Palantir FDSE interview experiences: what Palantir publishes and what candidates report

By FDE Interview Prep, a SourceStrongAI company

In this post11 sections

1. Why every Palantir thread describes a different loop
2. What Palantir publishes about its process
3. What candidates report, round by round
4. Expect behavioral questions inside the technical rounds
5. The coding screen and the decomposition round
6. The learning and re-engineering rounds
7. How to read a Palantir report before you trust it
8. A prep plan built on round types, not a sequence
9. Questions people ask
10. Keep reading
11. More from the blog

You have read every Palantir FDSE thread you can find, and they rarely line up. One poster says their first round is a learning interview; another lists coding, decomposition and a re-engineering round, with no learning round at all. ^{[1, 2, 3]}Source 1Palantir FDE Commercial Delta Interview (post by u/Popular_Elephant_349)PublisherReddit r/csMajorsSource typecandidate report on RedditSource 2Palantir FDSE Intern Learning Interview (post by u/Realistic-Major9132)PublisherReddit r/csMajorsSource typecandidate report on RedditSource 3Palantir Interview Process... So Far, FDSE 2024 (post by u/kircher32245)PublisherReddit r/csMajorsSource typecandidate report on Reddit This post lines up what Palantir publishes against the dated reports, so you can stop guessing and start preparing. For every other round and company, read the FDE interview guide.

The short answer: Palantir says the number and format of the interviews you go through are personalized to your skillset and the type of role. ^[4]Source 4Palantir Careers | Getting HiredPublisherPalantirSource typecompany hiring page Candidates on Reddit and Blind described loops built from the same parts: a recruiter call, a coding screen, then one-hour rounds drawn from coding, decomposition, learning and re-engineering, then a hiring manager conversation. ^{[3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]}Source 3Palantir Interview Process... So Far, FDSE 2024 (post by u/kircher32245)PublisherReddit r/csMajorsSource typecandidate report on RedditSource 5Palantir FDSE Full Interview Loop Process (post by u/Not_the_Sauron)PublisherReddit r/csMajorsSource typecandidate report on RedditSource 6Palantir FDSE Technical Interview (comment by u/MShakeed)PublisherReddit r/csMajorsSource typecandidate report on RedditSource 7Palantir FDSE virtual onsitePublisherBlind (teamblind.com)Source typecandidate report on BlindSource 8Palantir Forward Deployed Software EngineerPublisherBlind (teamblind.com)Source typecandidate report on BlindSource 9Palantir hm callPublisherBlind (teamblind.com)Source typecandidate report on Blind Palantir’s own early-talent graphic runs coding challenge, recruiter chat, technical interview, a learning and decomposition onsite, then hiring manager. ^[10]Source 10Students | Palantir Careers (timeline image: RecruitingTimeline_V3.jpg)PublisherPalantirSource typecompany hiring page So prepare the round types, not a sequence.

Why every Palantir thread describes a different loop

Palantir said as much in a 2020 post on its blog, “Interviewing at Palantir”, noting that some people called the process brief and efficient, while others felt it was a few rounds longer than expected. ^[11]Source 11Interviewing at Palantir: Advice from PalantiriansPublisherPalantir BlogSource typecompany blog

Palantir fits the loop to the person and the role, so a thread is a record of one loop, not a map of yours.

Other things make threads disagree:

• Different roles. The reports below cover a Government FDSE role, a new-grad interview, an internship and posts that name no role at all.
• Before or after. Several posts describe a round the poster had not taken yet. That is an expectation, not a report.
• Different names. Posters wrote “decomp” and “decomposition”, or “learning facet” and “learning”. ^{[5, 7, 8, 9]}Source 5Palantir FDSE Full Interview Loop Process (post by u/Not_the_Sauron)PublisherReddit r/csMajorsSource typecandidate report on RedditSource 7Palantir FDSE virtual onsitePublisherBlind (teamblind.com)Source typecandidate report on BlindSource 8Palantir Forward Deployed Software EngineerPublisherBlind (teamblind.com)Source typecandidate report on BlindSource 9Palantir hm callPublisherBlind (teamblind.com)Source typecandidate report on Blind One poster wrote that “work through a use case” was its own round, and did not say what it was. ^{[7, 8, 9]}Source 7Palantir FDSE virtual onsitePublisherBlind (teamblind.com)Source typecandidate report on BlindSource 8Palantir Forward Deployed Software EngineerPublisherBlind (teamblind.com)Source typecandidate report on BlindSource 9Palantir hm callPublisherBlind (teamblind.com)Source typecandidate report on Blind

What Palantir publishes about its process

The first-party outline is short.

