Good comp, some good people, stifled by bureaucracy, group-think, and sluggishness - Director Product Management NetApp Employee Review

3.0
Mar 9, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I think compensation and benefits are probably a bit above average for bay area. Not much to complain about there. Vacation accrual a bit slow, but they have more holidays and company shutdown days per year so tend to get a good number of days off. Some nice people and company has a pro-employee culture in terms of operating with integrity towards employees. A lot of hard-working people (but they are working hard rather than working smart sometimes).

Cons

Pro-employee culture plus a strong since of inclusion/inclusiveness seems to have evolved into a tendency towards everyone feeling like they should be allowed to give their opinion on everything, resulting in a lot of bureaucracy and too much micro-management-by-committee. The result is that it is often difficult to move quickly and decision-making authority can be muddled. Concerning in a company where the industry is in upheaval and things need to change to assure success. Promotion above Sr. Manager level very hard to come-by internally.

Explore other reviews about NetApp

5.0
Jul 23, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Amazing company culture with supportive managers and teammates. Interns are trusted with meaningful projects that have real business impact. Great opportunities to learn, network, and grow professionally.

Cons

As a large organization, some processes can take time and navigating different teams can occasionally be challenging.

1.0
Jul 22, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

+ Some genuinely talented, kind engineers on the ground who make the day-to-day bearable. + Established company with recognizable products, so it's a fine résumé line if that's what you need.

Cons

- Compensation isn't remotely competitive with other tech companies for the same work, expect to be underpaid relative to peers doing equivalent engineering elsewhere. - Return-to-office mandate with attendance tracking. Leadership doesn't just require office days, they freaking track and count how many days each person badges in. This is giving jail-vibes and they treat you like a kid instead of grown-up professional. - Forced-ranking reviews. A mandatory quota means roughly 10% of people must be rated "not meeting expectations" regardless of actual performance. Good engineers get labeled underperformers just to fill the curve. - Manufactured internal competition. Because ratings are a zero-sum quota, teammates are effectively pitted against each other. It kills collaboration and makes the environment toxic. - Routine layoffs. In my experience, layoffs came around like clockwork — roughly twice a year, which meant constant job insecurity and a demoralized team that never got to feel stable. - Leadership has run a once-great company into the ground. In my opinion, George and the current C-level team have turned what used to be a respected place to work into a miserable, pathetic place. The direction under this leadership has been consistently toward more monitoring and pressure, and less trust, autonomy, and morale.

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