Pros
In short, Red Ventures is an amazing company. As a software engineer you will learn tons of valuable skills and accelerate your career at a crazy pace. If you want to be heads-down programmer, just understand that the culture is very collaborative and full of extroverts. You see first handed how business and technology mesh to drive value. Mythbusting... “RV is a sweatshop for engineers”. They demand a higher level of engagement and push you to understand “why” -- not just the “how”. RV stretches engineers to help them understand what they are capable of. It may seem uncomfortable at first but you will be thankful one day when you realize this constant driving makes you an awesome engineer. RV requires no more energy than a scrappy startup working towards their first funding round. “Technology isn’t important”. Technology is the engine that drives Red Ventures. Developers like building cool stuff, everyone understands that. But, at RV technology decisions are always made with business value in mind. Want to refactor old code or build a new system? Well, does it unlock potential and create more opportunities? Or, does it fix a potential issue that’s negatively impacting a customers experience? If you can’t justify the business value then it will not get green-lit. I like to work on things that make money, not just look cool in my IDE :)
Cons
A side effect of the flat corporate structure is a lack of transparency around career advancement. There isn’t a clearly defined path for engineers to move up to the higher ranks and/or into leadership roles. RV attracts and hires the best tech talent but chooses to do so at a discount. Charlotte's cost of living is low, the building/amenities are wonderful, beer taps are always full, annual trips are amazing, career growth inspiring, but intentionally keeping salaries below market rate is petty.