An engineer who worked for Palantir for 8 years says the company's interviews were 'impossible to prepare for'

1 month ago 19

Shubhangi Goel

Tue, May 13, 2025, 10:23 PM 3 min read

A erstwhile Palantir technologist described however the institution interviews and what it looks for successful talent.
The institution seeks autarkic thinkers with wide interests and aggravated competitiveness, helium said.
Dozens of Palantir alumni person founded startups backed by apical VC firms.

In an manufacture known for quirky interrogation questions, a erstwhile Palantir employee's relationship of the company's aboriginal hiring practices stands out.

In an occurrence of Lenny's Podcast released connected Sunday, a erstwhile Palantir technologist and startup laminitis talked astir hiring practices and enactment civilization successful the company's aboriginal days.

In bid to get hired, a campaigner had to beryllium interviewed by 1 of the founders, said Nabeel Qureshi, who worked astatine the information investigation institution for astir 8 years until 2023.

"The interviews were beauteous strange," Qureshi said connected the podcast.

"You'd beryllium chatting astir doctrine for an hr and a fractional and it would precise overmuch conscionable beryllium similar helium would prime a taxable retired of bladed air," Qureshi said, referring to interviews with the Palantir cofounder Stephen Cohen.

"It was intolerable to hole for," Qureshi added. "He would conscionable spell very, precise heavy and effort and trial the limits of your understanding. But it would truly conscionable beryllium a amusive speech and past if you walk the vibe check, you'd beryllium in."

Qureshi did not notation if the institution inactive engages successful these hiring practices.

Palantir was founded successful 2003 by Cohen, Peter Thiel, Joe Lonsdale, and Alex Karp. It provides businesses and militaries, including those of the US, Israel, and Ukraine, with AI models. It went nationalist successful 2020 and faced backlash past twelvemonth due to the fact that of its concern with the Israeli Ministry of Defense.

Qureshi said that Palantir screened for 3 peculiar types of people: radical who were independent-minded and weren't acrophobic to propulsion back, radical with broader intelligence interests, and those who were "intensely competitive."

He added that Palantir besides attracted radical extracurricular of tech, specified arsenic subject vets, due to the fact that it was looking for radical who were not conscionable technically qualified but besides aligned with the company's mission.

Palantir and Cohen did not respond to requests for remark from Business Insider astir details astir the company's interrogation process, and whether it inactive asks candidates astir topics similar philosophy.

Qureshi besides talked astir however the company's civilization and concern practices were a fertile crushed to rise aboriginal founders.

He said Palantir instilled founder-friendly mindsets, specified arsenic telling employees to lick 1 customer's occupation archetypal due to the fact that that solution could aboriginal beryllium expanded to bring successful much business. The institution besides asked employees to leap connected a level and conscionable customers successful idiosyncratic due to the fact that "the vibe is wholly different," helium said.

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