Best Software Engineering Job I Have Had To Date; Bar None
Pros
Company growing. Bigly. Great compensation, some of the best in Jacksonville, FL - and other locations I have been told. Feels like a functioning meritocracy which is super rare. Notice I say functioning and not "claimed" because I have seen it in action directly and in-directly. Good individualized feedback from your direct supervisor. Lot's of 1-on-1s to get in complaints and to receive them as well. You are given the opportunity to change when there is a problem, grow when its necessary, or just be told you are crushing it. The work is usually fun, exciting, and often times, cutting edge. You feel like you make a difference, whatever its is you are working on. Lot's of good modern benefits, DTO being the best. Real and usable DTO. Options to work remote are always available but you are encouraged to work in office for collaborative reasons. Everything seems to be at the discretion of your manager though, so some managers don't have any issue with remote work but the position itself will rarely be considered full-time remote.
Cons
We have potential for an annual purge every year... whether this is good or bad... it affects a company's reputation and makes local hiring more difficult. A potential hire will always think twice knowing that they could be laid off in a year. Those familiar with cutting edge tech, know that it can be a pain in the butt to utilize. Company needs more tech cohesion and less tribal knowledge - this unfortunately means that West Coast Fanatics will need to relinquish a little tech direction control, i.e. let other facets take charge of some frameworks/things or co-develop. That advice, I feel sounds solid, but there in lies the problem. There is a disparity in treatment between West Coast and Other / East Coast. Make no mistake, the high tech praise spotlight is spent 68% (or whatever % it is) of the time on San Mateo. Simple to say, it is just not equal to it's shine on the other branches, however, it really isn't the end of the world. There are incredibly capable people on the West Coast, it just feels sometimes that they forget the East Coast is just as capable. In a sense, you feel like the B-Team to their A-Team. All that being said, the company's motto right now is "One Fanatics" so they are responding to feedback and criticisms internally - which in itself, feels good. Most companies probably would not care, right?