Stay away from Smartthings / GIC / Samsung - Anonymous employee SmartThings Employee Review

1.0
Jun 29, 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Dedicated employees IoT market growing and evolving quickly Pays well for some roles

Cons

SmartThings is potentially one of the worst-run companies in Silicon Valley. At SmartThings there is little to no attention to employee development, culture, or long-term vision. Company priorities change with heavy influence from Korean managers who have little to no knowledge of market needs. Project timelines are arbitrarily pushed on engineers, who take the brunt of the load. Though there are recent improvements, this pattern comes from the top. SmartThings recently experienced a layoff that has shattered morale, with people only recently hired let go just as quickly and given limited notice a sub-par severance. Some employees lost long-term payouts. Company leadership, including the CEO and in particular Dora Hsu, are way over their heads and have little to no engagement with or respect for their teams. GIC, the holding company that oversees SmartThings, is equally out of touch in its management of incubation and acquired companies. Unless you have limited options, stay away.

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5.0
Feb 28, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Given lots of opportunities - Respectful people - Hard work is often recognized

Cons

- Can be extremely fast paced at times - Last minute feature requests from Samsung is not uncommon.

2.0
Jun 22, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Very competent peers Subsidiary relationship allows for outsized impact within the larger Samsung ecosystem Open culture with lots of possibility for collaboration and exposure if self-directed

Cons

Leadership struggles with Samsung relationship. Unable to deliver on promises or set direction, individuals end up either leaving or keeping their head down and becoming conduits for Samsung demands. Leadership is mostly internal promotions with little new blood or outside experience. 30% RIF in Spring '26 followed by a surprising burst of positive reviews on glassdoor. WLB largely down to luck-of-the-draw, as teams and service ownership aren't always in your control.

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SmartThings Response
4w
Thank you for taking the time to share such thoughtful feedback. I agree that we have an incredible team, one that is genuinely open, collaborative, and uniquely positioned to have an outsized impact both within the Samsung ecosystem and beyond. As Head of SmartThings, I take personal ownership of the unique dynamics that come with our relationship with Samsung. We know that aligning our team with a diverse global organization requires strong internal advocacy and a clear direction, and our leadership team is fully committed to driving that. I also hear you clearly on the need for inspiring, forward-looking communication. As you noted, we have navigated significant changes at SmartThings this year. Managing those transitions with transparency, integrity, and empathy has been a primary focus for me. However, I acknowledge that we don't always execute that as well as we should. We can do better, and we are committed to finding more frequent, transparent ways to keep the SmartThings team connected to our long-term goals and vision. If would like to share more of your insights directly, my door is always open. Please feel free to reach out to me or the leadership team so we can continue this conversation. Thank you for helping us build a stronger SmartThings. Mark
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