Sinking ship - Software Engineer Testlio Employee Review

Hello, Thank you for sharing your feedback and your concerns regarding our Product and Engineering Teams (we call this our Platform team). This is Bill Toulias, VP, Engineering at Testlio. To begin, here’s some important, transparent data meant to address your concerns about resignations. In the last 12 months, we’ve had approximately 50% attrition in the Platform team. This is ~2x our company average (as shared elsewhere, we average 5-6% per quarter). From close work with our people, including exit interviews, we believe that our evolution into a fully remote engineering organization, inclusive of closing our Tallinn office in October 2023, was a major driver for this higher chapter of attrition. We’ve since welcomed many talented engineers from multiple EMEA locations and have shifted to an exciting new way of democratizing product roadmap decisions via a focus on objective ROI quantification. We call this our Platform Advancement System and it’s operating in an efficient and effective way—intentionally without a product management function. Today, the Platform team is 25 people, ~12% of our total company headcount, and we currently have 4 positions open for new joiners. Your suggestion to ask about team dynamics during the recruitment process is well put. We encourage all candidates to have open conversations with our recruiters and hiring managers. In fact, a key step in our interviewing process is a discussion with candidates about their future team and the challenges of each role. It’s important to shape clear expectations and reach a joint consensus on the potential for fit. Regarding our equipment policy: as a remote full-time workforce spread across 40+ countries, we have moved away from a traditional laptop model. This was done to reduce logistical challenges and costs, given that we spend six figures annually on hardware. As of mid-2024, we provide all TestLions with the flexibility to use a laptop they already own or purchase a new one with an 80% reimbursement. After two years, people gain full ownership of their laptops. For all people who have been with Testlio for more than 2 years, we transferred 100% ownership of current company-owned laptops to the worker (with no expenses). And, we provide 80% reimbursement for a new laptop every 4 years. Meaning, that if you work for Testlio for six years, you are eligible to fully own 2 laptops at an 80% discount (company covered payment) over cost. We worked to put together a thoughtful laptop program, and truly believe that this is a win-win for everyone involved. Thank you again for your feedback. Kind Regards, Bill Toulias VP, Engineering