Becoming less fun to work here as corporation and resulting bureaucracy grows - Software Quality Engineer Adobe Employee Review

4.0
Jul 23, 2010
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

You get to work on interesting products and technologies. If you don't like what you are doing, it is relatively easy to transfer to another group. Company has a good reputation in the marketplace. Very good benefits and amenities, including employee software purchasing, private offices, on-site post office and gym, some free food and drinks.

Cons

Benefits have been significantly cut in the last couple of years. Promotions are difficult to get. Cost-cutting measures have resulted in ridiculous bureaucracy in purchasing equipment. Layoffs are frequent. New hires are usually in China and India instead of USA. With some products there is a lack of leadership from senior management, which results in low-quality products. It is very difficult to fire incompetent people, especially managers.

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5.0
Jun 22, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Company does its best to take care of employees and avoid layoffs. Great office amenities and flexible work-life balance

Cons

Company is struggling with AI and needed changes. Management is scrambling to figure out the future, and many teams and employees are being bulldozed as a result

4.0
Jun 16, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

* Refreshing focus on employee wellness * Brilliant colleagues * Compelling problems on interesting tools * Good work/life balance culture... generally (see cons) I've been at a few big tech companies and Adobe is one of my favorites. I feel empowered to make impactful changes here, I'm constantly stretching myself in fun ways, and the products we make are incredible. Product and engineering have big dreams, and all the resources we need to realize them.

Cons

* Big time crunch culture around arbitrary goals By far my biggest disappointment has been just how hard product pushes on big projects with arbitrary deadlines and difficult scope. It turns into cutting corners and delivering sub-par experiences even though we absolutely have the talent and capability to make some exceptional things if we just let the dang thing bake a few more months. I'd be more impressed with the tight clip if the goals were reasonable for good business reasons, but as far as I can tell the reason usually boils down to "some high-level manager wanted X and thought Y sounded like a good target date". * Comp growth leaves something to be desired. Raises feel pretty flat, though it's not the worst thing since stock rewards can be pretty good as appropriate for performance. Career progression is pretty good here too - I just find it odd how stale the base pay increases are year to year.

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