Best place I've worked - by a long shot
Pros
- Commitment to remote work. As a remote-only company, GitLab is forced to do remote work right. Since everyone is remote, you never feel like you're "missing out". GitLab has a number of innovative policies and processes that help make remote work successful. - Technical competency. Since GitLab has access to the global talent pool, the level of talent at GitLab is incredibly high. Every employee I've interacted with has an impressive background and a deep knowledge of their craft. - Inspiring product. It's incredibly satisfying to work on a product that millions of people use. - Dogfooding. GitLab uses its own product to develop its software. It's satisfying to see your improvements in the product you use on a daily basis. - Culture of openness. All of GitLab's values and company policies are explained in the "handbook", a massive, searchable, publicly-accessible document that anyone can edit. - Positive work/life balance. GitLab employees aren't pressured to work overtime and are encouraged to take vacations. - Generous spending policy. GitLab will pay for any equipment you need to do your job, and there's no red tape or approval processes. - Global. It's a ton of fun to work with people from all over the world. - High morale. At the time of writing, there's a lot of interest and investment in GitLab. Everyone at GitLab feeds off this excitement. - Salaries are (kind of) transparent. You can get an idea of what you'll make before you even apply using the interactive salary calculator. - Clean code base. GitLabbers spend a lot of time making sure GitLab is developed using the best practices. - Competent leadership. In particular, the CEO (Sid) is incredibly knowledgeable about the product and related technologies. - Growing like crazy. This is an exciting time to be working at GitLab.
Cons
- Depending on your area, compensation is sub-par. - Benefits for non-US workers are sub-par or non-existent. For example, Canadian GitLabbers are not offered any health benefits or retirement plans (at the time of writing). - No annual bonuses. - Even though GitLab does remote work really well, remote work can still be hard. - Members of the HR team (referred to internally as PeopleOps) have a ton on their plate, since they are managing a global workforce. They do an incredible job, but sometimes things slip through the cracks simply because they have so much to do compared to your "average" HR person.
