Too much to do - Software Engineer BlackRock Employee Review

3.0
May 26, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Startup benefits (free food, drinks, standing desks, etc) plus corporate BlackRock benefits (401k, cash bonus, parental leave) - Diverse workplace, welcoming for women and LGBT - Most people are smart and approachable, especially Bo & Jon - Engineering has invested effort to reduce tedious work - Still lots of good people left, despite a string of high performers leaving after this year's bonus - Devs frequently work with non-devs throughout the company - Management generally listens to complaints and try to correct course - Some teams allow flexible work from home arrangements - Many employees pick up better personal finance & investing habits

Cons

- Feels more like a vendor working for multiple partners rather than a true platform - Arbitrary deadlines with no flexibility on feature requirements because someone promised it to a partner - Each partner wants different features, company can't agree on how to prioritizate. Some PMs end up on projects that will never ship. - Very little flexibility to be creative due to partner constraints - Some BlackRock benefits (e.g. 401k matching) come with 3 year vesting cliff! - Corporate HR policies like promotions & raises only on annual review, no stock awards, personal trading reporting - Devs always end up doing tech support and answering questions about the product (not enough product documentation or knowledgeable PMs)

Explore other reviews about BlackRock

5.0
May 21, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great company to gain experience

Cons

Not many cons, large organization

3.0
Feb 22, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

1. The executive leaders in the firm are doing a great job 2. Many people in the firm genuinely have a sense of pride working there 3. The (base) compensation is compatible with the market; bonus, however, is another story. 4. For the first ten years of my career in the firm, I made some great memories and made some great friends.

Cons

The culture of my organization started to shift away from a sensible approach and career nurturing to a hostile and confrontational one around 2 years ago. In several all-hands meetings, we were chastised for being "too nice" and were made clear that things would change. The anonymous feedback in the meetings was cut short or eliminated entirely because it didn’t paint a positive picture. In the last 2 years, 1. I was often asked and expected to answer, "Now.. what can you do for me?" in my 1:1 with my latest manager. 2. I was reminded more than once that English is my second language 3. I was reminded more than once by the manager that I should not speak during the meetings I was invited to because they weren’t in the right timing or not appropriate to the subject being discussed during the time There were many of these examples in the last two years with the firm that just seemed inconceivable; nevertheless, I had a great ride and met some genuine people that I consider friends even today.

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