RTO is a breach of trust - Software Engineer Altruist (CA) Employee Review

2.0
Oct 4, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Team and manager dependent, but working culture is relatively relaxed for a company moving as fast as Altruist is - Employees live by company values on a day-to-day basis moreso than anywhere else I've worked; almost all of my coworkers are a joy to work with - The work is very interesting, and there are lots of opportunities to take ownership of big, meaningful projects inside the company early in your time there

Cons

Return to office is going to be a disaster for Altruist. There are many people at this company who are going to be forced out, even if they really want to move to California. Only giving your employees six weeks to decide whether to move across the country, only eight months to make the move, and an insultingly small package to do it with means that some people who want to make this happen will not be able to. People on year long leases, with children who will need to start at a brand new school with three months left in the school year, anyone who is a caretaker for another family member, or anyone with a disability that prevents them from moving or participating in hybrid work are all at risk of being pushed out of the company. The timeframe Altruist has given to its employees for RTO is inflexible and far too short. Additionally, there was little transparency into the data the executives used to make this decision. When questioned about it, Jason’s response was effectively “trust me”. Executives said they expect only limited turnover as a result of this process, meaning they’re either out of touch or RTO is a capricious and erratic attempt to cut payroll. One of Altruist’s key values is kindness, but this move feels cruel. The way Altruist handled the 2022 review cycle is embarrassing. First, the end of year process that was supposed to take place in December of 2022 was postponed to April and then to June / July of 2023. This was all under the guise that they wanted to wait til after self-clearing launch to do these reviews. I know people who worked day and night for days on end to make the self-clearing launch happen, only to end up with raises that didn’t match their contributions paid out seven months late.

Explore other reviews about Altruist (CA)

5.0
Jan 14, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great vision to transform wealth management. Challenging yet fun problems to solve. Kind and ambitious coworkers. Great perks and offices.

Cons

High intensity, fast paced work environment but it's worth it.

4
1.0
Jul 11, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Pay is higher then most in the area, but you have the workload of 3x

Cons

Hostile leadership environment, high turnover, high pressure , really unsupportive environment . Many quit In their first couple months

3
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