Forward Deployed Software Engineer, Internship

About the role

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 Engineering is a radical commitment to the outcome. This is Palantir's operating ethos. We pioneered this unique position, embedding engineers directly with our customers to tackle their most pressing challenges head-on. As an FDE, you'll be at the intersection of world-changing problems and impactful technology, shaping solutions where they matter most.

From hospital beds to factory floors, Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) embed themselves in the customer's reality until the problem is theirs. This requires walking many miles in a customer's shoes, building past the perimeter of what the product currently offers, and deviating from every pre-existing formula to solve the problem. Whether that problem is "How do we predict and mitigate wildfire risks across a power grid?" or "How can we analyze and adapt a global supply chain to deliver critical parts on time?", you'll use your technical expertise, creativity, and problem-solving skills to drive real-world impact.

Core Responsibilities

To solve mission-critical problems by deploying software and AI into the high stakes operations of the world's leading institutions. This requires a ruthless commitment to truth-seeking and prioritizing real outcomes.

The work is difficult. The stakes are real. You will work in small, high-trust teams and own projects end-to-end, from the first conversation with a customer, to shipping the product that changes how they operate. You will embed with the customer, the chaos, and the consequences, and will be entrusted with real ownership to:

Collaborate with engineers to make architecture and design decisions

Wrestle with data at a scale that breaks assumptions and demands invention

Build custom applications, LLM workflows, and production solutions engineered for a specific customer's reality

Own relationships with stakeholders from the users in the weeds to the executives making the calls

As an Intern, you will be entrusted with responsibility on day 1 and expected to learn quickly. You will not be handed a low-risk or unimportant project. You will not be shielded from the customer, the chaos, or the consequences. FDEs are entrusted with real ownership, operating with real autonomy, and held to a real standard, no matter their tenure.

Location

London, United Kingdom

Engagement

Internship

Compensation

£26,847 to £34,929 for 2024

What you'll do

Setting architecture with engineers while wrestling messy data that challenges every prior assumption.

Building custom applications and LLM workflows tailored for hospital or factory realities where production never stops.

Walking city blocks to understand customer chaos, then translating pressure into shipped software that changes operations.

Collaborating with users from the trenches upward to executives, ensuring solutions hold when consequences are severe.

Reviewing outcomes after deployment, adjusting models so predictions remain accurate across volatile, real-world conditions.

Shipping features that adapt global supply chains, ensuring critical parts arrive on schedule when demand spikes unexpectedly.

Partnering with teams outside your squad, aligning interfaces so data moves smoothly between systems and people.

Guiding intake sessions where problems first surface, clarifying needs before any line of code is written.

Requirements

You must have completed at least one year of study before starting this role.

You hold authorization to work in the United Kingdom without sponsorship for this internship period.

You bring 3-5 years of hands-on experience building software that reaches external customers under scrutiny.

You communicate clearly in English, both in writing and during high-stakes verbal exchanges with stakeholders.

Nice to have

No preferred skills are listed for this position.

Skills & tools

No specific tools or skills are listed outside the requirements.