Caution: Sanctuary for workplace politics and people in denial - Anonymous employee Cloudera Employee Review

1.0
Apr 27, 2019
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Lots of parking available in HQ Some competent individuals are still left

Cons

First/second line managers: Some managers really do not recognize the talent they have in their hands and in this environment they cannot afford to lose even more of their best workers. On the worst teams a handful of people are doing the majority of the work…and these are the exact employees that the worst managers are either bypassing for promos or completely alienating. Most high-performing employees I know are dissatisfied with their role/comp/manager and looking to find a better role elsewhere. There is disincentive to produce quality work when it's the yes men and those with a ton of outside help who are getting the big promos and recognition. Even worse is seeing the incompetent managers enabled with even more resources and recognition that empower them to keep making the same mistakes that have driven away all the high performers and swung the door wide open for incompetence to take over this workplace. Be "open": The company is not open despite the “open company“ facade it tries to project to employees. It's sad when there is more transparency found reading the company's mandatory SEC filings…case in point the last 10k…than at the company's all hands. The kool-aid HR is telling managers to force feed their employees during this company turmoil is a big joke. They are in complete denial and don't realize that good managers cannot trickle down bogus HR talk to the ICs when they themselves have the exact same concerns and questions that HR comms are not addressing in their comms around comp and other topics. Merger: This company is just a couple years away from becoming a b-school M&A course case study on results when mergers are rushed and corners are cut. We all hear these great stories internally and externally about how well the merger is going, wanting to integrate products/systems as fast as possible, logical pairing of 2 companies, etc…but how much is it costing us, and is it really going well? We've lost count how many of the competent people have left, and months after merger we still see crowds of consultants dressed in fancy clothing. There's supposedly a team working on the post-merger integration, but I don't feel like we get many substantial updates about what they're accomplishing - goes with the "openness" from above. Management seems to know but refuse to acknowledge that employees are frustrated that their postmerger workload has increased, comp has gone down -why stay when other companies will pay higher base and not have a stock price that has fallen when the entire market hasn’t- and nothing is being done to address the culture clash after the merger. Reality is, the Hortonworks and Cloudera employees have different working styles. It feels like a culture free-for-all right now - what exactly is being done and is there even an actionable strategy to close the gap beyond "training to deal with change“ and free t-shirts? I've had hours sucked away in meetings so some opportunistic people can quickly stake their post merger power, and the company enables this behavior to continue by doing nothing about it. I have reached the point where I am no longer paid for a job that I was hired to do because my time is sucked into a political mess. I dread going to work every day and I’m sure many others do as well.

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Cloudera Response
7y
Thank you to the writer for posting these thoughts. We know that this stage of the merger is not easy. As a leadership team, we anticipated a period of peak disruption and launched our employee survey quickly so we could identify and address issues and “hot spots” right away. Merging two companies together at such a fast pace has and will create challenges for individuals, teams,infrastructure. We are listening, and we are moving through these issues as quickly as we can. Based on feedback received from the survey, we are sharpening our focus on areas you’ve highlighted. At the company level and within departments, we are working to maximize communication, specifically on our go-forward strategy and merger integration news. The leadership team is also using the survey results to pinpoint specific interventions needed for their teams and employees. Bringing two different cultures together during this period of uncertainty is a challenge, and we are building toward a healthy “new Cloudera” culture that reflects the empathy and teamwork we’ve committed to in the Cloudera Code. To the writer of this review: please bring your concerns forward to someone who can help you with your current situation. There are many ways to raise your concerns so that they are actionable for you as an individual: Cloudera’s anonymous hotline, the open door policy (you can go to any leader, not just those in your leadership chain), your HR Business Partner or me. No one should dread going in to work and we want all employees to feel supported through these changes. Respectfully, Britt Sellin SVP Human Resources Cloudera

Explore other reviews about Cloudera

5.0
Jun 10, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Everyone is willing to help and wants to see you succeed Lots of opportunities to grow within the company/organization Flexible work/life balance Strong Technology

Cons

Multiple platforms - troubling at first to balance between them all, but after some time it is a breeze.

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Cloudera Response
1d
Thank you for the 5-star review. We are delighted to hear that you find Cloudera to be a supportive environment with strong growth opportunities and great work-life balance. We also appreciate your feedback regarding our multiple platforms. We are glad to hear that navigation becomes smoother over time, and we are proud to have you on the team in Austin.
5.0
Jun 10, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

* Amazing and supportive community with highly talented and approachable colleagues. * Welcoming, inclusive, and friendly culture that makes it easy to feel part of the team. * Excellent technology stack built around Apache Software Foundation projects and modern engineering practices. * Strong open-source-first mindset that promotes innovation, transparency, and collaboration. * Flexible work arrangements with the option to work from home, while office attendance is encouraged to foster collaboration and maintain a strong sense of community. * Gorgeous offices worldwide that provide an inspiring and comfortable work environment. * Plenty of opportunities to learn, grow, and work on impactful projects alongside exceptional engineers.

Cons

* The highly flexible work-from-home culture, while appreciated by many, can sometimes lead to sparsely populated offices. Employees who value face-to-face interactions and spontaneous collaboration may find it harder to build connections and discover new opportunities. * Processes and organizational structures are intentionally lightweight, but this can occasionally result in unclear ownership, shifting priorities, and coordination challenges when deadlines approach. * The strong emphasis on autonomy means teams may operate differently, which can make cross-team coordination and planning less predictable. * Communication and collaboration often require a proactive approach, especially in a distributed environment.

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Cloudera Response
1d
Thank you for your 5-star review and your eight years of dedication to Cloudera. We are glad you value our inclusive culture, open-source mindset, and talented team. We appreciate your constructive feedback on cross-team coordination and distributed collaboration. Your insights are incredibly valuable as we continue to improve our planning processes while maintaining the workplace flexibility our employees enjoy.
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