Elastic

I can honestly say that in the few years I've worked at Elastic, I have not once entertained the idea of leaving. This is a truly amazing place to work, and you will have to drag me kicking and screaming from my position.

I wrote an essay in this comment box but realized it was probably too long for Glassdoor, so I'll summarize it:

• We work on technically challenging, high-performance software that is used by hundreds of "brand name" companies. We are solving hard problems in distributed search and analytics. I'm paid to work on open-source code, have access to brilliant engineers, and have learned a downright crazy amount since joining Elastic. The distributed environment gives me location independence (I've moved five times across three states since joining), and the company culture trusts that I'll get my work done on my own schedule without micromanagement. It's an engineer's dream job, especially for more junior devs like myself.

• The founders and execs are good people, who are constantly watching out for work/life balance and respecting family time (since they all have small children and families themselves). Compensation and benefits are generous. Policies and decisions are shared openly; everyone has access to just about everything.

• This is a unique and special place to work. I'm humbled to be part of the company and can't wait to see how it grows over the coming years.

The main con is that you must have strong self-motivation and willpower. Being a distributed company, no one will nag you to get work done. Trust me... there are days when Reddit and Imgur come calling, and you find yourself wasting time. You will need enough willpower to close Reddit and get back to work.

Everyone deals with this in their own way:

• Some people work at co-working spaces to simulate an office environment.
• Some work out of cafes.
• Some people maintain rigid 9-5 schedules because they want the defined structure.
• Others will binge-work through the night and then take it easy the next day.

Whatever your method, you need a way to reign in natural desires to procrastinate, since you are largely responsible for your own productivity. If you need a consistent flow of feedback and supervision to stay on task, Elastic is likely not the right place for you.

Nothing substantial. The management is very introspective and quick to fix sub-optimal policies. They are cognizant of the challenges of scaling a distributed company and seem to be making all the right choices. The company is doing well strategically, and I trust the management to continue driving the boat in the right direction.