Backend Software Engineer - Application Development · Palantir

Sat, 25 Apr 2026 20:35:20 GMT
Engineering

Palantir · London · hybrid

A Backend Software Engineer at Palantir builds software at scale to transform how organisations use data. 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.

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.

We're hiring engineers who are passionate about solving real-world problems and empowering both developers and end-users to work optimally. If you’re motivated to develop reliable, performant, and scalable systems, and to design robust APIs and primitives, this role offers the opportunity to make a significant impact on our products and the people who use them.

Core Responsibilities:

Architecting, developing, and maintaining 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 improve 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 containerisation 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 UK Security clearance, or eligibility and willingness to obtain a UK Security clearance is beneficial but not necessary

What We Require:

Experience in designing and developing 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

Additional Information: 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.