Pros: - Remote work is good. - Work is impactful, as WP powers a lot of the web. - Small teams and nice people.

Cons: - Leadership is increasing pressure to deliver to unrealistic deadlines. - Engineers are responsible for everything; leadership takes no accountability for failures and engineers are blamed instead. - There is no project management; engineers are expected to do this. - Design doesn't really know what to do; engineers are expected to do this. - There is no clear roadmap from leadership; engineers are expected to do this. (Seriously, if you "work on the wrong thing" you'll be fired.) - Arbitrary performance metrics are used, such as lines of code and PR count, compared to other teams working on different things. - Management overrules team leads on IC feedback, calling it "alignment."

Pros: - Remote-first culture. - Flexible core working hours. - Unlimited PTO (depends on team norms). - Competitive pay if you live outside the US.

Cons: Lack of job security: frequent layoffs have occurred across teams over the past two years. Unclear evaluation standards for ICs: even strong performance reviews are often dismissed as "inflated." No clear evaluation criteria for ICs. High-performance reviews are often dismissed as "inflated" or lacking in "outcome." No career growth for engineers: flat organizational structure offers no defined advancement path. Generalist tech culture encourages inconsistent and often poor practices. Reliance on outdated technology, with WordPress still at the core after 20 years. Clueless business leaders continue to acquire failed projects with no clear strategy. A small operations group exerts disproportionate influence, enforcing the above and creating a climate of fear that can jeopardize employment.

Pros: - Good, smart colleagues to trauma-bond with.

Cons: Total compensation is below market in the U.S. Health benefits are above average (but trending down), but this is balanced by poor salary, no bonuses, and no equity. On top of this, all signs point to compensation trending down drastically for new hires. Inarguably, it's a hard time in the tech world, so leaders across the industry are being tested, and many are laying off more than they might have hoped. The question with Automattic is whether or not the drastic actions are setting the company up for success. The founder/CEO certainly landed on something special with WordPress over 20 years ago and rode some fantastic tailwinds through 2020. Unfortunately, his growth as a leader (and human) was completely arrested. When facing true adversity for the first time, Matt completely undermined the culture (and therefore value proposition) of Automattic as an employer. He fired and sidelined all the true leaders and handed things over to all of the most toxic yes-men. He somehow has learned all the wrong lessons and spent the last couple of years doubling and tripling down on poor strategy while repeatedly disrupting promising initiatives. It's a toxic mess shrouded in false positivity. The tech stack is an outdated mess and managed by a disaster of a systems/engineering "leader" (which is killing engineering velocity and product innovation). Despite the Automattic creed, please be warned that you should never question the status quo. When you interview, you'll doubtlessly encounter some excellent humans (they're still there and will be prominent on the hiring team), but the reality on the ground is bad. You will not be insulated from toxic leadership. Your career will stagnate. Your skills will become less marketable. Your mental health may very well be impacted long term.