• Phone, then onsite. Palantir’s Getting Hired page says everyone starts with one or two phone interviews and, if there is a fit, moves to an onsite round, in person or virtual. ^[4]Source 4Palantir Careers | Getting HiredPublisherPalantirSource typecompany hiring page
• Coding on the phone. Palantir’s phone interview page says the phone interview includes a coding question for engineering roles, and may use HackerRank or Google Docs. ^[12]Source 12The Phone Interview - Palantir CareersPublisherPalantir TechnologiesSource typecompany hiring page
• Competencies, not a script. Palantir says it structured its interview process around engineering competencies, and it publishes guides on Writing Good Code, Analyzing the Efficiency of Code, Navigating Open-Ended Questions, Solving Technical Problems and Working Inside Existing Systems. ^[4]Source 4Palantir Careers | Getting HiredPublisherPalantirSource typecompany hiring page
• Behavioral questions onsite. Palantir says onsite interviewers ask how you have executed, challenged yourself, motivated others and made judgments, and where you have failed. ^[4]Source 4Palantir Careers | Getting HiredPublisherPalantirSource typecompany hiring page

The most detailed outline is for students and early talent. In that graphic, the virtual onsite is two one-hour interviews, learning and decomposition, with behavioral and technical questions, and the hiring manager interview is customized based on onsite feedback. ^[10]Source 10Students | Palantir Careers (timeline image: RecruitingTimeline_V3.jpg)PublisherPalantirSource typecompany hiring page

The application screens for motivation before any of that. Palantir’s New Grad FDSE application asks you to confirm you want the Forward Deployed Software Engineer role rather than Software Engineer, and to answer short prompts such as a time you changed your mind. ^[13]Source 13Apply: Forward Deployed Software Engineer, New Grad - Commercial (New York, NY) - Palantir on LeverPublisherPalantir Technologies (Lever)Source typecompany job posting

What candidates report, round by round

Each row is one candidate post, oldest first. “Expected” marks rounds the poster had not taken yet.

What stands out:

1. The names repeat. Posters described the same technical round names in posts from October 2022 to August 2026, and two of them, learning and decomposition, are in Palantir’s own graphic. ^{[10, 14, 15, 18]}Source 10Students | Palantir Careers (timeline image: RecruitingTimeline_V3.jpg)PublisherPalantirSource typecompany hiring pageSource 14Palantir Learning & Decomposition Interview (Blind)PublisherBlindSource typecandidate report on BlindSource 15Palantir learning interview (Blind)PublisherBlindSource typecandidate report on BlindSource 18Palantir FDSE Intern Learning Interview (comment by u/Illustrious_Beat4472)PublisherReddit r/csMajorsSource typecandidate report on Reddit
2. The mix changes. Re-engineering shows up only in some rows, and the learning round is missing from others.
3. The hiring manager comes after the technical rounds in every row that got that far, which matches Palantir’s graphic, where that interview is customized from onsite feedback. ^[10]Source 10Students | Palantir Careers (timeline image: RecruitingTimeline_V3.jpg)PublisherPalantirSource typecompany hiring page

Treat the rows as evidence that a round type exists, never as the order you will get.

Expect behavioral questions inside the technical rounds

This is the detail people miss. Palantir’s graphic says its onsite interviews consist of behavioral and technical questions. ^[10]Source 10Students | Palantir Careers (timeline image: RecruitingTimeline_V3.jpg)PublisherPalantirSource typecompany hiring page Candidates describe the same split:

• One candidate reported, in December 2025, that their decomp and learning rounds were each 15 minutes behavioral plus 45 technical, and the hiring manager round 30 plus 30. ^[5]Source 5Palantir FDSE Full Interview Loop Process (post by u/Not_the_Sauron)PublisherReddit r/csMajorsSource typecandidate report on Reddit
• The October 2022 learning-round poster wrote that half the hour was behavioral. ^{[14, 15]}Source 14Palantir Learning & Decomposition Interview (Blind)PublisherBlindSource typecandidate report on BlindSource 15Palantir learning interview (Blind)PublisherBlindSource typecandidate report on Blind
• A commenter on a May 2024 re-engineering thread wrote that they spent 30 minutes on past work before a bug fix. ^{[16, 17]}Source 16Palantir re-engineering interview (Blind)PublisherBlindSource typecandidate report on BlindSource 17Palantir re-engineering interview (Blind)PublisherBlindSource typecandidate report on Blind

Those are single posters, not a rule, but prep only the technical part and the opening minutes can catch you cold. Have short stories ready for the prompts Palantir names: something you executed, a judgment call and a failure. ^[4]Source 4Palantir Careers | Getting HiredPublisherPalantirSource typecompany hiring page Keep each under two minutes, so the technical part keeps its time.

