Palantir
Washington, D.C.
1 month ago·via lever
Apply →Forward Deployed Engineer at Palantir
Palantir originated the Forward Deployed Engineer role and still runs the deepest version of it. FDEs and Deployment Strategists embed with commercial and government customers for months at a time, becoming domain experts in the customer's business and building directly on Foundry and Gotham. If you want the canonical FDE experience - heavy customer immersion, real ownership, and a tight loop back to product - Palantir is the reference implementation. Roles range from new-grad and internship tracks to senior infrastructure and software positions across US commercial and government sectors.
What Palantir does
Palantir Technologies builds software platforms that help large organizations integrate, analyze, and act on their data. Its two flagship products are Foundry, used by commercial enterprises to unify data and build operational applications, and Gotham, used by government and defense customers. Its AIP layer now brings large language models into those same workflows. Palantir's model has always been to pair that software with engineers who deploy it directly inside the customer - which is where the Forward Deployed Engineer originated.
The Forward Deployed Software Engineer (FDSE) role
At Palantir the title is usually Forward Deployed Software Engineer (FDSE) or Deployment Strategist. FDSEs embed on-site, translate a customer's messy real-world problem into a Foundry or Gotham solution, and own it from first prototype to production. The work blends full-stack engineering, data pipelines, and enough business judgment to run a room of stakeholders. It is the most immersive version of the FDE role in the industry.
Interviews and compensation
Palantir's FDSE interview is known for its decomposition and case-study rounds, which filter out strong coders who cannot structure an ambiguous problem or defend scoping decisions to a stakeholder. Compensation is competitive and heavily weighted toward equity (RSUs) and performance-based bonuses rather than a high base alone, with field bonuses tied to real customer impact.