The Palantir interview process for software engineers runs a HackerRank online assessment, a phone screen with an engineer, a LeetCode-style technical interview, then back-to-back decomposition and learning interviews, and a final hiring manager interview. The decomp round tests how you break a vague problem into a working system design, and the learning round tests how fast you pick up something new, such as debugging unfamiliar code or writing SQL you cannot run. Forward Deployed Software Engineer and Deployment Strategist loops keep the decomp round at the center.
Palantir’s postings make the same point: the Software Engineer, New Grad posting says it does not matter what languages you know when you join, as long as you write clean code and learn new languages quickly.
Palantir interview process
- Online assessment90-120 min (prep guide)
- Engineer phone screenNot reported
- Technical interview45-60 min
- Decomposition45-60 min
- Learning45-60 min
- Hiring manager30-60 min
| Round | Duration | What it tests |
|---|---|---|
| Online assessment | 90-120 min (prep guide) | HackerRank coding, a REST API task, sometimes SQL |
| Engineer phone screen | Not reported | Behavioral: why Palantir, what excites you about it |
| Technical interview | 45-60 min | LeetCode-style coding, often medium |
| Decomposition | 45-60 min | Break an open problem into entities, flows and a proposed system |
| Learning | 45-60 min | Learn a new concept or codebase and apply it live |
| Hiring manager | 30-60 min | Motivation, past work, weak spots from earlier rounds |
Palantir interview questions with answers
Q: Decomp: design a taxi dispatch system for London.
Ask who uses it (riders, drivers, a dispatch team) and what to optimize: pickup time, driver earnings or utilization. Entities are riders, drivers, vehicles, trips and zones. A request comes in, a geospatial index of available drivers returns candidates within a radius, a scorer ranks them by estimated time to pickup, and the top driver gets an offer with a timeout before it moves to the next. Discuss what breaks: drivers going offline mid-offer, a surge at a station after a concert, GPS drift in tunnels. Close with what you would build first and what data you would need from the customer.
Q: Decomp: assign hospital patients to rooms by doctor availability and urgency.
Model patients (urgency score, needs), rooms (type, equipment, cleaning state), and doctors (specialty, shift, current load). Treat it as a priority queue of waiting patients by urgency and wait time, matched against rooms that meet requirements and have a doctor available in that unit. Explain how you handle a patient whose urgency rises while waiting, a room that needs cleaning, and a shift change. Mention that nurses need to override the system, and that you would log every assignment for review.
Q: Find the top K most frequent events in a sliding window.
Keep a queue of (timestamp, event) pairs and a hash map of counts. On each new event, append and increment; then pop from the front while the oldest timestamp is outside the window, decrementing counts. For a top K query, push counts into a min-heap of size K for O(n log K). If queries are frequent and n is large, bucket events per second to bound memory and keep a count-to-events structure for faster top K.
Q: Detect a cycle in a dependency graph.
Run a depth-first search with three colors: unvisited, in progress, done. Reaching an in-progress node means a back edge, so there is a cycle. Alternatively, use Kahn’s algorithm: repeatedly remove nodes with in-degree zero; if any nodes remain, they are in a cycle. Both are O(V + E). Return the cycle path if asked by tracking parents during the DFS.
Q: Paginate through a REST API and process all the results.
Loop while the response has a next cursor or page token, requesting the next page each time. Process each page as it arrives instead of holding everything in memory. Handle HTTP 429 and 5xx responses with retries and backoff, stop cleanly on an empty page, and guard against a cursor that never changes. Prefer cursor-based paging when the data changes during the scan, since offset paging can skip or repeat records.
Q: SQL: find product IDs that are missing from a sequence.
Generate the full range of expected IDs, for example with a recursive CTE from MIN(id) to MAX(id) or a numbers table, then LEFT JOIN the products table on id and keep rows where the product id is NULL. A shorter version compares each id with the next using LEAD(id) and reports gaps where the difference is more than one. In a learning round you may not be able to run the query, so write it carefully and walk through it on a small example.
Q: Design a class using linked lists, such as an LRU cache.
Combine a hash map from key to node with a doubly linked list ordered by recent use. get moves the node to the front; put inserts at the front and, if the size limit is exceeded, removes the tail node and its map entry. Both operations are O(1). Use sentinel head and tail nodes so you never special-case an empty list.
Palantir interview questions by role
| Role | Reported questions and topics |
|---|---|
| Software engineer new grad | HackerRank OA (LeetCode easy, LeetCode hard, REST API); a LeetCode-style technical; decomp and learning back to back |
| Software engineer intern | HackerRank; class design with linked lists; virtual superday of decomp and learning; hiring manager |
| Forward deployed software engineer | A simple coding question plus decomp in one interview; decomp and learning onsite; SQL written without running it |
| Deployment strategist | Screen with a strategist; decomposition and comprehension case work; hiring manager |
Asked in every role: why Palantir, and what about Palantir’s work excites you.
