Pros: ICs at Benchling are truly wonderful people and are by far the best part about working at Benchling. People tend to be very kind and intelligent. Decent opportunities for career growth (especially early career) since tenured engineers are continuing to leave.

Cons: There seems to be this misconception that the engineering org at Benchling has been largely unaffected by the toxic culture described in non-engineering organizations. However, this is not true. Engineering has been under extreme crunch mode for quarters now, with people often taking on the work of two to four people. Benchling has a pattern of over-promising features to customers that aren't on the roadmap and that we do not have resources for, and this has not stopped, thereby contributing to the current crunch. As a result, people are burned out beyond belief, and there is no sign of this getting better in the next year or so. Management is often not held accountable for their mistakes, and they often scapegoat ICs so that they instead take the blame. This can take the form of throwing folks under the bus or misrepresenting progress in performance reviews. Many of the issues currently arising in the company are ones that ICs have been extremely vocal about in their concerns, but unfortunately, senior leadership is often not open to *hearing* feedback until it is too late. In the moment, people are often told that "this is the way it is" and to leave if they don't like it. This ultimately puts the company at a disadvantage because this feedback could have helped them do better or potentially avoid some of these mistakes. Put less weight on reviews circa 2021. These were before the company culture took a huge hit as a result of rushed hiring processes that prioritized IQ over both EQ and IQ. The small company vibe that attracted so many of us is truly not there anymore, and while there are nice pockets of culture, the overall culture is tanking badly. Join if you don't care about culture. Avoid if you do.

Pros: Great culture, friendly managers and colleagues, interesting work.

Cons: None. I had a great experience over the summer.

Pros: Huge impact: Much of lab biology is still done on paper or in legacy software, and bringing it onto a modern system speeds up work by orders of magnitude. Our customers range from major pharma companies to small biotech startups to academic labs, and we have the potential to truly revolutionize the space. Nerdy culture: Most customer-facing roles, like sales and CX, require a biology background. Therefore, nearly everyone at Benchling is either an engineer or a scientist, which truly lends itself to a nerdy and scientifically-minded company culture. Openness: Transparency and collaboration are highly valued. There are regular AMAs with the executive team, and stopping by people's desks to ask questions is highly encouraged. Company trajectory: We've been in hypergrowth for a few years now, and it really looks like we are on a path to being a successful company in the long term. Inclusion and empathy: Everyone is generally kind, social, and empathetic. There is a focus on ensuring a comfortable work environment for people of all identities and backgrounds. We have affinity groups for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and women that meet regularly and host company-wide outreach events.

Cons: Can be high-pressure: We sometimes work to tight deadlines, and a downside of doing high-impact work is that it is actually important to get it right. I've never been required to work weekends or long hours, but sometimes I have to in order to hit deadlines. Growing pains: We're in hypergrowth, and there's basically always at least one process that has not caught up to our size and is causing difficulties. We notice and resolve these relatively quickly, but by the time one is resolved, another one has arisen just because we are growing so quickly. Pandemic WFH is getting old, but that's true in all software jobs right now.