Pros
Palantir is a no-holds-barred, sprint-don't-run, dream-big-or-go-home kind of place. I know people who are - literally - responsible for stopping terror attacks, uncovering financial crimes, shutting down cyber attacks, and rooting-out human trafficking rings. Do you? My co workers have built disaster recovery platforms that are being deployed globally, have turned the judicial system on its head with new investigative capabilities, have built and deployed the *only* functional down-range intelligence platform for our troops, and have turned around struggling commercial enterprises. They did it themselves, with little guidance, just like a start-up. They did it using (and building) some of the craziest, most amazing data tools you've ever even dreamed of. They did it faster than anyone else can, and they are just getting started. We are changing some of the biggest industries in the world: government, insurance, NGOs, CPG, retail, banking... the list goes on; and every year our horizon expands and we realize just how small we were dreaming the year before. What did you do last Tuesday? At Palantir, words like 'meritocratic' and 'entrepreneurial' aren't techno-babble. I've never seen a place where someone with drive and passion and an ability to 'just go' can be so amazingly rewarded - not only with the material things, but also with the satisfaction that you've done something real, something meaningful. Results are rewarded here, and nothing is given. If you're not afraid of ambiguity, don't mind not being set on a defined 'career path', want the flexibility to do something huge if you dream it up, or just want to constantly be challenged by people that are smarter than you - come change the world with us.
Cons
The downside to feeling like you're actually empowered to change the world is that every time you see a new terror attack, a new financial crime, a new kidnapping, rape, gang violence, every time you see a report of government corruption, or human trafficking, or an entirely-too-slow response to a natural disaster, every single time you read of a real tragedy in the world - you think about how you could have helped to stop it if you had worked harder. Most positions at Palantir are a 'lifestyle job' - people feel the urgency in their work and, frankly, many of us work too hard. Most of us don't have a problem prioritizing work in our life, and some lucky people among us have found a wonderful work-life balance, but generally work is not balanced at Palantir. If you're afraid of long hours, or aren't comfortable taking a very strong stance on work-life balance, don't come to Palantir. Period.