Pros: Checkout has some amazing technology. The vast majority of it is cutting-edge, and there's a general enthusiasm towards perpetual improvement. Most of the people who work at Checkout are smart, motivated, and just all-around nice. There are frequent formal knowledge-sharing sessions, and the environment is dynamic with regards to the number of interesting projects being developed. There is general freedom to suggest and motivate for the implementation of projects that you feel may improve the business operations, as well as a fair amount of autonomy in the way that you work and implement features. The company is going places. They just received the largest amount of Series-A funding for a European FinTech on record.

Cons: There is zero transparency on career progression in the engineering department. Nobody seems to be able to shed any light on what characteristics and competencies are required to be able to move to a position of more seniority. Vague goals and wishy-washy promises are often offered to appease, and are promptly forgotten come the next review period. This problem is further exacerbated by incompetent managers, as they are often the only line of communication between you and one who makes decisions on your career progression. I found myself often misrepresented in this fashion. This is not always the fault of the manager, as Checkout does not provide training for any of its engineering line managers, and I don't think that it's malicious. Seniority and technical know-how do not equal people management and development skills. There is no recourse for someone in such a position. Reviews are downward-facing only. One never has the opportunity to review one's manager, and so many issues either never come to light, or are ignored when brought up face to face, eventually resulting in a decision to move on to better things.

Pros: Not much left that’s good now.

Cons: The company in the past 3 years since Covid has really gone downhill. Many previous great things have been removed, and employees are now treated like children. If you want any freedom in WFH, leave the company, as the CEO says. You must be in 3 days a week, chosen by the execs, with no consultation on what staff want. You’ll be tracked if you’re in the office. They now track our badges to see who’s in the office and what teams are not attending the arbitrary 3 days. Staff are not looked after. If you want a standing desk, nope. Deal with the rubbish desks they have with no adjustment and enjoy backache. It’s all about the CEO. Everyone only ever talks about pleasing him. Well, shocker, he doesn’t run the company on his own, and you’ve now steamrolled over all the actual employees who build the company. Pay really lags once you’re in the company. So, if you for some reason join, make sure you negotiate a high salary, as they barely move you up the bands, meaning it’s impossible to get a good raise without promotions. Bonuses are based off of ratings, but these are down on a bell curve. So, even if you work your best and have a perfect year, good luck actually getting a review better than meets expectations.

Pros: Good culture, lots of benefits.

Cons: Very hard to get a promotion.