The coding screen and the decomposition round

Coding

Palantir says there is a coding question on the phone for engineering roles. ^[12]Source 12The Phone Interview - Palantir CareersPublisherPalantir TechnologiesSource typecompany hiring page The reports disagree on its shape. One candidate reported, in November 2024, a 1-hour HackerRank CodePair screen with a LeetCode-medium hash-map problem. ^[3]Source 3Palantir Interview Process... So Far, FDSE 2024 (post by u/kircher32245)PublisherReddit r/csMajorsSource typecandidate report on Reddit One candidate reported, in December 2025, a Python OOD screen and wrote that “the time was strict”, with the platform cutting them off at the 30-minute mark. ^[5]Source 5Palantir FDSE Full Interview Loop Process (post by u/Not_the_Sauron)PublisherReddit r/csMajorsSource typecandidate report on Reddit

So practice both shapes: one algorithm problem and one small object model. For the model, try the OOP inventory question, which adds a new requirement halfway through. What FDE coding rounds test covers the rest.

Say this in the first minute, so the interviewer hears a plan:

“I’ll write the classes and the one method you asked for, run it on a small example, then handle the edge cases. If we run short, you’ll have working code.”

Decomposition

Of Palantir’s guides, we’d read Navigating Open-Ended Questions for this round. ^[4]Source 4Palantir Careers | Getting HiredPublisherPalantirSource typecompany hiring page One candidate reported, in December 2025, that in their decomp round they were “shown multiple interconnected datasets and diagrams and asked to design a system around them.” ^[5]Source 5Palantir FDSE Full Interview Loop Process (post by u/Not_the_Sauron)PublisherReddit r/csMajorsSource typecandidate report on Reddit A commenter who did not name the company or the role wrote, in May 2026, that their decomp was a “Super abstract problem that you can drive how ever you want”. ^[6]Source 6Palantir FDSE Technical Interview (comment by u/MShakeed)PublisherReddit r/csMajorsSource typecandidate report on Reddit

So expect anything from a blank prompt to a pile of data. Our method (ours, not a Palantir rubric) opens the same way in both cases. Take the free question improve city bus reliability:

“Before I design anything: when riders say unreliable, do they mean buses that come late, or buses that never come? Those need different data.”

“Who decides what we build, and who uses it every day? I’d guess the head of operations and the dispatchers.”

“The first version I’d aim for is something a dispatcher could use this week. Let me work out what that is.”

Now make it data-shaped, the way the reports describe. Say the interviewer shows you three tables: the published schedule, vehicle location pings and dispatch cancellation logs. Think out loud:

“Schedule joins to pings on trip_id. Cancellations only exist in the dispatch logs, so a trip with no pings could be a dead GPS unit or a trip that never ran. I’d check that first, because it decides whether ‘never comes’ is even measurable.”

Then name the thin first version: “A per-route list of missed trips for yesterday, for the dispatchers, split into cancelled and unexplained. The unexplained pile tells us whether the GPS data can be trusted.”

The common mistake is drawing the architecture before checking whether the data can answer the question. The method on one page walks every step, the decomposition interview guide has worked cases, and a worked Palantir decomposition example runs one end to end.

The learning and re-engineering rounds

Learning

One candidate reported, in December 2025, that their learning round in a Government FDSE loop handed them a database schema and documentation and asked them to implement functions on the spot. ^[5]Source 5Palantir FDSE Full Interview Loop Process (post by u/Not_the_Sauron)PublisherReddit r/csMajorsSource typecandidate report on Reddit A commenter who did not name the company or role wrote, in May 2026, that their learning round was “just using code written with builder pattern”. ^[6]Source 6Palantir FDSE Technical Interview (comment by u/MShakeed)PublisherReddit r/csMajorsSource typecandidate report on Reddit In a Blind thread started in October 2022, a poster with a Palantir new-grad interview wrote in an undated update that their learning interview introduced a custom package-installer concept, like npm, pulling from more than one repo with multithreading. ^{[14, 15]}Source 14Palantir Learning & Decomposition Interview (Blind)PublisherBlindSource typecandidate report on BlindSource 15Palantir learning interview (Blind)PublisherBlindSource typecandidate report on Blind

