PIP Culture Ruined It - Senior Software Engineer Capital One Employee Review

3.0
Mar 24, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Pay is good, it's a comfortable job. Work life balance is great (if you're WFH). The office is cool and serves decent food. Coworkers are nice, smart and chill (engineering)

Cons

-I was lucky and got an exemption to WFH after RTO started, but I heard lots of complaints from people who were forced to go in. -Management is a mixed bag. I managed to survive years of PIPs because my manager advocated for me, But then I got a new one, and they immediately threw me under the bus and PIP'd me while never mentioning my apparent "bad performance" in the months prior. A coworker of mine discussed my performance with said manager, and the manager agreed that I had been doing "great" before submitting said performance review. -Communication from the higher ups isn't transparent, Org changes happen every year, forget about knowing who your leadership is. -You aren't actually helping people with the work you're doing (if that matters to you). -Going above and beyond or trying something new isn't rewarded, which is demoralizing.

Explore other reviews about Capital One

5.0
Jul 19, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

A great workplace that offers excellent work-life balance and competitive pay.

Cons

Promotion depends a lot on the team and office politics, even if you perform exceptionally well.

2.0
Jul 15, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Salary, benefits, mobility for internal transfers

Cons

I have been a part of Capital One for more than 20 years, most of my career. It was an exciting growth culture in the early years. Our team culture was very strong. People looked out for each other and worked toward a collective good. Around 2019 a shift began in leadership. Politics became more important and forced distribution, stack ranking, and performance management targets became more prevalent. When the pandemic hit, it broke the strong in person culture of this company. Many left for the lure of FAANG and other companies offering remote work for promotion and higher pay. It was a chance to jump the line and come back later. In the meantime COF hired people who tired of the relentless pace of Amazon, Google, and other tech companies. We also hired in big bank culture of JPM Chase and Goldman. This has resulted in a toxic, political, cutthroat culture with constant reorgs. I’m planning to leave this organization in the next 12 months. It is sad what it has become. I know tenured leaders, great people who look out for others and have helped me succeed over the years, who are miserable here. DFS colleagues from the acquisition are leaving in droves.

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