My shortest time with any company. - IT Engineer SoundHound Employee Review

1.0
Oct 1, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The people - my team was great, the others I met on the path to creating and enriching the culture were incredible.

Cons

Everything else. No value for the time and effort you put in which was the biggest reason I left, besides that: Pay is below market, no 401k, no RRSP. The lack of ownership from leadership is unreal, no one can make a decision without checking with "mom and dad," in return actual progress halts and momentum of progress dissipates No interest in improvement, a fundamental lack of understanding regarding project management, communication, team dynamics and development, collaboration - like all things that make a business run smoothly. its all duct tape and zipties Every company meeting featured the signature ordering video, empty words from the out-of-touch c-suite and props for members of the eng team. So so so much ambiguity.

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SoundHound Response
4y
We’re truly sorry to hear your time at the company didn’t end on a positive note. We are continually looking for ways to make SoundHound a great place to learn, grow, and feel connected. It’s clear from your review we fell short of that. If you are open to sharing more insight confidentially with a member of our executive team please email me directly at jonw@soundhound.com. We're eager to hear your thoughts and better understand how we can grow.

Explore other reviews about SoundHound

5.0
Apr 2, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great people and hard problems.

Cons

None that I remember from then.

3.0
Apr 13, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Small company tech perks; currently riding the momentum of AI excitement. There are some solid, intelligent managers especially on the engineering side that seek the good of their team members and protect them from politics. Flexible work and no meaningful return to office enforced

Cons

SoundHound used to be a place where excellence mattered over ego, where commitment to doing the right thing trumped politics. Where the goalpost was building great products with quality underlying technology. The goalposts have shifted, but it’s not clear to where. No longer does a movement toward building the best tech drive the team. Instead, a slew of acquisitions have made insecure politicking and delaying decisions the drivers to how the company clunks along from quarter to quarter. A lack of unity at the top trickles down to senior and middle management. It is no longer clear what the product priorities are and why, and there are too many VPs to count (and it’s unclear what being a VP/exec means - there is no minimum size of department or scope of responsibility to get that title, so it loses its credibility). Lots of talk and not a lot of action. They say the more someone talks about something, the less they are probably living it. When leaders talk about the importance of leadership, authenticity, and integrity, it often indicates they are not actually embodying those words.

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