Akamai Technologies

Perks and benefits are good. The workspace is one of the best, with lots of plants, comfortable desks, and couches, to name a few, in Bangalore.

Perks:

• Free medical cover for family
• Fully stocked pantry
• Door drop and pickup for cabs
• Multiple login/logout for cabs
• COVID-19 furniture reimbursement up to $300
• Plenty of WFH to the point of abuse

The biggest challenge here is shifts. Almost everyone in India works in shifts of 11-8, 2-10, or even overnight. They term it "flexible," but you struggle to find people when you need their help urgently, especially because there is too much dependency on other teams.

Managers will allow you to log out early and connect from home for calls. But the calls are all accommodated to American convenience, and Indians are expected to give up their nighttime for all the "not so useful but mandatory" calls every day, including Friday. This is worse because the US office also has many Indians who suddenly think they have a privilege for being in the US.

There is a lot of weekend support work for developers, but no paid compensation.

Management is extremely authoritative, and there is no open communication unlike other product companies. One is in constant threat of being fired when they are not in the manager's good books. There is too much politics to the point of taking you to complete burnout.

Their work culture is quite ancient, and they are rarely open to new ideas or approaches to doing things. There is no teamwork; it is all IC roles. There is no technical lead to guide, and no one cares about the quality of code or work as long as it works. There are too many messy manual steps which they are not ready to automate.

As a developer, you won't grow or improve because expectations from you are to just get things working or maintain them with no discussions, reviews, or improvisation.

The recruiters also do a pathetic job of matching you to unsuitable roles.

All in all, it has a highly unhealthy work environment and culture. I would not recommend anyone to Akamai Bangalore.

Open culture is extremely important now. Share constant feedback, encourage teamwork, and foster team spirit instead of turning people against each other.

Respect the timings of the offshore teams, reduce US dependency, and minimize meetings.