Incompetent Managers lead to awful products - Anonymous employee Lytro Employee Review

1.0
Jan 1, 2015
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Some of the smartest engineers in the market. Catered lunches and unlimited time off appears on the surface to be a company that is all about the employee.

Cons

Many, including many that work at Lytro, describe the company as a photography company ran by engineers. Lytro makes a product that has received little to no input from photographers who actually use the product. The company knows that it needs to hire them and they try to, but once they're on staff their opinions are ridiculed and scoffed at as though they have no clue what the market wants. One director with a lot of say runs a team where everything is priority number 1 and leaves no work/life balance. Never-ending 80-90 hour weeks are typical all the while this director takes cross country flights disguised as business but are intended as pleasure. The communication to employees is very poor and staff is expected to read middle-management's mind when they are often absent and unreachable via email. Once decisions are made that don't align with an ever-changing visions, employees are left to suffer the blame. This toxic environment is well-known to the board and CEO, but despite continued complaints and numerous "probation periods" nothing is done to fix it.

Explore other reviews about Lytro

5.0
Dec 13, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great team mentality and cool technology.

Cons

Small company makes it difficult for career growth.

5.0
Oct 2, 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Working at a smaller company is great because you don't have to tunnel through mountains of bureaucracy to get things done. Things at Lytro move fast, and you can definitely impact the company because it is so adaptable and nimble. If a newish engineer has a great idea, he or she can take it directly to anyone - even the CEO. There's no need to submit ideas to committees where they will languish. There are also great perks like a free shuttle to the Mountain View Caltrain station, catered lunch, free snacks, ping pong and a pool table. There are weekly happy hours and occasional evening events, like pub quiz, which are well attended. Management has been very responsive to requests for change. For example, for a long time we only had the ping pong table. After employees expressed a desire for another option, lo and behold a pool table arrived.

Cons

For some people, being at a start-up can be too stressful. Problems that would be small elsewhere, like a shipping delay, can be big problems here. Also, there are many people in the company who have to wear multiple hats. This is true in engineering, ops and G&A. I personally liked this since I enjoy variety but it may not be for everyone.

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