Pros
Some genuinely talented people on the team. Exposure to modern cloud technologies and serverless architecture. Opportunity to work on a greenfield product (in theory). Recruiting team and some cross-functional partners were friendly and respectful.
Cons
Leadership is misaligned: Engineering and product leadership lacked clarity and cohesion. Conflicting guidance was common, with decisions often reversed or undercut. Top-down culture: One or two voices dominate decision-making. Feedback is not always welcome, even if offered respectfully. Diverging views may be penalized, not discussed. Limited psychological safety: Mistakes or misunderstandings can be met with condescension rather than coaching. There’s little buffer between junior/intermediate engineers and senior voices with strong personalities. Onboarding lacks direction: Expectations were not clearly outlined early on. Documentation is sparse or out of date, and new engineers are expected to ramp up without sufficient support. Process-focused over people-focused: Managerial style can feel procedural rather than developmental. Little effort made to soften hard moments or contextualize abrupt decisions. Questionable use of contractors: Heavy reliance on offshore contractors, some of whom contribute code without consistent review or accountability. Standards are applied unevenly across contributors. Project fundamentals still unstable: Core requirements of the main product were still being defined months into the effort. This led to rework and frustration among those doing the actual implementation.