Only took a month to realize I messed up! - Anonymous employee Niantic Employee Review

2.0
Mar 5, 2019
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Before I start I want to let you know that the reviews here are biased! HR reaches out to employees to submit reviews on Glassdoor to attract applicants. So, teams that are understaffed and, maybe, some people who are actually happy tend to write in more. Don’t believe me? Ask a friend who works at Niantic. Pros: Great location. Free lunch is great. Great talent. Great benefits. Some really caring people.

Cons

The environment feels unwelcoming. There’s a couple of reasons. One is transparency. People tend to be overly secretive which makes you feel like an outsider. Speaking of outsider, I witnessed an instance where a recent hire was stopped and interrogated by an engineer at an company party because he felt like the person was an imposter despite the person carrying a pass. Really dude? Some execs are plain selfish and care about their image rather than their team where the team has to put up with a lot of nonsense and bs coming through the exec. And I say ‘some’ because there are a few exceptional execs too. Some teams are valued more then others. If you’re not in a ‘sexy’ team (ahm ahm eng, ds, ux), people will treat you quite differently... in a bad way. Micromanagement. No explanation needed here. May depend on which team you’re in. I was unlucky in this case. Did I mention work-life balance? The company’s response you’ll see on Glassdoor is “we’re discussing this on high levels”. Well, they keep on saying that but they don’t DO anything. Never have I heard anything from the leadership team regarding work-life balance ever since I joined. It’s simple, the company is understaffed and there’s way too many projects. You’d fall behind if you try to make it a 9-5 job. There is no wfh culture — people send out wfh reasoning via email to the entire company!!!

avatar
Niantic Response
7y
Thank you for this. I do ask folks to share their feedback on Glassdoor, so admit to that. I am glad you added your perspective. Agree on the work-life balance thing: we're talking about it but not solving it yet. We are trying a no-meeting block pilot in Q2, as one experiment. Hope the new adventure is a good change of pace and thank you for all your contributions over the past ~2 years. - DH

Explore other reviews about Niantic

5.0
Jan 20, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The people, the amazing office, the work life balance, the benefits, 401k match

Cons

Niantic had few flaws and none that come to mind currently

3.0
May 12, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Niantic has a unique mission and works on products that blend technology, gaming, community, and real-world exploration. The people are generally smart, passionate, and collaborative, and there are opportunities to work on creative projects with global impact. The company also offers a good learning environment for those interested in gaming, AR, live operations, and location-based products.

Cons

Priorities can shift frequently, which sometimes makes it difficult for teams to stay focused or understand how their work connects to the broader company strategy. Communication from leadership could be clearer, especially during periods of change. Some processes feel reactive rather than proactive, and cross-functional alignment can vary depending on the team.

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All