ByteDance

Above-average compensation. Smart colleagues! It feels awesome to collaborate and be surrounded by some of the brightest software engineers around. Great benefits (amazing pantry, free lunch every day, lots of company swag all year round, etc.). And contrary to what many reviews here say... pretty good work-life balance! However, do note that this is largely helped by the fact that we're based in Singapore and thus exist in the same timezone as Beijing, so international meetings don't happen at odd hours for us compared to offices in London and the Bay Area, for instance.

• Less annual leave than my previous company (but with the ability to carry forward unlimited leave).
• Slower career growth for non-China based employees (according to my co-workers).
• Occasional language barriers when dealing with international teams (which honestly isn't a huge deal breaker because everyone can speak English to some degree anyway).

Better career and promotion opportunities for the rank and file outside of China are needed to improve employee retention, especially in highly competitive tech roles.