Not the Airbnb it was pre-IPO - Staff Software Engineer Airbnb Employee Review

2.0
Apr 1, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- There are still some amazing people who work there (for now) - Compensation is solid and the stock is doing well - CTO has really helped improve the technical direction of the company - There are interesting problems to solve - D&I efforts within the company have seemed to improved

Cons

- Since the IPO, the company has shifted to twice yearly release cycles, and they still haven't quite figured out how to do it in a way that doesn't burn out all their employees - Work-life balance is something you have to fight for, not something that's assumed - Management quality is a mixed bag, and there's not consistent training for managers to improve - Currently, all designs have to go through CEO review, which creates a large bottleneck on decision making - Deadlines for projects frequently aren't based on the size of the project, but the desire for an idea to align with an upcoming release - Lots of reorgs, especially when leaders from a different company join

Explore other reviews about Airbnb

5.0
Jun 25, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good time working there lots of cool people

Cons

overly-design-led, constant changing priorities based on whims from global leads

5.0
Jun 4, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Airbnb's mission of creating a world where anyone can belong anywhere strongly resonates with me. I'm excited by the opportunity to build products that operate at global scale and directly impact millions of users. My background in full-stack engineering, distributed systems, cloud infrastructure, and AI-powered applications aligns well with Airbnb's focus on innovation, reliability, and exceptional user experiences. I am particularly attracted to Airbnb's engineering culture, emphasis on ownership, and commitment to solving complex technical challenges while delivering meaningful value to hosts, guests, and communities worldwide.

Cons

One challenge of working at Airbnb is the complexity that comes with operating a global platform at scale. Engineering teams must balance reliability, performance, compliance, and user experience across many markets and stakeholders. While this can make development and decision-making more complex, it is also one of the aspects that makes the work technically interesting and professionally rewarding.

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