Here is a practice version we wrote: a small builder, the shape that commenter described. It is not a Palantir question. You are handed this class:

class Query:
    def __init__(self, table):
        self.table = table
        self.filters = []
        self.n = None

    def where(self, field, value):
        self.filters.append((field, value))
        return self

    def limit(self, n):
        self.n = n
        return self

    def run(self, db):
        rows = [r for r in db[self.table]
                if all(r.get(f) == v
                       for f, v in self.filters)]
        return rows[:self.n]

The task: return a customer’s open tickets. Before you type, say what you learned: “Each method returns the query itself, so I can chain calls, and nothing touches the data until run.” Then write it:

def open_tickets(db, customer):
    return (Query("tickets")
            .where("customer", customer)
            .where("status", "open")
            .run(db))

The follow-ups are where the round lives. Asked for the newest tickets first, say: “There’s no ordering yet. I’d set self.order = None in __init__, add order_by(field, descending=False) that stores both and returns self, then sort inside run, before the slice, so limit still means the first rows after sorting.” The change to run is small:

    if self.order:
        rows.sort(key=lambda r: r[self.order],
                  reverse=self.desc)
    return rows[:self.n]

A sharper interviewer might then reuse a base query. Say it before they find it: “Reusing a base query leaks filters, because where changes self. I’d either copy on each call or say so in the docstring.” That is learning the pattern: use it, extend it, know where it breaks.

Practice the same move with learn a new library fast, and see the learning interview for more.

Re-engineering

Palantir’s public hiring pages don’t use the name; candidates do. One candidate reported, in November 2024, that their upcoming onsite had a “Reengineering” interview: see a codebase for the first time, then debug it and explain what is going on. ^[3]Source 3Palantir Interview Process... So Far, FDSE 2024 (post by u/kircher32245)PublisherReddit r/csMajorsSource typecandidate report on Reddit A poster on Blind wrote, in May 2024, while preparing for a Palantir onsite, that the round “is about going through an existing code, debugging and adding a new feature.” ^{[16, 17]}Source 16Palantir re-engineering interview (Blind)PublisherBlindSource typecandidate report on BlindSource 17Palantir re-engineering interview (Blind)PublisherBlindSource typecandidate report on Blind In that poster’s earlier thread, a commenter replied that they got about 50 lines of Java and were asked to fix a bug, and a different commenter wrote that the bug “wasn’t java specific.” ^{[16, 17]}Source 16Palantir re-engineering interview (Blind)PublisherBlindSource typecandidate report on BlindSource 17Palantir re-engineering interview (Blind)PublisherBlindSource typecandidate report on Blind

We’d pair it with Palantir’s guide on Working Inside Existing Systems. ^[4]Source 4Palantir Careers | Getting HiredPublisherPalantirSource typecompany hiring page Here is a practice snippet we wrote, with a bug that would bite in any language:

class Account:
    def __init__(self, balance):
        self.balance = balance
        self.ledger = []

    def withdraw(self, amount):
        self.ledger.append(-amount)
        self.balance -= amount
        if self.balance < 0:
            raise ValueError("insufficient funds")

Work it in four moves, out loud:

1. Read before you touch. “Let me trace one withdrawal through before I change anything.”
2. Reproduce. “Balance 30, withdraw 50: it raises, but the balance is left at -20 and the ledger keeps the entry.”
3. Fix the cause, not the symptom. “The check runs after the write. I’ll move it to the top: if amount > self.balance, raise before touching anything.”
4. Extend it safely. “For a daily limit, I’ll follow the same shape: every check first, then the writes.”

Practice with debug unfamiliar code, and read the re-engineering interview for the full round.

How to read a Palantir report before you trust it

Before a thread changes your plan, ask it three questions.

The learning round shows why order is the weakest thing a report tells you. Two posters wrote, in July and August 2026, about a learning interview they had not taken yet, and both had it early; one asked, “Is this normal now?” ^{[1, 2]}Source 1Palantir FDE Commercial Delta Interview (post by u/Popular_Elephant_349)PublisherReddit r/csMajorsSource typecandidate report on RedditSource 2Palantir FDSE Intern Learning Interview (post by u/Realistic-Major9132)PublisherReddit r/csMajorsSource typecandidate report on Reddit

Reading FDE interview reports on Reddit and Blind goes further, and the evidence map lesson shows how to weigh a published process against a report.

A prep plan built on round types, not a sequence

Start by asking your recruiter which round types your loop has, and in what order. Palantir says the format is personalized, so the recruiter’s answer beats any thread. ^[4]Source 4Palantir Careers | Getting HiredPublisherPalantirSource typecompany hiring page

Then prepare each type as a block, so the order stops mattering. The bus and “why FDE” questions are free; the other three are in Pro, which has a 7-day free trial.

