Software Engineer - Edge AI Systems

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 We are seeking an experienced Software Engineer to join a newly-formed team focused on developing and deploying advanced AI systems to the tactical edge. This role involves training, evaluating, and deploying LLM agents to edge hardware for interfacing with sensors, effectors, and drone systems. This project is in support of multiple customers in the defense sector that are looking for untethered AI solutions that can be rapidly deployed downrange on hardware with limited capabilities. As a part of this team, you will build and deploy specialized models and agents that can run on tactical edge hardware, working alongside other experts in AI, LLMs, and systems to shape solutions that redefine complex tactical defense scenarios. Core Responsibilities • Train and fine-tune edge-capable LLMs for tactical defense applications • Optimize model performance for various edge hardware (GPU, CPU, and specialized accelerator) platforms • Design and implement multi-agent systems for various mission scenarios • Interface LLM agents with sensors, effectors, and drone systems • Benchmark and evaluate agent capabilities, performance, and reliability • Engineer scalable, reliable, and fail-safe systems capable of functioning in high-stakes environments What We Value • Proven experience in AI model development, training, and fine-tuning • Experience building LLM agent systems using direct LLM API calls, or frameworks such as LangChain • Experience optimizing AI models and runtime performance for edge hardware • Familiarity with edge AI optimization tools including Ollama, Mojo, TVM, TF Lite, and vLLM • Experience working in the defense sector, especially with weapon and UxV systems, is highly desirable • Ability to manage complexity, optimize for performance, and think critically under pressure • Experience deploying and maintaining robust production systems What We Require • 5+ years of professional software development experience • 2+ years of experience contributing to the system design or architecture (architecture, design patterns, reliability and scaling) of new and existing systems • Experience building and deploying LLMs and LLM agents using modern frameworks such as PyTorch, HuggingFace Transformers, LangChain, and vLLM • Strong proficiency in Rust, Python, or C++ • Bachelor's/Master's/PhD in Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics, or related fields • Active US Security clearance or eligibility and willingness to obtain a US Security clearance Salary The salary range for this position is estimated to be $145,000 - $200,000/year. Total compensation for this position may also include Restricted Stock units, sign-on bonus and other potential future incentives. Further note that total compensation for this position will be determined by each individual's relevant qualifications, work experience, skills, and other factors. This estimate excludes the value of any potential sign-on bonus; the value of any benefits offered; and the potential future value of any long-term incentives. Our benefits aim to promote health and wellbeing across all areas of Palantirians’ lives. We work to continuously improve our offerings and listen to our community as we design and update them. The list below details our available benefits and some of the perks that can be enjoyed as an employee of Palantir Technologies. Benefits • Employees (and their eligible dependents) can enroll in medical, dental, and vision insurance as well as voluntary life insurance • Employees are automatically covered by Palantir’s basic life, AD&D and disability insurance • Commuter benefits • Relocation assistance • Take what you need paid time off, not accrual based • 2 weeks paid time off built into the end of each year (subject to team and business needs) • 10 paid holidays throughout the calendar year • Supportive leave of absence program including time off for military service and medical events • Paid leave for new parents and subsidized back-up care for all parents • Fertility and family building benefits including but not limited to adoption, surrogacy, and preservation • Stipend to help with expenses that come with a new child • Employees can enroll in Palantir’s 401k plan 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. Promoting health and well-being across all areas of Palantirians’ lives is just one of the ways we’re investing in our community. Learn more at Life at Palantir and note that our offerings may vary by region. In keeping consistent with Palantir’s values and culture, we believe employees are “better together” and in-person work affords the opportunity for more creative outcomes. Therefore, we encourage employees to work from our offices to foster connectivity and innovation. Many teams do offer hybrid options (WFH a day or two a week), allowing our employees to strike the right trade-off for their personal productivity. Based on business need, there are a few roles that allow for “Remote” work on an exceptional basis. If you are applying for one of these roles, you must work from the state in which you are employed. If the posting is specified as Onsite, you are required to work from an office. If you want to empower the world's most important institutions, you belong here. Palantir values excellence regardless of background. We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer for all, including but not limited to Veterans and those with disabilities. Palantir is 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. Please note that you will never be asked to submit a payment or share financial information to participate in our interview process. If you suspect that you've been contacted by a scammer, we recommend you cease all communication with the individual and consider reporting them to the relevant authorities, such as the US FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). 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