Handle value conflicts and disagreeing with leadership
Company: Palantir
Role: Software Engineer
Category: Behavioral & Leadership
Difficulty: medium
Interview Round: Onsite
## Behavioral / Values prompts
Answer the following with specific examples (use the STAR method):
1. Have you ever made a decision that was **“politically incorrect but technically correct”**? What happened and how did you handle stakeholders?
2. If the company direction **conflicts with your values**, what would you do?
3. Have you ever **refused a decision from your manager/leader**? Why, and what did you do instead?
## What interviewers are evaluating
- Judgment and ethics
- Ability to disagree professionally
- Communication and stakeholder management
- Ownership and accountability (especially around preventing harm)
Overview: This question evaluates ethical judgment, professional disagreement, stakeholder communication, and ownership/accountability within leadership and team contexts for software engineers.