Pros
Great peers - Employees who work on products are hard-working, supportive, and positive. Upper managers, unfortunately, are out of touch. Flextime - If you have a good manager, you do get unlimited time off. The flexibility is great, especially for parents. If you have a bad manager, then they can make you feel guilty for requesting time off.
Cons
Upper management is out of touch to the point of being damaging - Upper management is so removed from product-level work that they often make decisions that make it difficult to get work done. Unrealistic workload - The workload is extremely high and employees work overtime with no recognition, or they have to leave work undone and face negative repercussions from management. In particular, entry level positions designed for recent grads have unbalanced workloads. High stress - Working at Ascend causes acute stress. It's not unusual for employees to cry, have panic attacks, or be unable to come into work due to stress. Employees are moved around like chess pieces - During reorganizations, employees are sometimes moved into completely different jobs without any discussion, warning, or training. If you want to have control over your own career development, do not work here.