Software Engineer - Edge AI Systems at Palantir Technologies
Seattle, WA
$145,000–$200,000from the description
Jul 21, 2026
Seattle, WA
Jul 23, 2026
What this job asks for AI summary
A software engineering role on a newly formed team building AI systems for deployment on resource-constrained tactical edge hardware used in defense applications. The work centers on training and fine-tuning LLMs, optimizing them for edge devices, and integrating multi-agent systems with sensors, drones, and other hardware. Suited to engineers with deep experience in LLM development and edge AI optimization, ideally with a defense sector background and an active or obtainable US security clearance.
Senior level · 5+ years · Bachelor's required · Secret clearance · Full-time
“or” means any one of them counts — you don't need all of them.
We read this from the posting text with AI. Skim the description below before ruling yourself out.
How this req sits in the market our data
Rare in this occupation — lead with these, and say what you built with them.
Most people in this occupation already list these. Still required — just not what gets you shortlisted.
What the occupation pays Median $138,970 (middle half $107,524–$175,762). This posting is about at that midpoint.
Estimated from BLS employment for this occupation and area, per-skill prevalence across our listing corpus, and published wage benchmarks — as of Jul 28, 2026. It is a model, not a headcount.
Why we read it this way (9)
The posting names Python, Rust, and C++ as a 'strong proficiency in … or' requirement — these are interchangeable gates on the same language requirement; all three are captured with each other as alternatives.
PyTorch, HuggingFace Transformers, LangChain, and vLLM are listed together under 'What We Require' as a single 'modern frameworks such as' clause; they are treated as a required capability set rather than strict one-for-one gates, but all are captured as required given their placement in the hard-requirements section.
Ollama, Mojo, TVM, and TF Lite appear under 'What We Value' (a secondary, desirable section), so they are marked preferred.
No specific office location is stated in the posting; the CBSA/metro is left blank. The role is described as onsite/in-person by default per Palantir's stated policy.
Clearance is gated as 'Active US Security clearance OR eligibility and willingness to obtain one.' This is a hard gate on clearance eligibility; the minimum level is not specified beyond 'US Security clearance,' so it is conservatively mapped to Secret. Candidates who can obtain a clearance are explicitly accepted.
The degree requirement lists Bachelor's/Master's/PhD as acceptable fields — minimum is Bachelor's, which is the floor captured.
Defense sector / UxV systems experience is called 'highly desirable' under 'What We Value' and is not captured as a named technology skill.
The role blends software engineering (building/deploying systems) with AI/ML model training and fine-tuning; 15-2051 Data Scientists is noted as a runner-up given the heavy LLM training and optimization focus.
Requires a Secret clearance — the cleared population is a small fraction of this occupation, so the real candidate pool is materially smaller than the estimate below, which does not model clearance.
Read the full posting
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