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Forward Deployed Software Engineer, Internship - Defense Tech

Open 61d
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
Forward Deployed Software Engineers (FDSEs) work directly with customers to quickly understand their greatest problems and design and implement solutions to use data against them. Our customers rely on Palantir’s platforms for some of their most critical operations. As an FDSE working in our defense business, you will help defense customers plan and execute operations, understand their personnel and equipment footprint, and communicate in real-time with mission partners and legacy systems. You’ll have the opportunity to gain rare insight into and contribute to some of the world’s most critical challenges.
Core Responsibilities
As an FDSE Intern, your responsibilities look similar to those at a small startup, with the resources, stability and mentorship of an established tech company: You’ll work in small teams with minimal supervision and own end-to-end execution of high stakes projects. As an FDSE Defense Tech Intern, you will be supporting work specifically focusing on delivering our Palantir Defense capabilities to our most critical mission partners. Your day might span discussing architecture with fellow engineers, wrangling massive-scale data, coding a custom web app, speaking with customer contacts, or establishing strategy for your team.
FDSE Defense Tech Interns are treated just like full time engineers, with significant freedom and ownership over their work. Interns take responsibility for real world projects and outcomes that our customers rely on.

Our Principles:

  • Impact: We address meaningful and exciting projects that change the world for the better.
  • Ownership: We see projects through from beginning to end, working through any obstacles we may encounter. We trust each other to effectively handle time and priorities and give people the space to think for themselves.
  • Collaboration: We work internally with people from a variety of backgrounds — such as other FDSEs, product teams, and Deployment Strategists. We also work externally with our customers, often on site, to understand and tackle their problems.
  • Growth: We believe experiential learning is one of the best teachers and encourage ourselves and our peers to seek new challenges and opportunities for growth, as well as find new ways to innovate and share knowledge.

What We Value

  • Willingness and interest to travel as needed to client sites. Ability to travel 25-50% preferred, but requirements vary by team and location.
  • Ability to continuously learn, work independently, and make decisions with minimal direction.
  • Ability to collaborate in teams of technical and non-technical individuals, and comfortable working in a constantly evolving environment with dynamic objectives and iteration with users.
  • An eagerness to creatively solve technical problems with data structures, storage systems, cloud infrastructure, front-end frameworks, and other technical tools.
  • Interest in working with and using large scale data to solve valuable business problems.

What We Require

  • Active US Security clearance, or eligibility and willingness to obtain a US Security clearance prior to start of internship
  • Engineering background, preferred in fields such as Computer Science, Mathematics, Software Engineering, Physics, and Data Science.
  • Proficiency with one or more programming languages, such as Python, Java, C++, TypeScript/JavaScript, or similar.
  • Must be planning on graduating in 2028. This should be your final internship before graduating.

To apply, please submit the following:

  • An updated resume / CV - please do so in PDF format.
  • Thoughtful responses to our application questions.
Offer Deadline
In an effort to build more transparency into our recruitment process, we’d like to share our offer deadline expectations. By applying to this position, you commit to confirming your decision within two weeks of receiving your written offer.
Salary
The estimated salary range for this position is estimated to be $10,000/month. Further note that total compensation for this position will be determined by each individual’s relevant qualifications, work experience, skills, and other factors. This estimate excludes the value of any benefits offered; and the potential future value of any long-term incentives.

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 state 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 proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer for all, including but not limited to Veterans and those with disabilities. Palantir is 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.
Please note that you will never be asked to submit a payment or share financial information to participate in our interview process. If you suspect that you've been contacted by a scammer, we recommend you cease all communication with the individual and consider reporting them to the relevant authorities, such as the US FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

If you would like to understand more about how your personal data will be processed by Palantir, please see our Privacy Policy.

What this application asks

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Resume/CV, Full name, Email, Phone, Current location, Current company, LinkedIn URL, GitHub URL, Portfolio URL

  • Language Skill(s) (Check all that apply) yes / no · optional
  • Preferred Name | What would you like us to call you? optional
  • Name Pronunciation | How do you pronounce your name? optional
  • Do you have any, or anticipate any upcoming offer deadlines? choose one
  • If so, what are the dates? yes / no · optional
  • What is your anticipated start date? (Month/Year) optional
  • What are your preferred office location(s) to work from in addition to the location you are applying to? Select 1-3 from below. yes / no · optional
  • Insert other preferred location(s) and/or further context on preference. Note: we are not offering fully remote work at this time for this opportunity. written answer
  • Will this be your final internship before graduating? choose one
  • Are you legally authorized to work in the country for which you are applying? choose one
  • Will you now or in the future require sponsorship for employment visa status (e.g., H-1B, etc.)? choose one
  • Which university are you currently attending or did you last attend? Please select "Other (School Not Listed)" if your school is not listed. choose one · optional
  • Please include your intended graduation year for the degree or relevant learning program that you are currently pursuing or have completed. choose one · optional
  • Please tell us how you heard about this internship opportunity. choose one · optional
  • Do you currently hold an active US security clearance? choose one
  • Are you eligible to obtain the security clearance specified in the job description? Please see https://state.gov/security-clearances for further details on security clearance requirements. choose one
  • What’s most exciting to you about Palantir’s offerings and why do you want to work here? written answer
  • If you could solve any problem that impacts your daily life, what would it be and how would you solve it? written answer
  • Tell us one thing that’s not on your resume that you’re proud of. written answer · optional
  • At Palantir we have two main Software Engineering roles: Forward Deployed Software Engineer and Software Engineer. Which of these roles resonates the most with your job search and why? More details found here: https://blog.palantir.com/dev-versus-delta-demystifying-engineering-roles-at-palantir-ad44c2a6e87 written answer · optional
  • The FDSE and SWE roles have different applications. Please confirm that your answer to the above question matches the role you are applying for. yes / no · optional
  • If you have an internship for Summer 2026, please confirm with what company and the location. written answer · optional
  • Strongly Preferred: If you've taken the ACT or SAT, please upload a copy of your score here. upload · optional
  • As part of our interview process, we may use AI notetakers to transcribe conversations for accuracy and efficiency. Please see our candidate privacy policy for more information on how we process your data. Your decision to opt in or out of this tooling will not impact your candidacy. choose one

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