Senior Backend Software Engineer - Application Development Software

Own the architecture and delivery of scalable backend services for Palantir's Foundry platform.

About The Role

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. Backend Software Engineers at Palantir build software at scale to transform how organizations use data. Our Software Engineers are involved throughout the product lifecycle, from idea generation, design, prototyping, and production delivery. You will collaborate closely with technical and non‑technical teammates to understand our customers' problems and build products that solve them. We encourage movement across teams to share context, skills, and experience, so you'll learn about many different technologies and aspects of each product. Engineers work autonomously and make decisions independently, within a community that will support and challenge you as you grow and develop, becoming a strong technical contributor and engineering leader.

Your day‑to‑day workflow will vary, adapting to the requirements of our users and the technical challenges that arise. One day, you may find yourself collaborating with other engineers to architect a new system that enables a novel workflow; the next you could be fine‑tuning performance to enable low‑latency operational outcomes.

Foundry Software Engineers may be offered the opportunity to Frontline, an exclusive program unlike any other. This unique, short‑term assignment involves being embedded with customers, allowing you to work directly with users and gain firsthand insight into how our products are used and the challenges our customers face. Frontliners operate across a broad spectrum of responsibilities, much like a startup CTO. They work in small teams to own the end‑to‑end execution of high‑stakes projects. By witnessing how customers engage with Foundry, you'll gain unique insights that feed directly back into our development process, helping to refine and enhance our products.

Core Responsibilities

• Leading the architecture, development, and maintenance of high‑performance, scalable backend services that underpin our operational data and AI systems.
• Maintaining high coding standards through the development of guidelines, active participation in code reviews, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement and knowledge sharing among your team.
• Building robust APIs for use by front‑end developers and interfacing external systems, and collaborating with front‑end developers to integrate user‑facing elements with server‑side logic.
• Designing efficient data structures and algorithms to manage large‑scale and high‑throughput data.
• Optimizing applications for speed and scalability through performance analysis.
• Actively improving user workflows by collaborating with cross‑functional teams, ensuring seamless experiences across product boundaries and a cohesive user experience.

Technologies We Use

• Different backend languages, including Java, Rust, Python and Go.
• Distributed systems technologies such as Kafka, Cassandra, Elasticsearch and Spark.
• Docker and Kubernetes for containerization and orchestration.
• Industry‑standard build tooling, including Gradle and GitHub.

What We Value

• A deep understanding of server‑side logic, efficient data handling, and distributed systems.
• Strong focus on creating user‑oriented workflows and solutions, crossing product boundaries to deliver cohesive and solid user workflows that ensure a seamless and intuitive user experience.
• Experience building high‑quality software in a fast‑paced CI/CD development environment.
• Ability to work collaboratively in teams of technical and non‑technical individuals and understand how technical decisions impact the people who will use what you're building.
• Skill and comfort working in a constantly evolving environment with dynamic objectives and iteration with users.
• Active US Security clearance, or eligibility and willingness to obtain a US Security clearance is beneficial but not necessary.

What We Require

• 6+ years experience in designing, developing, and leading features and improvements, as well as supporting and maintaining live backend systems.
• In‑depth understanding of data structures, system architecture, API development for microservices frameworks, distributed systems and other backend‑related concepts and best practices.
• Engineering background in Computer Science, Mathematics, Software Engineering, Physics or similar field.
• Strong coding skills with demonstrated proficiency in programming languages, such as Java, C++, Python, Rust, or similar languages.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and ability to iterate quickly with teammates, incorporating feedback and holding a high bar for quality.

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.