I look forward to each day at Airbnb
Pros
Compensation/Benefits: Industry competitive compensation (including equity program), 100% coverage for health, dental, and vision insurance. This year (2014), we'll be shutting down the office for the last two weeks in December (in addition to my 2 weeks of vacation + 5 Holidays). Day-to-Day: Working in data at Airbnb is an exciting place to be. We're currently a small team (but scaling upward), which allows for a lot of creative input into the future direction of the company's data culture. In my 6 months at Airbnb, I've gained ample exposure to trending Bay Area data technologies (Hadoop/Hive/Presto), and work with a highly capable team of tremendously smart individuals. Food Program: All meals are provided (free of charge) by our world class culinary team. This includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and various snacks throughout the day. We also have an excellent coffee/tea program (Da La Paz coffee/Four Barrel Espresso/). If it's your thing, you can also make your own espresso drinks on an industrial La Marzocco machine (after going through a training session). Office Space: The Airbnb office space is incredible. Ours is an open workspace with tons of natural lighting (skylights and large windows). The workspace has become a bit crowded/noisy in recent months, but things should improve when the 3rd floor renovation is complete. This will increase our available floorspace and meeting room capacity by 150%. We're also planning to move to 100% self-actuating sit/stand desks in the future. Culture: The working culture at Airbnb is very relaxed, allowing you to show who you really are. People are very accepting and genuine, so there's no need to put on your corporate work facade each day. The company also works hard to keep a good social element. Weekly Friday happy hours (rotating between creative on-site events, and bartabs at local establishments) are always a good place to start your weekend, and meet folks in other teams. We also have seasonal parties (Thanksgiving, Winter Holiday Party, Summer Celebration, One Airbnb ), which are highlights on the social calendar. For Summer Celebration this year, we bussed the entire company to Russian River for a full day on the river. Travel Culture: Being a travel/hospitality company, we're highly encouraged to use our product. We're given a $2000 travel stipend on Airbnb ($500 quarterly). Long multi-week vacations are encouraged.
Cons
No 401k Match available Airbnb is a relatively young company, where there still figuring things out. Things are moving fast, which can be frustrating for some people. Yesterday's strategy may differ entirely from todays, which may require more adaptability than is typical for most jobs. Prior to joining Airbnb, I worked for large companies with more traditional data cultures. Best practices were better established, and the tools were more stable. At Airbnb, things are quite the opposite, which has often led to frustration. But, overall, I think the challenge is worthwhile.
