Pros
Coworkers: I am continually impressed with my my coworkers. Almost everyone is accomplished and experienced in their field. People make the time to educate each other, I have never been 'shooed away' if I have a technical question to engineering. People are super friendly as well and genuinely enjoy each others company. Teamwork: I find that if you have a reasonably sounding plan and are able to communicate how that plan will resolve a problem facing the team, folks generally allow for you to try it out. In that way it feels very collaborative and open. There is a lot of emphasis on working together in teams and spending time together with your product and functional group. Senior Management: Senior Executives are very seasoned, sharp, and inspiring. I personally look up to my chief executive, as well as some of her peers. I love the direction and shape the company is headed in. Benefits & Pay: We receive all benefits of being part of Alphabet (Google) without the big company feel. It's pretty great. Flexible Work Schedules: There are periods of time where work peaks, however as a whole our schedules are very flexible. There isn't any emphasis on being 'butts in seats' from 9-5 or associated guilt from leaving early, working from home, going on vacation, etc. My work life balance is better then it has been here then in some past companies. Roughly work 45-55 hours a week. Career Development: There is a lot of emphasis in my department in providing people with great career development opportunities. I feel like my development is definitely at the forefront of my manager's mind. A lot of people are being promoted from within to more senior roles, which is great to see as an employee. Creates a positive work environment.
Cons
Perfectionists: Everyone here is an A+ player, A- work is considered a bit of a faliure. We are trying to optimize in every direction. This can lead to some functional conflict around how to prioritize points that cannot be optimized at the same time. Also, the drive to perfection can sometimes seemingly slow down development, but personally I'd rather ship excellent product a little later than a mediocre product today. From past experience, this is pretty typical in high performing teams... First Line Management: Some percentage of the first line managers is less seasoned then the senior executives, but is being continuously trained and improving. They occasionally make some 'new manager' type judgement errors. Nothing really terrible, but this can sometimes rub people the wrong way in the lower ranks.