Meta reviews

The flip side of the low friction management structure is that you need to take on more ownership of finding high impact work--don't expect to handed out work, you need to identify the work and then get it done. I see this as a plus, but it can make it a little difficult when you start out. Having a high density of smart folks can make it feel more competitive than it really is, and that combined with the pretty low average age of employees can result in the occasional abrasive conversation. Being privy to the roadmap and our plans overall but not being able to tell people about it when they interpret our steps towards our grand vision in a negative light can be frustrating.

I've felt like I've been able to maintain a pretty good work life/balance (especially after the first year), but I feel like I had to work hard to make that happen. Being around many people who feel compelled to put most of their waking weekday hours into coding can be intimidating, even when you feel confident in the job you're doing and even when pressure to put in a ton of hours is rarely explicit. Engineers can definitely work reasonable hours, especially older ones with families, but you have to bring your own self-confidence to trust that you're kicking butt even if you're not putting in a ton of hours (especially during the summers when interns ratchet up the intensity around the office) Things are done very fast, which also means things can be hectic and sometimes chaotic (though this feels less and less true as the years go by), but I'd expect some culture shock for anyone coming from software companies where stability and consensus are top-priorities. Code quality has felt really good for the past 2 or so years, though this definitely didn't feel true when I started.