Mediocre, frustrating politics - Back End Engineer Cadent Employee Review

1.0
May 24, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Laidback startup-like office atmosphere for the most part, located in Center City - Most coworkers are friendly and willing to collaborate, very social environment, some good office events - Environment is very conducive to learning if you take the initiative

Cons

- It seems that lower/mid management are all lacking in people skills and have a desire to exert control over employees and keep them in check by nitpicking about pointless things that don't actually benefit the business - It seems senior management is mostly oblivious to everything and cares more about appearances - Product/project management employees are good at what they do, but the general requirements/tasking they're currently working with seems a bit disorganized - The existing codebase isn't of very great quality due to consistent prioritizing of short-term feature delivery over long-term code quality and design. A bit of a disconnect between the business people and the developers - Tons of outdated/disorganized documentation and code as a result of multiple acquisitions, knowledge drain, and fragmented products/teams - It seems there's a little bit of an inner circle kind of thing going on and office politics at play - The job description provided was somewhat misleading

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5.0
Jun 4, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Hybrid, nice office, nice people, good work life balance

Cons

The promotion criteria were not clearly established.

1
1.0
Jul 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Probably the free snacks. And reminiscing about when all the cool people still worked here.

Cons

Leadership feels increasingly out of touch with both employee sentiment and what made this company successful in the first place. Management has openly expressed that they don't care if employees leave. Unfortunately, that mindset shows. Many of the company's most talented, experienced, and respected people have already exited, and more continue to do so. The return-to-office mandate ignores repeated employee feedback. Surveys have consistently shown that people value flexibility and don't want a blanket RTO policy, yet leadership appears determined to move forward regardless. The company continues to invest in large office spaces while forcing legacy Cadent and AdTheorent employees back into the office, undoing the culture, trust, and flexibility that teams spent years building. It increasingly feels like the RTO strategy is less about collaboration and more about driving voluntary attrition. The company's overall story and strategy remain difficult to understand. It feels like a "we do everything" company without a clear, cohesive vision that ties its products and acquisitions together. The acquisition strategy seems focused on accumulating businesses rather than thoughtfully integrating them, often resulting in the erosion of the very cultures and strengths that made those companies successful. At its core, the biggest issue is a growing disconnect between leadership and employees. People want to understand the vision, feel heard, and believe that leadership values both the business and its people. Right now, many employees don't feel any of those things.

4
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