Inexplicable support management, compared to rest of NR - Senior Software Engineer New Relic Employee Review

3.0
Jun 8, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Moved to Portland to take this job, and I do not regret it. Challenging and rewarding work, smarter than average peers, and a great office location. Genuinely love my Mondays. Engineering managers are respected for their abilities, are generally great leaders and come across as peers. C-level/ VP-level management has a great understanding of the SaaS market, and make great decisions. Lots of trust in those folks.

Cons

The support management is inept. Micromanagement is the name of the game. Management scorns feedback. Top-down zealotry exists to keep anyone from moving into an engineering position. This squashes any idea of career advancement within the company. Many talented support staff have left for development roles outside of New Relic. Why not keep them with us? Support has lost some of the most talented people at New Relic not just in support. Due to festering/ignored low morale and lack of day to day leadership. Engineering and support used to work hand in hand. Support is now physically isolated from from the developers, as they moved them 23 floors down. As well as through a support management mandated decrease in support/engineering communication.

avatar
New Relic Response
11y
Thank you for your feedback! Many of us share your enthusiasm for our company, leadership and engineering group (93% affirming NR as a Great Place to Work in the recent Fortune Mag. survey!). Your view of the Support organization as a barrier to growth, however, appears to be more of an outlier. We are committed to making it possible for Relics to grow, advance, and thrive working at New Relic. And we have had more than a little success with that. Some of the reasons your comments surprise me: * Voluntary turnover in the Support group is lower than the company average. * Even better, an exceptional 98% of Support would recommend - or highly recommend - the company as a great place to work (from our March pulse survey, with a majority of Support responding). * In the last 12 months, seven Support Relics moved into other groups, all but one into developer roles in Engineering. Said differently, 10% of the group made such moves. (This is, btw, more than double the number of Relics who left Support for developer jobs outside NR!) * Many more Relics in Support were recognized for their professional and technical growth during this period. Your other point, proximity in the office, will continue to be challenging. We outgrew our Portland office space and needed to separate some groups. The cost of success. This has made the task of keeping Support and Engineering aligned is more important than ever. Despite the 23 floors of separation, Support engineers are present every day for stand-up meetings with our Agent engineering teams. Most days, there are one or more paired programming or debugging teams, with engineers from both groups working together. This connectivity is essential to the vitality of our products, and to the intellectual health of the company. We are proud of this Support group that provides 24/7 global support for hundreds of thousands of New Relic users – and does so with grace, gumption, and great technical insight. I don't doubt that your own experience is less positive that some of what I outlined above. I would strongly encourage you to talk with Julie (PeopleOps in PDX,), the next level up in your own management, or me so we can better understand and address your concerns. We need Relics like you to voice your ideas to keep us working effectively as a team. I hope you take up my offer. Regards, Steve McElfresh VP, People

Explore other reviews about New Relic

5.0
Feb 25, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

New Relic truly walks the walk. I love that the company leans into a Challenger Mindset; it creates a dynamic where we are always improving and staying ahead of the curve. Even as a new hire, my perspective feels valued. Beyond the tech, the culture is unprecedented. Everyone is incredibly helpful and stays Accountable to one another. It’s rare to find a place that is this friendly while still maintaining a high bar for getting work done.

Cons

Still in the honeymoon phase, but navigating the vast amount of internal documentation can be a bit of a whirlwind during the first month; definitely feel like "drinking from a fire hose." While the team is supportive, the sheer volume of information can be overwhelming for a newcomer.

avatar
New Relic Response
4mo
Thank you for the great review! We’re thrilled that you’re experiencing our 'Challenger Mindset' firsthand and feeling valued as a new Relic. We also appreciate your feedback on the onboarding 'fire hose' and are committed to streamlining our documentation to help our new hires dive in even faster."
5.0
Jun 28, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Man, this was a great company back in the day. Almost everyone is gone now.

Cons

Horrific middle management. This was all a long time ago though. The people I worked with are all gone.

avatar
New Relic Response
1w
Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We are glad to hear you have fond memories of your time with us and the colleagues you worked alongside. We also acknowledge your comments regarding management, and we appreciate your perspective as we continue working to support our teams and shape our culture. We wish you all the best in your next chapter!
See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All