Pros
A few smart engineers and ICs still trying to do real work despite constant interference. Exposure to email security space, if you can survive the politics long enough.
Cons
Product leadership is a disaster. The CPTO sets the tone with paranoia, control, and obsession over trivial details. Instead of vision, you get micromanagement, fear, and endless scrutiny. There is no trust in PMs. Every decision has to be rubber-stamped at the top. You’re not hired to build products — you’re hired to execute orders, sit through constant micromanagement, and write status updates. Favouritism is rampant. A small inner circle of product leaders is untouchable, regardless of competence. If you’re not part of it, brace yourself for nitpicking, scrutiny over the smallest details, and being thrown under the bus. Leadership rewards loyalty over skill, and those outside the circle are treated as expendable. Many of the product leaders themselves lack real product or technical depth, yet they control every decision. Their approach relies more on intimidation and politics than on collaboration or customer value. Instead of empowering teams, they undermine them with favoritism, micromanagement, and power plays. Performance Improvement Plans are weaponized. They’re not used to develop people — they’re used to get rid of those who don’t fit into leadership’s inner circle. The process is punitive by design and serves as a constant reminder that anyone can be targeted next. Strategy doesn’t exist. Priorities change weekly, dictated more by politics and escalations than customer value or product vision. Long-term planning is a joke. The culture is toxic and fear-driven. Teams spend more energy avoiding blame than delivering innovation. Creativity is crushed because stepping out of line means becoming a target. Collaboration is broken. Product and engineering alignment is nonexistent. Dependencies drag forever, but leadership only points fingers instead of fixing systemic issues. Career growth is dead. Promotions and recognition are based on proximity to leadership’s ego, not merit. Talented PMs stagnate or leave, while “favorites” get rewarded for mediocrity. Leadership turnover is high, morale is lower, and the best people are already heading for the exits.