Pros
AV is a fun and exciting space to be in. Successful driver out tests. Any other pros have eroded away over the past couple years.
Cons
Top-down command-and-control management style that is punitive in nature. Management-by-fear over time has created a culture of fear. People don’t speak up or step up for fear that they will be punished. Messengers are shot. Novelty is crushed. All performance is based on the individual, and combined with other problems leads to folks competing with each other, rather than our competitors. Much more time is spent focusing on other internal political problems than on our actual competitors. The company principles communicated by HR are just for show. When it comes to review and calibration time, “We don’t care about attitude. All we care about is results.” That’s a direct quote from the highest level to a room full of managers. What was probably the most important project/effort for the company this year was originally run by an experienced program manager and an experienced technical leader. 3 days after the project was put together the program manager and project lead were let go. 2-3 weeks later they were replaced by internal folks with much less experience (still good employees though). 3 weeks later that PM quit and 2 weeks after that the replacement tech leader also quit. The coming and going of individuals and teams is so frequent and chaotic that it is really hard to begin something and see it through to the end. Not a good place to get things done. Not a good place to grow a career. If you want to work lots of hours for less pay, start and stop a bunch of things, watch more of your team members leave than come, stay quiet about problems when you see them, and then be made to feel terrible about the work you do, then TuSimple is the place for you. Everyone else, go anywhere else. You’re welcome.