Palantir Technologies Technical Writer Interview Questions
& Process
Real candidates share what happened, how many rounds they had,
and how the experience turned out.
Based on 10 interview experiences · FREE TO READ
Candidate interview experiences
First-hand accounts from people who interviewed at Palantir Technologies.
Palantir Technologies
Technical Writer Intern
Intern Average Positive experience Accept offer 8 rounds
Interview process
Recruiter call Phone screen Take home Onsite Panel Presentation Background check Offer
Interview formats
Behavioral Technical Coding Presentation
The overall experience was great. I had a tight deadline because of another offer, and Palantir was really accommodating. It kicked off with phone screenings after I sent in some writing samples. I ended up having four phone calls with people on the documentation team. Then, they gave me a writing test and brought me to Palo Alto. There, I met with four people, had lunch, and saw a demo. After that, I interviewed with three more people. The day after I got home, I had a Skype call with a founder. They covered my hotel and travel, and provided food and drinks during the interviews. Everyone seemed really happy and passionate about their work, and the office was amazing. The interviews weren't super hard, but they did ask basic questions about Java, HTML, and Actionscript (even though they don't use Actionscript, they wanted to check my knowledge). Many questions were focused on personality and problem-solving. My writing samples were a big factor in their decision.
Confirmed questions8 questions
- Of the duties listed in the job description, which do you believe is the most crucial?
- What is your motivation for seeking employment with this company?
- Can you discuss your familiarity with Java?
Palantir Technologies
Technical Writer
Mid Easy Negative experience No offer 2 rounds
Interview process
Recruiter call Technical screen
Interview formats
Technical Behavioral
I was sent a link to their sample applications to get familiar with what they do. After downloading the sample app, I couldn't get it working. I found their bug reporting process and communicated with an engineer, but they didn't fix the bug(s) in time for the interview. My interviewer seemed to know nothing about technical writing and was rude. Later, a recruiter contacted me about a job there and convinced me the company had changed. However, their website makes it look like you're on permanent vacation if you get hired, and I'm interested in working, not just having fun.
Confirmed questions1 question
- What is your favorite aspect of Gotham?
Palantir Technologies
Technical Writer
Entry Average Negative experience No offer 2 rounds
Interview process
Recruiter call Technical screen Onsite Background check
Interview formats
Behavioral Technical Coding
The first round was a standard screening, pretty easy. Then there was a long, 2hr+ onsite with back-to-back interviews. Some were technical and demanding, others were casual and easy. After the onsite, the recruiter went silent. They always said they'd answer questions but never did, which made me feel like they don't really care about the candidates, just processing them. Overall, there are good reasons not to work for Palantir.
Confirmed questions3 questions
- What motivates your application for this specific role?
- Can you share an instance where you had to discontinue a project or abandon an idea?
- Describe a technology that currently excites you and explain your reasoning.
Palantir Technologies Technical Writer Interview Questions
Quoted word for word from Palantir Technologies interview reports.
“Create a function that returns the prime factors of a given number, which also multiply back to that number.”
Read reports →“What is your favorite aspect of Gotham?”
Read reports →“Can you explain how you'd find a specific element in a sorted list of integers and tell me its runtime?”
Read reports →“Describe a scenario where using a database would be preferable to storing data in a plain text file.”
Read reports →“The interviewer stated that some people solve this quickly while others never do, and hoped I'd be fast. The question was: Is it faster for an aircraft's roundtrip flight to have wind or no wind?”
Read report →“Could you format this sample document?”
Read report →“What's your approach to finding all the processes running on a computer, regardless of the operating system?”
Read report →“How would you approach revising the provided article?”
Read report →“Describe a technology that currently excites you and explain your reasoning.”
Read report →Formats, difficulty and experience
Across all 10 Palantir Technologies interview reports.