Awesome and Frustrating - Software Engineer DigitalOcean Employee Review

2.0
Dec 4, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

* Solid remote work culture * Great brand * Unlimited vacation * +Golang on backend+ (Some scattered ruby, python, rust, etc) * Competitive base salaries * Shark week (week long event where everyone gets together to work and play)

Cons

* Multiple changes in executive leadership since I've been here * Multiple changes in mangement * Red flags regarding stability or quality of projects are raised and nothing is done about it * Cronyism * Stock Options instead of Restricted Stock Units (you have to purchase your stock) * Little accountability for underperformance * Bonuses are few and far between * Many systems are fragile and feel duct-taped together * You will spend many days dealing some someone else's failing system * The core values seem hypocritical at times; do what you say and say what you do

Explore other reviews about DigitalOcean

5.0
Mar 30, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Solid engineering team, seems to have found a niche and is working it hard.

Cons

Smaller company, so low in the prestige

2.0
May 18, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- lots of ownership - decent middle management - great teammates - learning a lot - older employees do tend to have competitive RSU grants and salaries

Cons

- tons of legacy systems (10+ years version of Ruby on Rails... 10+ years since some products or services were updated, 0 associated automation to help) - last 2y of leadership has brought on tons of reorgs & changes. Example - recommended PTO days quietly went down, got rid of lots of free snacks, anniversary gifts went down $100s of dollars, plenty of silent layoffs - Senior leadership is focused on 1 thing - getting the stock price up. Has no interest in supporting some of our legacy systems that can prop up new products. - new hires are not fitting into our culture. Inflated titles. Empire building. Awarded for submitting buggy AI Slop code. Encourage working on the weekends. Starting to get toxic.

2
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