they'll surely want to hear you talk about how your skills would translate nicely to this part of the work you will be performing with them.

First, make sure to answer the question directly and let your interviewer know if you do have direct experience working with vendors throughout the course of your career. If you do, that is great! You'll want to then walk through what role you played in working with vendors and any big wins you experienced because of the relationships you developed. If you don't have direct experience working closely with vendors, there isn't any need to fret. What will be important in this case is that you talk about your customer service and people skills that would help this come naturally to you as part of the Palantir team.

"No, but I certainly understand the importance that the vendors of Palantir play in your success. Throughout my schooling, I've been thoroughly trained on the importance of customer service in the development of new software and the testing of new programs. As I would be required to work closely with vendors in this role, I think these same principles of communicating clearly, asking questions, and going the extra mile for service would play well with your vendors and these are values I would bring to work every day here."

When you are being trained on the job, do you prefer online training or learning in a classroom setting?

"This is a great question and I understand the importance of why a company like Palantir utilizes both. I'm a hands-on people person and always prefer face-to-face style trainings, whether they are 1:1, small group, or large class style settings. With that said, I currently help develop online training for new staff with my current company and know the importance of making them exciting, interactive, and fun for new hires."

Palantir puts a lot of time, effort, and resources into the onboarding of new staff. With the intense training that you will undergo as a new team member there, your interviewer will look to hear what your personal preferences are for training and orientating to a new company and job.

Like many other software and technology companies, onboarding new team members includes a variety of training that comes in a variety of settings. With the online learning format being most popular at Palantir, especially given its global presence, you want to ensure that you let your interviewer know that you are familiar with and comfortable with training in this format. As you do that, make sure to reiterate that you see the importance of face-to-face training that you will for sure be exposed to during your orientation.

"I was reading that an integral part of the onboarding process here at Palantir is being introduced to employees that I would be collaborating with around the world and I'm very excited for this opportunity. I'm sure you've developed some robust online training programs and these are my preferred method of training because I can take the time to research things and ask questions of my colleagues that pertain to the work that I'll be performing. I'm also very familiar with orientation pieces that are better suited in a large classroom style setting and welcome the chance to participate in those here."

How do you like to stay up-to-date on new trends and information in your line of work and how do you think this will help you to contribute to the future success of Palantir?

"I'm very active in the Cloud Computing Association and the Cloud Security Alliance. I love attending national conferences and regional seminars to be able to network with other cloud engineering professionals and hear experts in the field talk about new breakthroughs and methods. I also subscribe to the Journal of Systems and Software and regularly read that each month. Here at Palantir, your work has always been at the forefront of AI-driven technology and I look forward to continuing to help that mission as your next cloud engineer."

Over almost the last 20 years, the success that Palantir has built can be mostly attributed to its ability to innovate within the field of AI software development. They are always seeking to hire forward-thinking individuals in their field, so your interviewer wants to hear that you do all that you can to stay up-to-date in your field and that you are willing to do this in a variety of manners.

A successful answer to this question clearly outlines all of the ways that you stay educated and up-to-date in your given career field. This can include a variety of things. Prior to your interview, make sure to reflect on any trainings that you've actively participated in recently, conferences you've attended, books you've read, or podcasts that you've listened to. Additionally, talk about any professional organizations and networks you are a part of. No matter how you answer, make sure your interviewer walks away from your time together knowing that you will always do what is necessary to stay on top of things in your field as part of Palantir.

"Throughout my undergraduate program, I've been exposed to a multitude of great resources for software engineers. I've already become a member of the IEEE and the SES. I'm a firm believer that participating in and even helping to lead groups like this is very important for any software engineer and something I would prioritize as part of the Palantir team. Learning and growing from literature and research is huge in our work and engineers across all disciplines can learn a lot from each other."

Here at Palantir, we go the extra mile to develop and maintain long-term relationships with our clients. How will you ensure our clients remain loyal in your work in this role?

"As Palantir's site reliability engineer, I'm confident that my problem-solving skills will be a strong asset in strengthening relationships with your clients. I know that all of your clients have their own unique needs and systems they operate under, and I would join your team with the ability to think on my feet and put together information quickly to come up with customized solutions for the clients I will be working alongside. My experience in life cycles and failure models will bode well for me in this position."

Palantir offers many services to clients once they hit the ground running with their AI software, including things like training, support, and consultation services. Even if the job you are interviewing for isn't a direct client-facing role, the work you do will ultimately have an impact on end users and your interviewer asks this question to ensure you understand what that will mean in the tasks you will be performing daily.

