Pros
Autonomy in store means you can come up with and execute your own improvement plans. Occasional meetings with Ops team allows you to sync up and feel more like part of the Instacart family. Comfortable work environment on the ground in grocery stores - relaxed dress code means (instacart) tshirt, jeans, and sneakers. Assignment to one or two primary stores fosters a healthy working relationship with in-store management.
Cons
Low pay compared to responsibilities expected; responsibilities and formal expectations make you feel like you should be a full fledged member of the ops team, but pay, benefits, and lack of vacation do not match. Communication between ops team and Shift Leads is very obfuscated - it's hard to get a consistent idea of what goals and expectations the ops team has for you/your store and to understand what's going on for the company as a whole. Frequently asked to implement half baked improvement strategies without giving shift leads any voice in the creation of these strategies. Failure of said strategies is heaped only on shift leads. No room to grow - there are no positions above shift lead that aren't part of the Instacart operations office team. While working for the company, these positions rarely open up and when they do the lack of professional development opportunities become very obvious and make it very difficult to make the cut. Newer ideas and product feedback is frequently received with the equivalent of a pat on the head. These ideas rarely make it high enough on the food chain to even be considered for implementation.
