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Lacking Engineering Innovation

Software Engineer
Current Employee
Has worked at Docusign for less than 1 year
April 5, 2016
San Francisco, California
2.0
Doesn't RecommendPositive OutlookNo CEO Opinion
Pros

Very good work/life balance. Market leader. Financial outlook is good. If cons of the sort described below don't bother you, you can have a very successful, stable, stress-free 9-5 job.

Cons

Management (in San Francisco at least) has a systemic inability to recognize and correct bad decisions. It seems like they spend most of their time in meetings making excuses so they don't have to take a perceived political hit for making a bad choice, instead of owning it and doing something better.

This influence from the top has made its way into individual hiring decisions, where hiring managers make excuses for candidates and look down on anyone who gives negative interview feedback. This has created an engineering culture where people either blindly do what they're told and code exactly to spec (even if it's the wrong thing for customers and the company), or get frozen out, badmouthed, and belittled for speaking their minds and raising valid concerns.

Add to this a total lack of technical mentorship or career growth opportunities, and I guess what I'm saying is that it's definitely not an engineering-driven culture.

Advice to Management

Fail fast, and do the right thing for the company and our customers.

Emphasize technical excellence instead of political savvy.

Take honest feedback in interviews instead of bullying folks into saying yes.

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