Keeping clients satisfied and returning for additional products and services is key to the success of Palantir. Your answer here should communicate that you understand the importance of this. As you answer, be sure to think of the exact duties you will be performing on the job and reflect on how those tasks impact the end user. You can also talk about one or two of your strongest skills and highlight how they can help maintain strong client relationships. If you have direct examples of how your work has positively influenced customer relationships in the past, be sure to talk about them here.

"I would join the team here at Palantir as a highly organized and on-task administrative partner. In working with your sales and engineering teams on their administrative tasks, doing the small things like booking travel quickly and accurately and processing expenses in a timely basis can surely impact customers and I will always take pride in being able to prioritize customer-facing tasks first in this role."

As a prospective employee here, what aspect of the Palantir workplace culture do you find most attractive?

"I'm at a point in my career where I'm looking for a company to grow and retire with into the future and I'm confident I found that here at Palantir. I'm most excited about the potential to come to work for a company that allows all staff members to have a voice in the direction of new initiatives, both on the front side in product design and the overall culture of the organization. I'm very passionate about diversity and inclusion efforts and was so glad to read about your efforts that I'd love to be a part of."

Palantir prides itself on its open, encouraging, and supportive workplace culture. To ensure that you will fit well within it, your interviewer wants to give you the chance to talk about which aspects of their culture speak to your heart and well-being.

Before your interview, be sure to take the time to read through the "Life at Palantir" page on their website. As you do, you'll find out some fascinating things about how they treat and empower their employees. Come to your interview prepared to passionately speak about what aspects of their workplace culture speak to you as a person and a professional, ensuring a great long-term fit for you into the future.

"I was pleasantly surprised by Palantir's dedication to the communities that you serve. Before even applying, I was invited for a full tour of the offices here and I thought that was very unconventional, yet refreshing. Also, I know you are always welcome to staff family members, and even pets coming onsite. I know this type of atmosphere allows staff to smile more, relax, and be more productive in the end."

Competition is stiff in the data analytics industry. What are some ways that you feel Palantir stands out from its competitors?

"I believe customer service will always be a point of differentiation in a competitive industry such as big data analytics and I don't think anybody does it better than Palantir. Your willingness to be onsite with customers has proven to be a winning formula and it's something I can't wait to be a part of here as your next deployment specialist. I want to be assured that customer service is a top priority for me in my work and your current and future clients will benefit from me as part of your amazing team."

Candidates who have a strong knowledge base of the big data industry and of the company will be very important to the team at Palantir Technologies. Your interviewer poses this question to give you the chance to discuss your overall understanding of the big players in the game and to hear your personal thoughts on where their company is winning in the market battle.

If you need to before your interview, be sure to conduct as much research as you can on Palantir and the work that they are putting in the market each day. Make sure you can also speak with conviction about the competition they face. Come prepared to highlight two to three things that you feel set Palantir apart from its competitors and reiterate that you will be excited to help continue these winning traditions into the future.

"Having been around the industry for many years, what differentiates the best from the rest are innovation and service. Palantir exudes both of those qualities in all that you do, ever since entering the market back in 2004. Your team has proven that you can adapt quickly and bring new solutions to customers quickly and this is a mission that I would be proud to help serve."

If hired, how do you feel you can help contribute to the overall mission of Palantir?

"Working on product deployments with the U.S. government would be a dream opportunity for me here at Palantir! Whether it would be in concern of national security or other pressing issues with the general public, I would work tirelessly to ensure that new launches ran smoothly and all hiccups were worked through quickly. Client training would also be a top priority for me in this role."

As a worldwide leader in the development of artificial intelligence software in data analysis, Palantir's main focus is mission-driven engineering. It will be important that your interviewer knows that you will come to their team with the ability to use practical expertise to help solve the real-world issues their customers face.

Before your interview with Palantir, it will be important that you have a great understanding of the duties you will be performing in the job you are interviewing for. Make sure you scour through the job description a few times in the days leading up to your interview. Then you'll want to ask yourself how your duties will help the customers solve their real-world issues through Palantir's technologies. Even if the position you are interviewing for isn't customer-facing, the work you will do will still have an impact on them.

"Having worked in data analytics for companies in various industries, I have a strong understanding of what clients look for when it comes to data analytics services and products. Because I have a strong sense of what a wide variety of customers expect, I believe I can contribute to Palantir's overall mission of creating the best user experience for working with data. If I'm hired as part of your team, learning my new customer base will be my top priority from day one on the job."

Take some time to tell us about yourself and what you would offer Palantir as a new employee.

