Absent Management and No Career Development - Software Engineer Getty Images Employee Review

1.0
Apr 26, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

There was bubly sparkling water stocked on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Cons

Absent management: My manager made no effort to go over my job performance or help me with my career development. The times I did have 1:1s scheduled would often end in them missing it and being rescheduled to the next time it was missed. It was clear that I was not valued based on the lack of care demonstrated. I would be shocked if my manager could tell me what I was working on even though we had daily stand ups. There was no knowledge of who upper management was. I cannot tell you who the manager above mine was because I never had any contact with them. Lack of diverse management in engineering: I cannot think of a single women or underrepresented group in the engineering management hierarchy. I can only think of a couple of women in a senior engineering position within AppDev. Toxic relationship between teams: There was very little communication between teams. It could be weeks/months of not hearing for them. The few times there was communication was when someone would say we were doing something the wrong way because they wanted everyone to only do it their way. This usually ended in some type of argument where it had no solution. Product Managers, Product Owners and Dev Managers: What's the difference? PMs manage, POs own, and dev managers do something. I still do not know because they all seem to do something very similar. I was always extremely confused why there was such an overload of PMs/POs. They also do not talk to each other because work often overlapped. The PM/PO could think the work I was doing was great, but the dev manager would have no idea. Review cycles: I never got any feedback on my performance at work. Reviews from coworkers were not a thing. Raises did not happen when I was there, but I read they are usually 3% a year. The technology stack: It still uses Angular 1 written in CoffeeScript. No one is allowed to use ES6/ESNext. Compensation: I was drastically underpaid for Seattle. When the once a year raises happened there would be a recurring excuse of having a low budget or a freeze. They say there is unlimited vacation, but it is not really unlimited. I heard managers limiting unlimited vacation to 24 days, but I cannot confirm.

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Getty Images Response
6y
Thank you for your detailed feedback! We agree that diversity – in gender, experience, and myriad other factors – are highly beneficial to our company, and we have many efforts underway to continue growing the diversity of our team. We cohost events with groups like ADA and Hexagon to ensure diversity in our recruitment efforts; and we are defining Technology Leadership Competencies in partnership with our D&I Program Manager to ensure objective, non-biased characteristics and behaviors are utilized for identifying potential leaders. We hope all of our managers are having regular 1:1s with their directs for career development and providing feedback, but we know these aren’t consistent across all teams – we in HR will try to partner more closely with our people managers to make sure employees are getting the attention and development they need and deserve. When it comes to compensation and benefits, we review our plans regularly and benchmark against local data to offer a robust package that generally gets positive feedback – but not always! This includes our flexible (not unlimited, per se) time off plan, where managers and employees work together to determine a work and vacation schedule that accommodates the needs of the individual, the team, and the company. Our leaders do their best to be available and ensure meaningful communication at all levels, within a collaborative, partnering culture. Strong inter-team relationships are a part of how we deliver daily. Our technology stack is always undergoing review and changes. We are committed to delivering impact for our customers faster and better today than yesterday. But, it is fair to say we are not where we want to be in every interaction, every delivery, and prioritize some improvements over others. We have made changes to make leaders more accessible. Toxic relationships are not common or long tolerated at Getty Images; in fact, people stay here far beyond industry averages because they love their teams, their co-workers and the work they do. We are improving process and technology which can lead to confusion on things like role definition or specific desired tech changes; we need to, and are committed to, do better at change management but will never shy away from changing to make things better. We are always improving and use all feedback, including yours, to inform those choices.

Explore other reviews about Getty Images

5.0
Jun 1, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

- fun culture where you get to hear talks by photographers - adopts new technologies relatively early in the game - a really great place to learn and grow as a developer

Cons

- can handle shifts/re-orgs poorly with communication, leaving employees feeling unheard and unvalued.

1
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Getty Images Response
1w
Hello! Thank you for your review! We’re really glad to hear that you have a positive view of our culture, particularly the opportunity to engage with photographers and our adoption of new technologies. It’s also great to know that you found our environment supportive with opportunity for growth - we always aim to ensure employees feel that they can learn and grow within their role, and others. We also appreciate your feedback regarding communication during shifts and reorganizations. We recognize that periods of change can be challenging, and it’s important that our communication is clear, consistent, and inclusive so that employees feel heard and valued. We will work to continue to uphold our Leadership Principle of being trustworthy, transparent, and honest. If you have any other feedback you'd like to share, please feel free to email me at sarah.dudley@gettyimages.com
3.0
May 6, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- nice people - want to do good

Cons

- technology feels old - ai can take their livelihood

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Getty Images Response
1mo
Hi, there - thank you for your feedback! We’re glad to hear you’ve had positive experiences with the people here and that our team’s commitment to doing meaningful work stands out. We also appreciate your comments about our technology and concerns around AI. We recognize that staying current with technology is essential, and we’re always trying to invest in efforts to better support both our employees and the people we serve. If you have any suggestions that you'd like to share, or anything else on the topic you'd like to discuss, please feel free to email me at sarah.dudley@gettyimages.com
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