Software Engineer - Frontline
London, United Kingdom
Dev /
Full-time /
Hybrid
A World-Changing Company
Palantir builds the world’s leading software for data-driven decisions and operations. By bringing the right data to the people who need it, our platforms empower our partners to develop lifesaving drugs, forecast supply chain disruptions, locate missing children, and more.
The Role
As a Frontline Software Engineer at Palantir, you would begin your journey on a short-term assignment where you are embedded with customers. This unique experience lets you work directly with users, gaining firsthand insight into how our products are used and the challenges our customers face. Unlike traditional engineering roles, Frontline immerses you in complex, ambiguous problems, empowering you to deliver impactful solutions across some of the world’s most important industries and institutions.
Many of our most successful products have been built through direct engagement with customers, solutions born from real-world problems that not only address specific needs but can also be applied in broader contexts. By working closely with users, you’ll help create products with immediate impact and long-term value.
Frontliners operate much like a startup CTO, working in small teams to own the end-to-end execution of high-stakes projects. Your responsibilities will range from discussing architecture and coding custom web apps to strategizing with customer executives. Every day will be diverse and impactful. By witnessing how customers engage with Foundry and seeing these pain points firsthand, you’ll gain unique insights that feed directly back into our development process, helping to refine and enhance our products. Upon the completion of your assignment, you would join one of our Software Engineer teams within our Foundry org.
Within Foundry, there is a broad spectrum of teams, each focused on tackling unique technical challenges and delivering impact across a range of domains. You might work on designing and building scalable systems that power data-driven workflows for organizations worldwide, collaborating closely with teammates to deliver robust APIs and high-performance infrastructure. On other teams, you could be developing the foundational building blocks that ensure our platform is secure, reliable, and performant, addressing challenges in distributed systems, data storage, and application security. You may also have the opportunity to architect and deliver end-to-end user experiences, crafting intuitive interfaces and workflows that empower thousands of users to solve complex, real-world problems.
It doesn’t matter what languages you know when you join us; what matters is your ability to decompose complex problems into manageable, actionable components, write clean, effective code, and quickly learn new languages, technologies, frameworks, and paradigms. Our software is constantly evolving, so we need adaptable engineers who can evolve alongside it. Whether it's adapting to new technical environments or understanding and integrating into the customer's setup and needs, your adaptability is key. Alongside peers with diverse experiences such as startup founders, industry veterans, university TAs, and more, you'll enhance your skillset to apply the best technology to solve any given problem.
Technologies We Use
- A variety of languages, including Java, Python, Rust and Go for backend and Typescript for frontend
- Open-source technologies like Cassandra, Spark, Iceberg, ElasticSearch, Kubernetes, React, and Redux
- Industry-standard build tooling, including Gradle for Java, Cargo for Rust, Hatch for Python, Webpack & PNPM for Typescript
What We Value
- Strong engineering background in fields such as Computer Science, Mathematics, Software Engineering, or Physics
- Familiarity with storage systems, cloud infrastructure, front-end frameworks, and other technical tools
- Solid understanding of data structures and algorithms, with the ability to effectively solve problems
- Proficient coder with demonstrated expertise in programming languages such as Java, C++, Python, Rust, JavaScript, or similar languages
- Proven ability to collaborate and empathize with a diverse range of individuals. Capable of iterating with users and non-technical stakeholders, understanding the impact of technical decisions on them
- Demonstrated ability to learn and work independently, making effective decisions that drive results
- Passion for developing software that can change the world and for creating intuitive, scalable products that enhance users' ability to work with data
Life at Palantir
We want every Palantirian to achieve their best outcomes, that’s why we celebrate individuals’ strengths, skills, and interests, from your first interview to your longterm growth, rather than rely on traditional career ladders. Paying attention to the needs of our community enables us to optimize our opportunities to grow and helps ensure many pathways to success at Palantir. Promoting health and well-being across all areas of Palantirians’ lives is just one of the ways we’re investing in our community. Learn more at Life at Palantir and note that our offerings may vary by region.
In keeping consistent with Palantir’s values and culture, we believe employees are “better together” and in-person work affords the opportunity for more creative outcomes. Therefore, we encourage employees to work from our offices to foster connectivity and innovation. Many teams do offer hybrid options (WFH a day or two a week), allowing our employees to strike the right trade-off for their personal productivity. Based on business need, there are a few roles that allow for “Remote” work on an exceptional basis. If you are applying for one of these roles, you must work from the city and or country in which you are employed. If the posting is specified as Onsite, you are required to work from an office.
If you want to empower the world's most important institutions, you belong here. Palantir values excellence regardless of background. We are committed to making the application and hiring process accessible to everyone and will provide a reasonable accommodation for those living with a disability. If you need an accommodation for the application or hiring process, please reach out and let us know how we can help.