Software Engineer, Internship - Query Engines
About The Position
Palantir’s Query Engines software engineering team applies open-source data technologies to complex, consequential problems. The team builds and extends the data processing infrastructure underpinning Palantir Foundry, which supports products and workloads including no-code pipelines, interactive analysis, and processing that keeps the Ontology up to date. The work involves how computations are represented, query plans are optimized, operators execute, and data is read and written efficiently. The team builds on and extends Apache Spark, Apache DataFusion, and Apache Iceberg for demanding customer environments. Working alongside experienced engineers, the intern will contribute to real problems in production systems. Possible projects include writing a planning rule, adding a capability to a native execution engine, or improving the scan performance of large tables. Work proceeds through design, code review, testing, and release, with emphasis on correctness, compatibility, and predictable performance. The role offers an opportunity to learn modern data systems from the inside and apply that knowledge to real-world problems.
Requirements
- Currently pursuing or recently completed a Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Computer Science, Mathematics, Software Engineering, Physics, or a similar field, or equivalent practical experience.
- Proficiency in at least one programming language such as Java, Rust, Scala, C++, or C.
- Strong foundations in algorithms, data structures, and concurrency.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Coursework or projects in databases, compilers, operating systems, or distributed systems.
- Contributions to open-source projects.
- Must be planning to graduate in 2028; this should be the candidate’s final internship before graduating.
Nice To Haves
- Curiosity about data systems, including query optimizers, execution operators, file formats, and distributed processing.
- A high bar for correctness and willingness to investigate system behavior thoroughly.
- Comfort following problems across languages, services, and layers of the stack.
- A practical, measurement-based approach to performance.
- Eagerness to learn, ask questions, and incorporate feedback.
- Interest in applying systems engineering to real-world problems with empathy for software users.
- Familiarity with Java, Scala, Rust, Python, Apache Spark, Apache DataFusion, Apache Comet, Velox, Apache Iceberg, Apache Arrow, Apache Parquet, Gradle, Cargo, or GitHub; prior experience with the listed technologies is not required.
Responsibilities
- Contribute to production systems involving query planning, execution, and data processing.
- Implement work such as a new query planning rule, a capability in a native execution engine, or improvements to large-table scan performance.
- Take work through design, code review, testing, and release.
- Build and extend data processing infrastructure using open-source data technologies.
Benefits
- The company describes investments in employee health and well-being and says offerings may vary by region.
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What This Job Offers
Career Level
Intern