"Thanks for the opportunity to tell you a bit about myself. First and foremost, I'm a mother of two amazing sons that my husband and I are raising to be great people. Our oldest is approaching high school graduation and heading off to college in California next fall. Our youngest is a freshman. We are so proud of who they are becoming and their accomplishments. Outside of my work in product development, I'm a pretty relaxed person who likes to recharge my batteries by reading, cooking, and gardening. We also spend as much time as possible at our family cabin on a lake, which I find to be the most refreshing. Here at Palantir, you'd be getting a developer who comes to your team with a strong sense of community and collaboration. I'm confident your team would take well to me because I'm always focused on having fun on the job, even when times get tough."

While a majority of your interview at Palantir will be focused on the technical and customer service skills you would bring to the table, it's still very important for your interviewer to gauge your cultural fit with the organization and the fit with the team that you would be joining. Here they give you the chance to be open about yourself and your interests, in hopes that you'll show yourself to be a great teammate and supporter of the mission and values of Palantir.

In the days leading up to your interview, be sure to prepare a brief summary of yourself as a person. As you are given the opportunity during your interview, you'll want to talk a bit about your upbringing to show your personal values and how they align with Palantir's drive to innovate and solve the biggest data issues in the world. You'll also want to show that you have strong family values because these same values carry over into Palantir's mission-driven engineering approach. Lastly, you want to show your interviewer that you have a fun side and interests that are engaging and exciting. This will paint a clear picture that you will be a great teammate.

Why do you believe it is important for Palantir to embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion in all of our business efforts?

"Palantir provides solutions to many businesses and industries across the globe, and your philosophy on creating diversity and inclusion awareness and promoting allyship is so important to your success. I look at this role as a deployment strategist. My travels here would put me in front of some of your largest clients on new software launches. My professional experience has included working with customers in Europe, Asia, and Australia and I always looked forward to learning more from my customers around the world. If I'm able to join your team, you'll quickly find that I would come with an open mind and viewpoint and the ability to work effectively with any client."

Palantir is committed to promoting and enhancing their diversity among their entire team of staff, helping them grow as a whole through the wide variety of thoughts, knowledge, and experiences in their processes. Furthermore, the company stresses promoting these same values across the broader technological community. In asking this question, your interviewer is making sure that you will bring a committed focus to their DE&I efforts if you emerge as their top candidate for the job.

Prior to your interview, be sure to read Palantir's philosophy on diversity, equity & inclusion, which can be found on their website. As you read about their philosophy in DE&I, it will become clear that their approach is all-encompassing for both internal and external relationships. Make sure to discuss your thoughts on why focusing on these efforts is so important for a company like Palantir, particularly when thinking about external vendors and clients. A great tactic when answering this question is to discuss previous experiences working for organizations that had well-defined diversity-related policies and procedures and how you thrived in that environment.

What are one or two unique qualities about yourself that you would bring to work here at Palantir?

"As Palantir's next forward deployed architect, I'm confident that my interpersonal skills and welcoming personality will be a perfect match for the role. I'm a people person who would join Palantir with the ability to perfectly mesh professionalism, knowledge, and fun with the governmental contractors I would be collaborating with. On top of this, my experience in sales early in my career is something I've carried with me into my work in software deployment because my mindset is always focused on the needs of my customers."

As one of the leading players in creating artificial intelligence solutions in data management, competition is typically high for roles at Palantir. If you made the final cut for interviews, your interviewer is confident in the skills that you would bring to the table. In hopes of having a candidate separate themselves from the pack, they pose this question to hear about a unique skill or ability a particular candidate would bring that would lead to their ultimate success in the role.

This is your opportunity to dig deep into your bag of tricks. The first thing you need to do is ensure that your response to this question is memorable to your interviewer after they've spoken with all candidates for the job. To do this, try to think of some unique skills and experiences you would bring to work at Palantir that no other candidate would. You can also go in the direction of talking about some of your personality or personal characteristics that make you the top candidate for the job.

