• Fully RTO -- since the pandemic and the start of the WFH order, I had not seen any of my coworkers in person. Expect basically no in-person collaboration unless you are working in a laboratory, and even then, it will be sporadic. Perhaps this is not a con for most SWEs but as someone who enjoys learning from others in the office...this was a loss to me, especially since I started out non-remote. Many of our older and wiser engineers retired at the start of the pandemic. • Pigeon-holed roles -- It is incredibly hard to transfer to a new position once you are in it. There are no employee programs at a company-level to help you expand your skills should you be interested in another position or doing some other level of work/learn something new. I repeatedly expressed interest in my 1-1s with my manager that I was interested in trying other types of work and it fell on deaf ears. They were happy with the work I was doing and wanted to keep it that way. • No WLB. Since there is no separation from home and office, the company does nothing to ensure you have a healthy separation between the two. They know many engineers will continue to work past the usual hours and they tacitly encourage it. You will have to be diligent about it on your own. If you are single and hardworking, expect the company to take full advantage of it. I have had several managers ping/slack me urgent messages in the late evenings or incredibly early in the morning (despite not being an on-call engineer) and you are expected to answer promptly. Burn-out is rampant throughout the org. • Unlimited PTO -- If you leave there is no pay out of vacation time. The time isn't really unlimited either and you essentially have to stay within the bounds of what is reasonable. It is also not unheard of for managers to slack/email you when you are on vacation. There is no "formal" obligation to reply, but if you don't you are the odd one out. • Little focus on employee wellbeing -- The health services they offer are paltry compared to other Bay Area companies. Given how much they tout their benefits, I was not impressed.
