[Management]
Management in all levels is hit and miss, but mostly a miss. The majority of senior management is fairly entrenched not only in their positions but in there demonstrable stale tactics and ideas, with good managers finding it difficult to flourish (but not impossible).
A sentiment I must echo from another review: XIFIN rarely promotes from within (again, it's not impossible, but it is a difficult proposition), I can recall an engineer being at a standard level position, applying for a promotion, getting denied, went to another company for less than a year, and came back to that more senior position. They did eventually leave again for good after a year's time, but I can't imagine that they were much more qualified once they left than when they were at XIFIN. It seems like XIFIN prefers to hire from without over within.
I've also heard of/seen under qualified people getting hired simply because they were friends of someone, most of the time these situations lead to the detriment of the company as a whole.
Like most companies office politics plays a major role in the decision making process, unfortunately XIFIN seems to be caught in this behavioral pattern more than most places. Being thrown under the bus is just par for the course. Make sure you have things well documented (via email will suffice) and proceed to climb out from under the bus.
[Company Values]
The company tends to put a great many things before its employees.
Among more senior employees the company always had the reputation for being cheap. This stemmed from the lack of paid holidays, a sub-standard PTO accrual rate, an awful 401k plan (has recently introduced matching, but terms are far below standard), and the need to fight tooth and nail to get anything done that may require an expenditure of company funds.
Their once frugal values have recently started to make way for those focusing on image and style.
When engineers made it known that their working environment was too noisy and difficult to work/be productive in (due in large part to being surrounded by other more boisterous portions of the organization) the company balked at the news and suggested remedies such as using a hardly-if-ever used lounge area (functional desks were replaced with a couple couches -> no one could figure out why) for either the engineers or other organization members. They were more concerned with showing tour members (high valued customers) how much like a 'cool' or 'hip' software company XIFIN was. This point can be further emphasized by the building that was chosen for their latest move: a place more picturesque (as seen in their media) than practical, the parking spots are just big enough to fit a smart car or a motorcycle, a daily headache and running joke for their employees.
Although the employees are relatively easy to get along with hardly anyone I came across during my time at XIFIN took pride in their job and/or work place.
Job: simple mistakes were routinely made but with no real consequences or responsibility taken for said mistakes.
Workplace: it wasn't uncommon to see the break area or restrooms in disarray with others just adding to the mess instead of helping to clean up.
XIFIN's rapid expansion and push to up their employee count has lead to a quantity over quality approach leading to a further exacerbation of these issues. HR does struggle to keep the caliber of the applicants as high as possible, but they can only do so much.
Those that do take pride in their jobs aren't typically the 9-5 crowd, they tend to have to stay late into the night and often work weekends. These few people are truly the unsung heroes at XIFIN, they are the ones that keep XIFIN going and competitive in the industry.
[XIFIN as a Company]
As an engineer, the biggest drawback of working at XIFIN is that you are working for a Services company, not a Software company. Many of the other reviews here suggest that XIFIN does a paltry job with their benefits especially when compared to other software companies, that's true, but that's like saying it's better to use oranges to make orange juice than it is to use apples. No kidding...
XIFIN is not a software company, at least not in any traditional sense that people would normally think of, so even if they call themselves one, it's hard to agree with that sentiment. Most directives come down with an emphasis on Services, leading the engineers to feel like superfluous second class citizens.
[The Product]
As a direct result of the services oriented nature of the company, the engineering team is constantly pushed to produce new features with little priority placed on the numerous existing issues (this has been such a sore spot that it has finally started to be addressed). While the push for new features is admirable, it seems like a mistake to continue to build on top of such a poor foundation. Doing so constantly injects new issues alongside the historic ones leading to a situation where distinguishing where one issue ends and the other begins becomes almost impossible. This approach presents the facade that the product is evolving to meet market demands, but it may eventually lead it to stumble under its own weight. Once again an area where image and style win out over substance and employee concerns.
[Infrastructure]
- Information Technology -
The technologies used in the product and what supports it is an example of XIFIN's frugal nature still alive and kicking. What they consider bleeding edge technology is old enough to have been sunset by Microsoft if it was one of their operating systems. Old isn't inherently bad, but when other technologies have been demonstrated to be capable and proven to do a better job in every measurable way, it's time to move on from your current paradigm.
- Corporate IT -
As mentioned in other reviews, the security minded nature of the medical industry has lead to the locking down of work machines. This has lead to a new found reliance on the IT team. The teams lack of responsiveness is not due to the IT team itself, but their lack of support (being understaffed). The company has grown tremendously, but has done so without allocating nearly enough resources to the infrastructure of the company, many employees have seen a slow done in productivity as a result.
[Compensation]
Ultimately XIFIN's goal is to make money, and they are coldblooded in their pursuit of it, they aren't in the business of running a charity. So coming into the company expect that you'll be paid less with fewer benefits, because you will unless you can successfully negotiate a good starting wage (something that is rare but not unheard of). Getting a good starting rate is paramount since you will only see annual merit increases in the 2-3% range (maybe 4% if you're manager wants to be your advocate). Of course this is all understandable, it's not XIFIN's fault that their employee's are willing to undervalue themselves, if someone was worth 100k but was willing to get paid 75k, or if someone was willing to work a 50-60 hour week for the same pay as someone working a 40 hour, which company wouldn't jump at that bargain...
[The Commute]
Yes, the company is located in San Diego which is nice, but it's location also presents an issue. Being at the top of the triangle (where the 5 and 805 meet), you will inevitably be stuck in traffic at the end of the day (~4pm - 6pm [traffic starts early on Friday, its heavy by about 3pm] +/- 30 minutes) whether you are headed south on the 5 or 805, north on the 5, or even east on the 56 (typically not as bad as the other directions). Getting to XIFIN is relatively easy in the mornings (though the 56 west can be bad at times).
[Overall]
XIFIN is like that old bar around the corner, it's slow to change, the selections awful, and you may get ripped off but the people are nice and the place feels comfortable once you get used to it.
XIFIN isn't for everyone, on balance I would recommend steering clear unless:
1) your position is fairly insulated
2) are able to start with an above average salary
3) you can easily get along with your new manager/supervisor
4) get along well with your new team members
5) are willing to sacrifice #2 for #4
Don't get me wrong, I want XIFIN to succeed and get better. I don't want people in the software industry to look at my resume and see my time at XIFIN as a negative, the better XIFIN gets the better I look for having worked there, go XIFIN!
