Dropbox

The main reason to work at Dropbox would be to use it as a stepping stone to other Big Tech companies. There are better options than Dropbox, but if you're looking to move into Big Tech, and Dropbox is the only offer you get, it's worth taking and staying for a year or two before moving on. Otherwise, it's not worth it. Think about it: when was the last time you or a friend used Dropbox?

• MAANG-level compensation and benefits
• Could be a good stepping stone to Big Tech if you're not in the industry.
• Many of the old engineer guard seem to be leaving, so this could make room for a better engineering stack in the future.

• No Vision - Leadership has no vision on how to accomplish "Organizing the Cloud." The products being built for this either already exist or don't actually solve that problem. They also don't seem to impress investors. It's also unclear whether this is a problem that really needs to be solved. Dropbox, as a product, is also sunsetting, whether the leaders want to admit it or not.

• Toxic Politics - The politics here are really bad and seemingly encouraged, as they are the main means of promotion for senior engineers and management. Expect a lot of backstabbing and grandstanding, and needing to be the loudest voice in the room to be heard.

• Little to no transparency above you, which worsens corporate politics.

• Engineering Stack - The engineering stack in Prod is extremely painful to use. Similar to other MAANG companies, it's a monorepo with a Bazel pattern, except only a few engineers manage the service, instead of several teams like other MAANG companies. Expect half a day to a full day to land your changes.

• Work/Life Balance - Work/life balance was once good, but now it really depends on the team. If you can, shop around for the right team to make sure it's what you're looking for.

Remove the "Make Work Human" piece from Dropbox's Core Values. Work at Dropbox hasn't felt human since the start of 2023. Dropbox seems to want to go back to its roots as a startup, but that's not possible; it's too big a company at this point. If the founder wants that, it would be better to start another company from the ground up and let Dropbox remain as its own service.

If the founder really wanted to do the right thing by his company, he would step down and let someone who is hungry for innovation lead.