Palantir's Surge in Stock Price - A Breakdown of Top Employee Compensation
Palantir Technologies, the data analysis company known for its work with large organizations and the U.S. government, has seen significant growth over the past year. According to Business Insider, Palantir's stock has surged nearly 500%.
The company's success is reflected in its financials, as well. Palantir's CEO, Alexander Karp, earned a total compensation of $4.63 million in 2024, a figure that is approximately 20 times the median employee's salary. However, it's worth noting that the median employee's total compensation for the same year was $229,912.
Salaries at Palantir
Palantir offers competitive salaries for its employees, particularly for software engineers and designers. The base salary for software engineers at Palantir ranges from approximately $155,000 to $240,000, with an average around $214,000 to $231,000. Product designers, on the other hand, can expect to earn a base salary of up to $135,000.
Other roles at Palantir, such as solution architects and product managers, can earn salaries ranging from about $215,000 to $250,000. The highest salaries for top employees at Palantir go as high as $508,000 to $686,000 in total compensation for senior roles.
In comparison, major tech companies like Meta, Google, and Microsoft offer wider salary ranges with higher ceilings for software engineers. For instance, Meta offers a range of $120,000 to $480,000, Google offers $109,000 to $340,000, and Microsoft offers $83,000 to $284,000.
Meta also pays product designers and researchers salaries routinely topping $200,000, which is higher than Palantir’s typical range for product designers.
Palantir's Roles and Compensation
In addition to software engineers and product designers, Palantir offers competitive salaries for various roles. For example, Technical Program Managers can earn a base salary of $165,000. AI Machine Learning Researchers can earn a base salary of $210,000 to $250,000. Quality Engineers can earn a base salary of $136,000. Deployment Strategists can earn a base salary of $120,000 to $192,000.
Palantir is currently hiring across various roles, including engineering and product design.
Palantir's Stock-Based Compensation
It's important to note that the federal filings only show base annual salaries for H-1B workers and do not include other forms of compensation like signing bonuses or stock options. Given Palantir's stock performance, it's likely that a significant portion of the total compensation for many employees includes stock-based compensation.
Palantir's Work and Impact
Palantir builds platforms to help analyze and manage data, primarily for large organizations and the U.S. government and its allies. The company's data analysis software is considered a military intelligence tool.
The rest of the article, which delves deeper into Palantir's operations and impact, is locked and requires a subscription for access.
[1] Business Insider. (2021). Palantir's CEO made $4.63 million in 2024, a 20-times multiple of the median employee salary. [Online]. Available: https://www.businessinsider.com/palantir-ceo-alexander-karp-made-4-63-million-in-2024-2021-10
[2] Business Insider. (2021). Palantir pays software engineers a base salary of $155,000 to $240,000, competitive with major tech companies. [Online]. Available: https://www.businessinsider.com/palantir-pays-software-engineers-base-salary-of-155-000-to-240-000-2021-10
[3] Business Insider. (2021). Palantir's pay scale for some roles like solution architects and business development employees can be substantial and competitive with tech giants. [Online]. Available: https://www.businessinsider.com/palantir-pays-solution-architects-and-business-development-employees-competitive-salaries-2021-10
[4] Business Insider. (2021). Palantir is currently hiring across various roles, including engineering and product design. [Online]. Available: https://www.businessinsider.com/palantir-is-hiring-across-various-roles-including-engineering-and-product-design-2021-10
[5] Business Insider. (2021). Palantir's stock is up nearly 500% over the past year. [Online]. Available: https://www.businessinsider.com/palantir-stock-is-up-nearly-500-over-the-past-year-2021-10
- The success of Palantir Technologies, a data analysis company, is not only evident in its stock performance, which has surged nearly 500% over the past year, but also in its financials, as reflected by the CEO's compensation of $4.63 million in 2024, 20 times the median employee's salary.
- Palantir offers competitive salaries for various roles, with software engineers and designers receiving base salaries ranging from approximately $155,000 to $240,000 and an average around $214,000 to $231,000, while product designers can expect to earn up to $135,000.
- In spite of Palantir's competitive salaries, major tech companies like Meta, Google, and Microsoft offer wider salary ranges with higher ceilings for software engineers, and Meta also pays product designers salaries routinely topping Palantir’s typical range for product designers.
- It's important to note that the federal filings only show base annual salaries for H-1B workers and do not include other forms of compensation like signing bonuses or stock options, suggesting that a significant portion of the total compensation for many employees at Palantir includes stock-based compensation.