Palantir online assessment
The Palantir OA is on HackerRank. A July 2025 US new grad was contacted five days after applying and given five days to finish it; it had one LeetCode easy, one LeetCode hard and a RESTful API question, and the candidate fully solved two of three and did not move forward. A 2025 prep guide describes the OA as 90-120 minutes covering coding, SQL and a REST API task, such as paginating through API responses and processing the data.
Palantir technical interview
The coding interview is LeetCode-style, usually one medium problem, and interviewers ask you to optimize and explain. An October 2025 US intern candidate’s DSA round was class design with linked lists. A November 2025 New York forward deployed candidate had a medium coding question paired with a strategy exercise to build a platform for employee communication. A prep guide’s examples include tracking the top K most frequent events in a sliding window and detecting cycles in a dependency graph.
Palantir decomp interview
The decomp interview is Palantir’s version of system design, aimed at messy real-world problems rather than “design Twitter.” You get a vague prompt, ask questions, define the entities and relationships, and propose a system with trade-offs, usually on a whiteboard tool without writing code.
Reported prompts
- Build a platform for employee communication (forward deployed, New York, November 2025)
- A high-level system design (forward deployed, US, November 2025)
- Design a taxi dispatch system for London (prep guide)
- Assign hospital patients to rooms by doctor availability and urgency (prep guide)
- Allocate resources in a disaster response (prep guide)
An October 2025 forward deployed candidate called decomp “very abstract” with no direction from the interviewer. Drive the conversation yourself: clarify the user and the goal, list the data you would need, and then design.
Palantir learning interview
The learning interview teaches you something during the round and checks how you use it. Reports from 2025 differ on what that something is:
- An October 2025 intern candidate said learning was essentially debugging.
- A November 2025 forward deployed candidate was told no preparation was needed, then had to write specific SQL queries without a way to run them, and failed this round.
- Another forward deployed candidate in October 2025 found it “really doable” and answered everything.
Prepare SQL joins and aggregations by hand, practice reading unfamiliar code and fixing a bug, and ask the interviewer questions freely, since using them as a resource is part of the test.
Palantir hiring manager interview
The hiring manager interview comes last and is not a formality. An October 2025 intern candidate wrote that it “could be anything” and usually targets the weakest of the previous three interviews. A June 2025 New York candidate said it went deep into career motivations, and a prep guide warns that managers often return to weak areas from earlier rounds. Questions in reports include why Palantir, what excites you about Palantir, and what you want in your next role. Sample answers are on the Palantir behavioral interview questions page.
Palantir deployment strategist interview
Deployment Strategists work with customers to find the important problem, explore the data, and get software deployed, with 25-75% travel on the 2026 Warp Speed new grad posting, which also requires being a US person. The loop leans on decomposition and case questions rather than coding. Glassdoor reviews, mostly from before 2025, describe a roughly 20-minute screen with a current strategist on motivation and a past project, then a 45-minute comprehension exercise and a 45-minute decomposition exercise, and a final hiring manager interview. Case examples include modeling a restaurant business and building a model that links an unusual outcome to oil prices. The posting asks for experience with programming, scripting or statistical packages such as Python, R, Matlab or SQL.
Who does well in Palantir interviews
Good fit: You like vague problems and are comfortable asking questions until the goal is clear. You can model data, write SQL by hand, and explain a design to a non-engineer, which matters for forward deployed and deployment strategist roles that sit with customers.
Harder path: You prepared only with LeetCode. The coding rounds are a small part of the loop; reports of rejection cluster in decomp, learning and the hiring manager round, where the interviewer gives little direction.
A four-week Palantir prep plan
- Week 1: HackerRank-style practice: one easy, one hard and one REST API pagination task in a single timed sitting, three times. Write SQL joins, gaps and window functions on paper.
- Week 2: Decomp practice out loud: taxi dispatch, hospital room assignment, disaster resource allocation, an employee messaging platform. For each, write users, entities, data sources, flow, and three failure cases in 45 minutes.
- Week 3: Learning round practice: have a friend explain an unfamiliar library or schema for 10 minutes, then fix a bug or write queries against it without running code.
- Week 4: Behavioral and hiring manager prep: why Palantir, a project you owned end to end, a time you worked with a non-technical user. Run one full mock superday of decomp then learning back to back.
10-day version: Days 1-2 OA problems and SQL, days 3-5 decomp prompts, days 6-7 learning drills, days 8-9 motivation and project stories, day 10 a mock superday.
