Palantir Interview Guide (Intern & New Grad)¶
The interview process is the same for both intern and new grad roles.
1. Recruiter Screen¶
The first step is a recruiter call. You can be rejected at this stage, so take it seriously.
What to prepare:¶
- Know what Palantir does (their products, use cases, etc.)
- Be ready to explain why you want to work at Palantir
- Communicate your past experiences clearly and concisely
2. Leetcode-Style Technical Interview¶
This is a ~30-minute coding round.
Format:¶
- One Leetcode-style problem
- Ask clarifying questions before starting
- Talk through your approach
- Code while explaining your thought process
- Discuss edge cases and complexity if time permits
Standard coding interview best practices apply here.
3. Onsite: Learning + Decomposition (Decomp)¶
This is a 2-round onsite. You’ll go through:
A. Learning Round (or Re-engineering Round)¶
This round varies a lot between candidates and years:
- In previous years, it tested how quickly you can learn something new
- In 2024+, many candidates are given a “Re-engineering” task instead
Re-engineering Format:¶
- You're given a ~300-line codebase (abstract problem implementation)
- Your tasks:
- Find and fix a bug
- Test the code
- Add new functionality
- Test again
Tip: This is more about understanding, reasoning, and clean updates than raw speed. Write clean, maintainable changes and talk through your process.
B. Decomposition (Decomp) Round¶
This is similar to a system design interview — but more scoped.
- You’re given a high-level problem and asked to break it down
- The focus is on how you structure your thinking and solve subproblems
- You may or may not write code — some interviewers expect diagrams or verbal solutions
Tip: Study system design patterns (e.g., how to model data, flows, services) — even for internships.
4. Hiring Manager Round¶
The final round is with a hiring manager.
Format:¶
- ~30 mins behavioral
- ~30 mins technical (they’ll choose one of the three previous interview styles: coding, learning/re-engineering, or decomp)
Behavioral questions will dig into: - Your resume - Decisions you made - What motivates you - Your interest in Palantir
5. Offer Timeline¶
- I received my offer ~3 days after the hiring manager round
- Others have reported waiting up to a week
Expect some delay due to internal approvals.
Final Notes¶
- Be conversational — I had behavioral chats even during the onsite rounds
- Don’t try to “study” for the learning/re-engineering round — it’s about your reasoning ability in the moment
- Re-engineering seems to be replacing the older learning round more consistently now
- System design practice is helpful for decomp, even if you're not writing code
Good luck!