Misleading role with no path to growth or support - Associate Sales Engineer Retool Employee Review

2.0
Apr 14, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Strong product. Friendly and close-knit team. Free food. Some exposure to SaaS tools and customer workflows.

Cons

This is not a technical or sales engineering role, despite the title. It’s an inbound BDR position. During onboarding, I was told that the “Associate Sales Engineer” title is intentionally used to attract more technical applicants, but the day-to-day work is NOT technical and doesn’t align with a sales engineering track. The interview process isn’t fully transparent, and the actual responsibilities differ from what’s described. There’s little to no technical enablement, and expectations vary depending on the manager or AE you’re paired with. After more than a year in the role, ONE Sales Engineer position opened up (after being assured there'd be enough spots for all of us back when we started). All 4 ASEs on the team interviewed, and all of us were rejected for “lack of experience.” It’s discouraging, especially given the lack of support or development to help us grow into that role. It raises real concerns about how the role is structured and whether internal mobility is genuinely supported. Our manager is kind and well-meaning but largely disengaged. While he acknowledges some of these challenges, his focus tends to be on internal dynamics rather than team advocacy or enablement. I’m sharing this to help future applicants make informed decisions. If you're looking for true sales engineering or a technical presales role, this may not align with your expectations. I wish I had known that going in.

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5.0
Jun 23, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Fast pace, with plenty of opportunity to work with modern tooling, supportive culture, and solid engineers

Cons

Retool’s in the middle of a transformation into the world of AI-driven app building and it’s caused its fair share of attrition. But, at least there’s strong buy-in across the company at this point

5.0
Jun 12, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

It’s hard to find a company that seems to genuinely care about their employees. Leadership and frontline listens if you explain context and present solutions to challenges. Sales org is strong. Solid partner strategy. Product teams leaned in and listening. Flexible and supportive work life balance. And a really interesting and exciting direction in term of product market fit. Good benefits.

Cons

Calendars get busy fast during the day. Lots of competing priorities because we’re trying to compete with an ever changing market.

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