Still a great place to work but they need to rebuild well - Software Development Engineer Capital One Employee Review

4.0
Aug 3, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Diversity and inclusion is some of the best you will ever find and there are genuinely empathetic people there who want you to do well. Teams are given great flexibility in how they work (as long as it is scrum with 2 week sprints). The company generally tries to do software "the right way". Well tested code is only par for the course. There is heavy emphasis on standardisation to help with delivery as well as removing blockers and tedious change requests going forward. There are good communities there and you are encouraged to make a difference and make changes. Success is celebrated well. The graduate and young careers paths are very good and provide a genuine spring board into mid level and senior positions. Work life balance and employee well being is outstanding. COVID specific: They sent staff home before the government ordered lock down and ensured there was next to no disruption to work. Bravo!

Cons

Far too little "real" technical or actual coding work. Lots of goal setting and retros with very little substance behind either. Some managers generally don't seem that interested in developing their staff and would prefer to resolve conflicts of interest with hand waving. Unsure of who the tribe structure suits. Finance presumably. You will spend a long time working with teams in totally separate departments rather than collaborating with your tribe which was the intention. The performance review system seems outdated and is loathed by everyone. Far too much emphasis on what the specifics of what you have achieved rather than how you are actually doing day to day. Don't expect pay rises to keep pace with the industry. Promotion is the only way to ensure you stay fairly compensated. The requests from the US are usually planned badly and are often unwelcome. The company preach about technology and the transformation it can bring however recently there has been more than a lot of lip service paid to tech debt/platform investment rather than actually finding time for this work.

Explore other reviews about Capital One

5.0
Jul 4, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Culture, WLB, Free Stuff, Building

Cons

Slow work environment, parking situation

1.0
Jul 11, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Cafeteria, coffee machines, and free food

Cons

no career In my experience, the work was not very meaningful and often felt buried under unnecessary red tape. A lot of things sounded exciting from the outside, but in practice many projects felt surface-level and did not seem to become real production work. Feedback and expectations could also feel vague and shifting, with words like “visibility” and “influence” used without clear guidance. I also felt that career growth and opportunity were not handled evenly, and once concerns were raised, the situation became more stressful rather than more constructive. Hiring and promotion patterns did not always feel transparent, which made the environment feel less fair over time. Overall, I left feeling disappointed by how much the company talks about values compared with how unsupported an employee can feel in practice.

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