Pros: Smart, friendly, caring (for each other and for their work) coworkers. Emphasis on teamwork. Full transparency from top to bottom. Pragmatic, down-to-earth principles. The founders and executive team are accessible, vocal, and back up their words with actions. This might sound like Kool-Aid to you, but it isn't. This isn't a cult-like company where you buy into it and become a true believer. You're an individual with your own life and interests, and working at Elastic is a two-way street. We're all fully-formed adults, and Elastic is a sum of all of our contributions.

Cons: Hard to come up with any! * I remember management had to let some people go once, but they were given the chance to write a goodbye email to their coworkers. It was as amicable and mutually-respectful a parting as I've ever seen. Afterwards, the responsible individuals explained their criteria for making these kinds of difficult decisions and opened themselves up to questions about the process. * Since we're a fully distributed company, it may take some getting used to if you haven't worked in a similar situation before, but everyone is here to support new hires and help them become successful. * Some products have significant technical debt (which is apparent from checking them out on GitHub), but we're all aware of it and are working hard to reduce it.

Pros: You will learn a lot. You will work with what's most interesting for you. You will grow as a professional. Finally, you feel like you are part of something big. People are great; they help each other.

Cons: Need to focus on the difference between working and between not.

Pros: This may sound weird, but working for Elasticsearch reminds me of my time at my Montessori primary school, where I thrived as a kid. This greatly contrasts with my conventional high school, where I failed miserably. The instilled trust, setting your own deadlines, and being responsible for your own throughput really works for me. This may sound as though you'll end up working totally in isolation, but fear not! Elasticsearch has really nailed working remotely and distributed all over the globe. All the colleagues are very responsive; if anyone can help you out, they will jump on the chance to do so. I feel outclassed in so many ways within the company, and that truly is one of the best perks of working here! You really have a sense that you are working at a company that helps so many other awesome companies deliver features and gain insights. At the risk of sounding too "lovey dovey": common trademarks amongst all employees are kindness, heart, and passion. This is reflected in all processes that are in place and non-technical decisions that are taken.

Cons: This really barely counts as a con, more a rather odd predicament. Since I am working full-time on an OSS project I used to do in my spare time, separating boundaries between home life and work life is not as easy as it may seem. When I'm bored, I simply start working again because that's what I used to do in my spare time! Since this review has so far been too positive, let me list some minor gripes: Amsterdam office specific cons: * The coffee is pretty terrible; we are in dire need of better coffee! * I have better internet at home than at the office. It's almost faster to hop home to download anything over 4GB and come back. The Amsterdam office is going to be remodeled this year, though, so chances are when you are reading this, even these gripes are gone.