Palmer Luckey: Anduril hires people who build passion projects on their own time and dime
a16z · x · 2026-09-25
Anduril founder Palmer Luckey explained his hiring philosophy on a podcast: he looks for candidates who built projects outside of school or paid work.
His reasoning: assigned projects are often years or decades behind industry and hobbyist practice, and self-chosen projects lead to far better learning decisions. People willing to spend their own money and time building things are, in his view, those who want to bring something into the world that wouldn't otherwise exist.
A useful signal for self-learners and job seekers in the AI era: side-project track records say more than coursework.
Related event: Palmer Luckey reveals Anduril hiring criteria: fund your own projects(2 posts)→
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