Palantir pay in the US
Palantir’s 2026 postings list these base ranges: $145,000-$155,000 for Software Engineer, New Grad (New York, Denver, Palo Alto, Washington, DC and Seattle, including the Defense, Infrastructure, Production Infrastructure and Query Engines teams); $135,000-$145,000 for Forward Deployed Software Engineer, New Grad and Forward Deployed Infrastructure Engineer, New Grad; $135,000-$200,000 for experienced Forward Deployed Software Engineers in New York and Chicago; $110,000-$120,000 for Deployment Strategist, New Grad on Warp Speed in New York; and $110,000-$170,000 for Deployment Strategist in New York and the Intel new grad track in Washington, DC. Total pay may also include restricted stock units and a sign-on bonus.
Software engineer postings list eligibility for a US security clearance as something Palantir values, and some government roles require an active clearance, such as the Full Scope Poly on the Deployment Strategist, New Grad - Intel posting. Palantir also notes on every posting that it never asks candidates for payment or financial information during interviews.
Frequently asked questions about Palantir interviews
What is the Palantir interview process?
For software engineers, 2025 reports describe a HackerRank online assessment, a phone screen with an engineer, a LeetCode-style technical interview, then back-to-back decomposition and learning interviews (often called a virtual superday), and a final hiring manager interview. Forward Deployed Software Engineer loops use the same decomp and learning rounds, sometimes with a coding question and a decomp exercise combined in one earlier interview.
What is the Palantir decomp interview?
Decomp, short for decomposition, gives you a vague real-world problem and asks you to break it into parts, model the data and propose a system. Candidates in 2025 compared it to system design: one forward deployed candidate described a high-level system design, another was asked to build a platform for employee communication, and another called it very abstract with no direction given. Usually no code is written.
What is the Palantir learning interview?
In the learning interview you are taught or shown something unfamiliar and asked to apply it on the spot, using the interviewer as a resource. A 2025 intern candidate said it was essentially debugging, and a November 2025 forward deployed candidate who was told no preparation was needed had to write specific SQL queries without being able to run them, and failed that round.
What happens in the Palantir hiring manager interview?
It is the last round and mixes motivation, past projects and sometimes technical questions. A June 2025 New York candidate said it went deep into career motivations. An October 2025 intern candidate wrote that it could be anything and usually targets the weakest of the previous three interviews.
What is on the Palantir online assessment?
A HackerRank test. A July 2025 US new grad got three questions, one LeetCode easy, one LeetCode hard and one RESTful API question, with five days to complete the test after the invite. A 2025 prep guide also lists SQL tasks on some versions.
What is the Palantir deployment strategist interview like?
Deployment Strategist candidates report a screen with a current strategist about motivation and a past project, then interviews that include a decomposition case and a comprehension exercise, and a hiring manager round. Glassdoor case examples include modeling a restaurant business and building a model that links an unusual outcome to oil prices. Most detailed reports for this role are older than 2025.
How much does Palantir pay new grads?
Palantir’s 2026 postings list $145,000-$155,000 base for Software Engineer, New Grad in New York, Denver, Palo Alto, Washington, DC and Seattle, $135,000-$145,000 for Forward Deployed Software Engineer, New Grad, and $110,000-$120,000 for Deployment Strategist, New Grad on the Warp Speed team in New York. Total pay can also include restricted stock units and a sign-on bonus.
Software engineer vs forward deployed engineer at Palantir
| Software Engineer, New Grad | Forward Deployed Software Engineer, New Grad | |
|---|---|---|
| Work | Build Gotham, Foundry or Apollo features on a product team | Embed with customers and build custom applications and LLM workflows |
| Posted base (2026) | $145,000-$155,000 | $135,000-$145,000 |
| Locations | New York, Denver, Palo Alto, Washington, DC, Seattle | New York, Chicago, Washington, DC |
| Travel | Not stated | 25-50% |
| Grad window | Not stated on every posting | December 2026 or Spring 2027 |
Both loops include decomp and learning. Forward deployed reports put more weight on decomp and on SQL in the learning round.
Sources
- Palantir job board on Lever (2026 postings, pay and requirements)
- Palantir: Software Engineer, New Grad posting, New York
- Palantir: Forward Deployed Software Engineer, New Grad - Commercial posting, New York
- Palantir: Deployment Strategist, New Grad - Warp Speed posting, New York
- Taro: software engineer new grad, US, July 2025
- Taro: software engineer, Palo Alto, September 2025
- Taro: software engineer intern, US, October 2025
- Taro: forward deployed software engineer, US, October 2025
- Taro: forward deployed software engineer, New York, November 2025
- Taro: forward deployed software engineer, US, November 2025
- TechPrep: Palantir’s interview process (2025)
- Glassdoor: Palantir interview review, New York, June 2025
- Deployment strategist section: Glassdoor Palantir Deployment Strategist interview reviews (mostly 2015-2020)