Death by a thousand Galaxies - Software Engineer SmartThings Employee Review

3.0
Aug 7, 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Competitive compensation, especially in Midwest market - Get to work with really, really smart and passionate people. - Technology stack and opportunities to work on interesting technical problems - Get to work on products that millions of people use, with a little bit of a underdog status - Laid back culture of work-hard play-hard - Great leadership response to COVID

Cons

Samsung’s claws have grown deep into SmartThings. There’s really no autonomy within SmartThings leadership, it all comes down from Samsung, and those priorities seem to change on a monthly basis. As an individual contributor, you can mostly stay under this relationship, but expect your team to change your roadmap on a quarterly basis, based on what Samsung deems important. Interesting work doesn’t last long as it is frequently interrupted by bolt-on feature requests. Great people seem to collectively get demoralized, and turnover seems to be high as a result.

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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
3w
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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