Pros
- Applied has managed to attract some of the most talented people in the industry with its business and snowballing with its strong team. - ICs are great to work with, hardworking, reliable, dependable, things get done.
Cons
Applied has the most toxic culture of any company I've ever worked at. I've seen people join and have breakdowns within weeks or months and leave before they vest. Management and leadership routinely dismisses those people as not a good culture fit. We have a really low amount of PTO - 15 days. There used to be an annual holiday week where the company gets the week off, but it was removed last year as it was deemed to expensive for the company's size - as if forcing everyone to work at least 50 hour work weeks and weekends doesn't already make the labour cheap enough. Employees are constantly gaslighted into believing that this is their best option here, leadership and management regularly uses negative reinforcement and intimidation tactics to get things done because "speed above all else" is all that matters. The culture is beyond saving. Only join if you can be a machine that does not care about work life balance or kindness. This is not for you. Anyone that cares about work life balance is a red flag for the company and is guilt tripped and shamed. Management across different teams frequently makes promises to reports (e.g. possibility of remote work, projects, pay) to manipulate reports and some fall through, some work out. It's a pity that this company has managed to attract such a strong team but can't manage to keep people. The amount spent on referral bonuses and recruiting could have been better spent on employee bonuses and retention. We've reached a point where the word is now out in the industry about our culture, it's toxic management and leadership, with its implications. If you are someone with years of experience, this company is not worth it. While the upside and pay might be enticing, it's not worth the impact on your mental, emotional, physical, and social health. This job gave many ICs depression; leaving made many people happier. Please, save yourself. The only time you might consider joining is if you're absolutely financially okay, the company can't use leverage against you (visas, career, or financially), and you can leave at any time. This is the only way you can easily define a style in the company that works for you. But then, why would you join? It's a saddening waste of talent and a culture that the founding team has not only destroyed but created a really toxic culture in the valley.
