Good Pay for a Toxic Sinking Ship - Senior Software Engineer Dropbox Employee Review

2.0
Nov 8, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The main reason to work at Dropbox would be to use it as a stepping stone to other Big Tech companies. There are better options than Dropbox, but if you're looking to move into Big Tech, and Dropbox is the only offer you get, its worth taking and staying for a year or two before moving on. Otherwise, its not worth it, think about it, when was the last time you or friend used Dropbox? * MAANG level compensation and benefits * Could be a good stepping stone to big tech if you're not in the industry. * Many of the old engineer guard seem to be leaving, so this could make room for a better engineering stack in the future.

Cons

* No Vision - Leadership has no vision on how to accomplish "Organizing the Cloud". The products being built for this either already exist or don't actually solve that problem. They also don't seem to impress investors. Its also unclear whether this is a problem that really needs to be solved. Dropbox as a product is also sunsetting, whether the leaders want to admit it or not. * Toxic Politics - The politics here are really bad and seemingly encouraged as they are the main means of promotion for senior engineers and management. Expect a lot of backstabbing and grandstanding, and needing to be the loudest voice in the room to be heard. * Little to no transparency above you, worsens corporate politics * Engineering stack in Prod is extremely painful to use. Similar to other MAANG companies, monorepo w/ bazel pattern, except only a few engineers to manage the service, instead of several teams like other MAANG companies. Expect half a day to a day to land your changes. * Work / Life balance was once good, but now it really depends on the team. If you can, shop around for the team make sure its what you're looking for.

Explore other reviews about Dropbox

5.0
Jul 14, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Excellent benefits and smart colleagues!

Cons

Constant strategy change and work about work.

2.0
Jun 12, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Benefits: - Personal wellbeing allowance - Annual performance bonus - Equity - Internet & cell phone reimbursement

Cons

Very little room for growth. No real sense of job security due to the constant layoffs. Execs chase the latest and greatest trends, only to abandon projects halfway through. There’s no real sense of leadership or direction—where’s the company headed? What’s the actual goal of [xyz] project?

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