Pros: Great people and great remuneration!

Cons: Atlassian’s biggest flaw isn’t the tech, it’s the management. Instead of building trust or giving clear direction, they try to “motivate” people through pressure and fear. The result? Teams constantly scrambling, rushing features just to hit arbitrary dates. Corners get cut, bugs slip through, and everyone’s too anxious to speak up. It’s not innovation—it’s survival.

Pros: Working remotely full time enables me to balance my family needs (e.g., school drop-offs and pick-ups). It also means that I can work wherever I want in Australia, so I transferred back to my home state and am closer to my family, especially during the pandemic. I also like the psychological safety in the company. I'm able to say what is on my mind without having to think whether management would like to hear it or if it's stepping on someone's toes and offending them. It does feel that you are being listened to. I also like the fact that they really care about their people and would rather postpone releases than work their people to exhaustion.

Cons: I do find that things work slower at Atlassian. If there's an initiative, I find that there's a lot more hierarchy that you need to go through first before things get decided. I am also finding that following OKRs all the way to the little product teams feels more like it's hindering working faster and doing the right thing for the product. The teams are structured based on those OKRs, which means that these teams will step on each other's toes more often than not. I also find that product has a much louder voice than the engineering health of the product, which means that after a few years of not dealing with engineering health, the product suffers and everything gets halted. Things are changing, though, and I hope they continue to change for the better.

Pros: Their values are really sensible and great guides to bring your whole self to work without resulting in burnout. On this same note, all levels of management strongly encourage work-life balance via flexibility, refresh days, and TOIL. There is a strong focus to boost motivation via autonomy, mastery, and purpose. For example, management strongly encourages 20% time, scheduled innovation, and ShipIt days. Their onboarding process is very well organized and one of the best I have ever experienced or heard of. They have a great TEAM anywhere policy where you can work remotely from any country they have a legal entity. They cater for remote workers incredibly well.

Cons: The onboarding process is very intense and has been likened to "drinking from the firehose". But this is to be expected in a large company, and everyone reminds you to take it easy during this time. Their office spaces are great, with an amazing selection of food and beverages. This is a shame for those who don't have regular access to an office.