A shell of its former self - Member Of Technical Staff Cockroach Labs Employee Review

2.0
Feb 24, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- I like the people I work with. Many of them are very talented. - Very cool product and technology. - High quality engineering with innovative solutions. - Interesting problems to solve with plenty of autonomy. - Decent transparency across teams. - Was an excellent place to work before 2023.

Cons

- I along with many others are concerned about recent decisions made by executive leadership. Their decisions seem dubious and inefficient, and many of us no longer trust what they say or to lead. - Executive leadership has created a long list of reasons for people to leave and be upset via policy changes and layoffs, while simultaneously trying to hire a lot. This seems very inefficient to me. - Executive leadership makes claims about experiencing a bout of industry wide problems even though it seems many similar companies aren't nearly having it as bad as we do. - It really feels like engineering is not adapting to the needs of the business. Prioritization feels wrong and leadership does not seem to be aware or care. - There seems to be a general pattern at the company that we act like a large company but we really should be acting like a startup. Management is spending too much time on improving management scaling rather than empowering ICs to solve the actual important problems of the business. ICs should be empowered to help brainstorm and solve broader problems with the product. - Morale in both Revenue and Engineering don't seem that good. - A strange fixation on working in-person. The fact that this is such a high priority to executives despite all the other problems at the company indiciates poor management strategy. - Compensation structure is not reflective of current conditions of the company and does not encourage or commend heroic efforts of employees. - We have some management cultural problems. It feels to me like too many people experience burnout here, even when people were quite happy, before 2023. - I really hate to say this and really hope I'm wrong about this, but it truly feels like a sinking ship.

Explore other reviews about Cockroach Labs

5.0
Feb 11, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

-incredibly smart, kind, approachable employees -product is in a space that is more and more interesting with the rise of AI -company genuinely cares to be AI Native and each department has objectives associated with that goal- keeps employee skillsets relevant and keeps employees learning and growing -free in office lunches which is a small, yet enjoyable daily delight - the people here are genuinely happy, there is really interesting work to be done and the company is there to support you. after having worked at several different tech companies in NYC, I can say this one stands out

Cons

-create more opportunities of connection amongst the broader team, the people here are awesome and sometimes difficult to meet people that aren't on your team or direct cross functional partners

3.0
May 15, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good work life balance. Generally friendly people. Solid initial pay, though don't expect any raises. Good benefits.

Cons

Became extremely political after prior leadership transitions. Flatness of the company structure completely dissipated. Management plays favorites. Very Machiavellian now - management will cut employees at a moments notice. Culture has totally shifted, though still some residual positivity from those still left prior to the leadership change. No internal opportunities for growth, no internal pay raises. People will take credit for your work to make themselves look better.

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