Palantir Technologies Interview Questions

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1. Why were you interested in applying for this role at Palantir?
2. Are there any types of team members or personality styles that you dislike working with?
3. When a major problem arises on the job, what is your typical first reaction?
4. Our offerings at Palantir span across many business sectors. With which industries have you collaborated with throughout your career?
5. In your personal opinion, what has been the most exciting collaboration between data analytics and artificial intelligence in recent years?
6. At Palantir we are committed to the growth and development of our staff. If you could take additional training in any job-related area, which would you choose?
7. When you are beginning a new project, what steps do you take to ensure it gets up and running properly?
8. In your opinion, how does data drive a business's success?
9. Do you have any experience in risk management? Have you ever been exposed to an extreme data catastrophe?
10. How will you meet all of your clients' needs when you are managing several project at once?
11. How do you feel your various industry experiences will help Palantir meet our clients' needs?
12. Which specific job duties of this role at Palantir do you feel are most important for success in the role?
13. What do you feel are the overall strengths and weaknesses of Palantir?
14. What do you know about our competitive position within the data analytics and artificial intelligence industry?
15. What do you believe will be the most challenging aspect of working in this role at Palantir?
16. Talk about a time you successfully collaborated with a client to help meet their business needs. What do you feel were important keys in making this collaboration a success?
17. How do you feel we can best communicate our strengths to the top decision-makers of potential customers looking to utilize Palantir products?
18. If you are offered a position at Palantir, which of our product offerings would be most exciting for you to work on and why?
19. Palantir's continued success is driven by innovation. Talk about a time where you took the initiative to improve an existing process or developed a new one.
20. Employees at Palantir must work effectively in a team environment to ensure successful client solutions. What teamwork and collaboration skills will you bring to this role?
21. Do you have any experience working with clients on the vendor side of a business? If you only have direct customer experience, how do you feel your customer service skills you've developed will translate to working with Palantir's vendors?
22. When you are being trained on the job, do you prefer online training or learning in a classroom setting?
23. How do you like to stay up-to-date on new trends and information in your line of work and how do you think this will help you to contribute to the future success of Palantir?
24. Here at Palantir, we go the extra mile to develop and maintain long-term relationships with our clients. How will you ensure our clients remain loyal in your work in this role?
25. As a prospective employee here, what aspect of the Palantir workplace culture do you find most attractive?
26. Competition is stiff in the data analytics industry. What are some ways that you feel Palantir stands out from its competitors?
27. If hired, how do you feel you can help contribute to the overall mission of Palantir?
28. Take some time to tell us about yourself and what you would offer Palantir as a new employee.
29. Why do you believe it is important for Palantir to embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion in all of our business efforts?
30. What are one or two unique qualities about yourself that you would bring to work here at Palantir?

Palantir Technologies Interview Questions

1. Why were you interested in applying for this role at Palantir?

2. Are there any types of team members or personality styles that you dislike working with?

3. When a major problem arises on the job, what is your typical first reaction?

4. Our offerings at Palantir span across many business sectors. With which industries have you collaborated with throughout your career?

5. In your personal opinion, what has been the most exciting collaboration between data analytics and artificial intelligence in recent years?

6. At Palantir we are committed to the growth and development of our staff. If you could take additional training in any job-related area, which would you choose?

7. When you are beginning a new project, what steps do you take to ensure it gets up and running properly?

8. In your opinion, how does data drive a business's success?

9. Do you have any experience in risk management? Have you ever been exposed to an extreme data catastrophe?

10. How will you meet all of your clients' needs when you are managing several project at once?

11. How do you feel your various industry experiences will help Palantir meet our clients' needs?

12. Which specific job duties of this role at Palantir do you feel are most important for success in the role?

13. What do you feel are the overall strengths and weaknesses of Palantir?

14. What do you know about our competitive position within the data analytics and artificial intelligence industry?

15. What do you believe will be the most challenging aspect of working in this role at Palantir?

16. Talk about a time you successfully collaborated with a client to help meet their business needs. What do you feel were important keys in making this collaboration a success?

17. How do you feel we can best communicate our strengths to the top decision-makers of potential customers looking to utilize Palantir products?

18. If you are offered a position at Palantir, which of our product offerings would be most exciting for you to work on and why?

19. Palantir's continued success is driven by innovation. Talk about a time where you took the initiative to improve an existing process or developed a new one.

20. Employees at Palantir must work effectively in a team environment to ensure successful client solutions. What teamwork and collaboration skills will you bring to this role?

21. Do you have any experience working with clients on the vendor side of a business? If you only have direct customer experience, how do you feel your customer service skills you've developed will translate to working with Palantir's vendors?

22. When you are being trained on the job, do you prefer online training or learning in a classroom setting?

23. How do you like to stay up-to-date on new trends and information in your line of work and how do you think this will help you to contribute to the future success of Palantir?

24. Here at Palantir, we go the extra mile to develop and maintain long-term relationships with our clients. How will you ensure our clients remain loyal in your work in this role?

25. As a prospective employee here, what aspect of the Palantir workplace culture do you find most attractive?

26. Competition is stiff in the data analytics industry. What are some ways that you feel Palantir stands out from its competitors?

27. If hired, how do you feel you can help contribute to the overall mission of Palantir?

28. Take some time to tell us about yourself and what you would offer Palantir as a new employee.

29. Why do you believe it is important for Palantir to embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion in all of our business efforts?

30. What are one or two unique qualities about yourself that you would bring to work here at Palantir?