Software Engineer - Software Engineer MarketFactory Employee Review

2.0
Nov 14, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

MarketFactory is located in a fairly nice location in Manhattan. They will insist its Soho but it's actually right on the boarders of China Town and Tribeca. It's easy to get to via Manhattan's subway system. The 1, A, C, E, J, Z, N, Q, R and 6 all stop on Canal Street and are a short walk to the office. The office is located on the 3rd floor and is "filthy and unorganized." There has been years of discussion to re-do the office, but it has yet to happen. The best thing about MarketFactory are some of the people. Flexible PTO, benefits and salary/compensation packages are standard and what one might expect.

Cons

There is no defined direction. The COO is openly rude to the CEO. There have been many occasions of him actually yelling and using the foulest of language in front of the entire staff. Why the CEO allows it is a mystery to all that have witnessed this behavior firsthand. This is also a common occurrence and directed at employees on a regular basis. The technology platform is convoluted and lacks any serious or best practice documentation. Deadlines are arbitrary and at least 3 times a month the company suffers a major software or hardware malfunction. It was instituted several months ago that the team would come into the office on Sunday afternoons to set things in place for the upcoming week. This has proven to be an effective solution, however the team was compensated wth a $150 gift card for many lost Sunday afternoons and evenings.

Explore other reviews about MarketFactory

5.0
Feb 5, 2019
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- The company has great potential in this space as there is no single company that does FX IT well - Very smart group of and experience people which you get to work directly with - Everyone's work has an impact to the bottom line - Very dynamic environment which makes the day to day more interesting - Direct access to very senior counterparts and banks, hedge funds and ECNs - The culture is Improving overtime as the team scales

Cons

- Live trading is a tough IT environment to run - Very demanding clients since we are running live trading environments - You can feel all of the stress of a trading as if you were working on a trading floor

1
1.0
Oct 20, 2017
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

* Free lunch one day a week * The current director of software development is a mensch (I worked with him when I was there). He is committed to doing the right thing despite the general toxic nature of the company. * The paychecks haven't bounced yet * Many interesting problems to solve

Cons

When I worked at MarketFactory there was no work-life balance. From system startup Sunday afternoon at noon NY time until Friday 5pm NY time we lived in fear of two things: the unstable technology doing something to prevent a customer from using it and the whims of the CEO, Darren Jer. It's also worth noting that all system deploys and maintenance happened between 5pm Friday and noon on Sunday, so forget about things like "summer Friday" or a relaxing Sunday if you work at MarketFactory. At least when I was there. Maybe it's better now, but I doubt it. Darren is a hostile, manipulative guy, a horrible manager, not a leader, and he has anger management issues. When I was at MarketFactory, there was no culture to speak of and no effort to create a comfortable, inclusive environment. If you work at MarketFactory be sure to set boundaries with Darren. You'll definitely need to manage up. It's also worth noting that they had trouble retaining sales and marketing people, and that almost the entire customer success team in NY quit during 2017. Darren will say "those people self-selected out" or "they never were A players anyway" but the one common denominator in all this is Darren. Make your own conclusions.

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