Beatdown by the chain of command - Senior Software Engineer Shopify Employee Review

3.0
Jul 30, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good benefits, generally good humans all around, remarkably few A-holes. Big global company with decent support network for getting folks situated into this scale of work.

Cons

The chain of command is rather silly, and Tobi Lutke putting himself at the top as CEO and CPO while also unwavering in his role as founding engineer-in-chief is just too much. Engineering leads design systems within project parameters and fight for alignment through multiple layers of leadership, only to have Tobi take the entire project in a different direction or scrap it all together. The end result is hundreds of individual contributors being blocked for weeks at a time while waiting for their next few minutes with Tobi, and middle leadership layers being relatively powerless to provide real direction or agency. That makes for some pathetic middle leadership who may support an initiative but refuse to endorse it so the people below them have to sort it out with the people above them directly. This is neither a fast-moving or nimble org, and efforts to empower GSD (or, “get s$#% done”) generally have the reverse effect.

Explore other reviews about Shopify

5.0
Jul 2, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Amazing company with incredible product

Cons

None that I can think of

2.0
Jun 29, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Kind and talented co-workers - Generous AI token spend - Fairly transparent company (has been getting less transparent over the years) - Lots of opportunity for impact

Cons

- Product management discipline is quite lacking since the new CTO joined - Microsoft culture is adding more chaos and stress, and causing projects to actually go slower - Managers are afraid to tell the truth to Mikhail about the loopholes in engineering; they just want to look good, so they rush their teams to ship crap - Top engineering leaders are moving out of management roles or leaving the company - Tobi used to be far more involved in ensuring a high engineering bar, but seems to have handed over the reins to the new Microsoft regime

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