The last row matters more than it looks. One candidate reported, in December 2025, a rejection a couple of hours after the hiring manager round, and wrote that it was not about technical ability but mission alignment. ^[5]Source 5Palantir FDSE Full Interview Loop Process (post by u/Not_the_Sauron)PublisherReddit r/csMajorsSource typecandidate report on Reddit That is one poster’s reading, not a rule, but the New Grad application already asks you to confirm you want FDSE over Software Engineer. ^[13]Source 13Apply: Forward Deployed Software Engineer, New Grad - Commercial (New York, NY) - Palantir on LeverPublisherPalantir Technologies (Lever)Source typecompany job posting

So write the answer in three beats: a moment you preferred the customer’s problem to the ticket, what you did about it, and why the deployed role fits. A model to adapt, with your own facts:

“Last year a support ticket asked us to add a CSV export. I called the customer instead, and learned they were retyping it into a scheduling sheet every morning. I built them a small sync over two days, and that call was the best part of my quarter. I want that to be the job, not the exception. Palantir puts FDSEs on the customer outcome rather than the product roadmap, and that’s the side I want to be on.”

That last line rests on Palantir’s own description: FDSEs sit in Business Development, with a mandate to achieve outcomes for customers. ^[19]Source 19Palantir Careers | Students and Early TalentPublisherPalantir TechnologiesSource typecompany hiring page Then prepare one story each for a judgment call and a failure, the two Palantir names alongside execution. ^[4]Source 4Palantir Careers | Getting HiredPublisherPalantirSource typecompany hiring page

The round that most rewards practice out loud is decomposition, because there is no answer key to memorize. The building permits case at /try is free: sign in and run it against a simulated customer who only reveals what you ask about, then read your scorecard. Do it once before you read another thread.

Questions people ask

Does Palantir publish its FDSE interview process?

Partly. Palantir’s Getting Hired page says everyone starts with one or two phone interviews and, if there is a fit, moves to an onsite round, in person or virtual. It also says the number and format of interviews are personalized to your skills and the type of role.^[4]Source 4Palantir Careers | Getting HiredPublisherPalantirSource typecompany hiring page

What rounds have Palantir FDSE candidates described?

Candidates on Reddit and Blind have described coding, decomposition, learning and re-engineering rounds and a hiring manager conversation, in different orders and combinations. Some posters wrote before the round was taken, so read those posts as what the poster expected.^{[3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 16, 17]}Source 3Palantir Interview Process... So Far, FDSE 2024 (post by u/kircher32245)PublisherReddit r/csMajorsSource typecandidate report on RedditSource 5Palantir FDSE Full Interview Loop Process (post by u/Not_the_Sauron)PublisherReddit r/csMajorsSource typecandidate report on RedditSource 7Palantir FDSE virtual onsitePublisherBlind (teamblind.com)Source typecandidate report on BlindSource 8Palantir Forward Deployed Software EngineerPublisherBlind (teamblind.com)Source typecandidate report on BlindSource 9Palantir hm callPublisherBlind (teamblind.com)Source typecandidate report on BlindSource 16Palantir re-engineering interview (Blind)PublisherBlindSource typecandidate report on BlindSource 17Palantir re-engineering interview (Blind)PublisherBlindSource typecandidate report on Blind

What is the Palantir learning interview, according to Blind posters, and is it the same as decomposition?

No, it is a separate round. Palantir’s early-talent timeline lists learning and decomposition as two separate onsite interviews. Posters on Blind described the learning round as being introduced to a new concept or codebase and then working through tasks that change code, while decomposition is an open-ended problem you break down.^{[10, 14, 15]}Source 10Students | Palantir Careers (timeline image: RecruitingTimeline_V3.jpg)PublisherPalantirSource typecompany hiring pageSource 14Palantir Learning & Decomposition Interview (Blind)PublisherBlindSource typecandidate report on BlindSource 15Palantir learning interview (Blind)PublisherBlindSource typecandidate report on Blind

Keep reading

Guides

• The forward deployed engineer interview, round by round
• The decomposition interview: how to break down a vague customer problem

Company guides

• Palantir

Lessons

• The FDE decomposition interview: the method on one page
• The evidence map: what employers publish, what candidates report, how to read both
• What FDE coding rounds test, by the evidence

Questions

• A city transit agency says its buses are unreliable and riders are leaving. You have a week with their team. How do you approach it?
• Here is the documentation for a library you have never used. Use it to implement a small feature in the time we have.
• Here is a short piece of unfamiliar code with one bug that customers hit. Find and fix it, and explain how you found it.
• Model a small inventory system with classes in about a page of code. Then add a new requirement I give you.

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